The Whole Wide World

I often feel very cut off down here. Not just from the non-frozen world. Cut off in a spiritual sense. It’s difficult to articulate what I mean, because it’s a feeling. Or lack thereof. In the non-frozen world I feel like I am more regularly having those cup-overflowing, heart-so-full feelings and those moments are far and few between down here. When I do think about this, one of the first associated thoughts is around the fact that I am on a frozen continent and my spiritual progress and soul are frozen, too. I am sure that sounds weird, but it’s a thing. It ties it all up in a neat little box with a bow for me.

I think about the lack of spiritual growth quite a bit, especially when I am struggling for things to write about. I feel like I don’t struggle for words so much in non-frozen world. And while sometimes it seems that my spiritual growth is stunted down here, and it definitely is more so than in the non-frozen world, it isn’t at a complete halt. Every now and then there is a brief thawing and I feel the warmth coming back.

Like when I was writing yesterday’s entry and I was struggling to find a word. There was a word I wanted to use, but for the life of me I could not think of it. Ineptly, ornately, no, it wasn’t either of those, but it was right on the tip of my tongue and I couldn’t find it. So frustrating. I moved along with my writing anyway and shortly after I published the post, I was scrolling on social media and there was the word in a post. The post was made by a woman who I feel very connected to, a soul sister from my hiking world. I don’t believe it was a coincidence either.

Here is the quote she posted:

Humans are both inherently good and flawed. Believe within every situation, lies the possibility of transformation. ~ D. Tutu

Here is the full quote by Desmond Tutu from The Book of Forgiving: The Fourfold Path for Healing Ourselves and Our World:

“Forgiveness does not relieve someone of responsibility for what they have done. Forgiveness does not erase accountability. It is not about turning a blind eye or even turning the other cheek. It is not about letting someone off the hook or saying it is okay to do something monstrous. Forgiveness is simply about understanding that every one of us is both inherently good and inherently flawed. Within every hopeless situation and every seemingly hopeless person lies the possibility of transformation.”

The word was inherently and that quote summarizes everything I was trying to say yesterday. That we are inherently good/we are all just doing the best we can, with what we have/flaws and all. That people are put into our world’s for a lifetime, a season and/or a reason, and sometimes that reason is to teach or remind us how to be a better human. Therein lies the possibility of transformation.

Seeing that quote immediately after making that post, it’s my favorite-sweet synchronicity. That filled my cup up and gave me the heart-so-full moment I’ve been craving.

There are no coincidences, just reassuring nods from the Universe.