Saturday, November 26, 2022
When you love, you sense the energy of love back towards you, if there remains some “life” to it. Situations and relationships that feel lopsided, where you’re putting in 95% and you’re getting 5% back, can wear you down. It could be one of two things: 1.) It’s completely dead. 2.) It simply needs breathing room. However, when you see someone clutching to the past, trying to resuscitate what has already passed it is very sad to watch. You have to recognize when it’s time to let go; however, sometimes a situation just needs you to back up, even if it’s withered, simply so it can breathe.
Failing to see lifelessness is pitiful. You have to be open to the signs of “death,” if it is truly is over. Clutching to someone or some situation will smother it, and eventually kill it. But if there is even a seed of hope, the best way to deal with it is to back up, back down, and create some space for breath to reignite on its own. It won’t flower if you hover over it, clasp onto it, or cling like a doting mother. But be careful that you aren’t clinging to what’s already lifeless!
When something is dead, it feels strangely quiet. It’s often difficult to know the difference between faith and desperation. Faith cannot resurrect a lifeless relationship, a dead-end job, or a creative idea that isn’t blooming. Neither can pretending. When aliveness withers, acknowledge it. Either you need a funeral to say goodbye, or you need to to backup so it can breathe. At a deep level, you’ll know if you’re smothering it; if it’s already dead; or if it just needs some breathing room, so it can love you back. Pay attention to the subtleties of aliveness in everything, everyone, and particularly in yourself.