Last Saturday night, the City of Boulder asked people to pause for 10 slow breaths, followed by 10 minutes of silence for the victims of the March 22 mass shooting in a grocery store. It was a moment of collective grief. I also believe it was a moment of collective healing.
Don’t misunderstand me. I am not suggesting that this practice alone comes anywhere close to healing anyone. Healing of any kind is a process–a cycle–and it takes time. Usually more time than we expect it will. We know that healing isn’t necessarily straightforward, and it can often include as much pain (or more) than the injury itself. But the pause to remember, the pause to focus on a healing act is vital.
Healing implies hope. There is a quote by Rumi that says: “The wound is where the light enters.” I believe this. We’ve all been through so much lately, collectively and individually. Yet, I trust that light arrives. Just like winter becomes spring and night becomes day, I trust the cycle. Some of us will see the light before others, depending on where we are in our healing. And that’s the way it should be. Those of us feeling stronger should lift up those who are in need of strength to show them that the light is still there.
Sunday the full moon rose in the sign of Libra, and we are still in the full moon vibration. Astrologers say that this particular moon offers us some potent energies for healing. It is the perfect time to be still–to take those 10 slow breaths– and to release some pain that we may be holding onto so that we can make more space for the light to enter. As I’ve done this, I’ve discovered some wounds I thought were long since healed still needing some attention. Like I said, much more time than we expect.
Libra offers us the symbol of the scales, the notion of balance. I’m experiencing it as the balance between what was and what will be. We can pause to acknowledge what we have learned in our times of suffering and how we will use this wisdom to move forward in our lives. We can ponder how we might use our wisdom to be of service as we collectively move into a new consciousness. And as I’ve written before, I don’t believe this service has to be grandiose.
The poet Mark Nepo said: “When we heal ourselves, we heal the world. For as the body is only as healthy as its individual cells, the world is only as healthy as its individual souls.” Healing ourselves may be the greatest way to serve, to open our world to the light. So, let’s take those 10 slow breaths to remember and to heal, then 10 more, and 10 more…
