How are you, my friend?
I’m thinking of you on this Friday afternoon and wanted to reach out.
I hope you are having a good day so far. If you are, please share your joy with someone. A smile or a cheerful hello text can go a long way toward brightening someone’s day.
If you are having a hard time, practice reaching out to someone you love and trust. We all go through ups and downs, and by talking about it, it helps normalize it for everyone.
Please know, you are loved and you belong! (That is an important part of my message today!)
Celebration does not always look glittery and cheery.
Sometimes celebration is the quiet way we care for ourselves — or how we care for someone we love who is struggling.
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Last Sunday, I sent a LoveGram talking about the “dance of light and dark.” I’ve been going through some hard stuff and I love to share practices with you that comfort me. That LoveGram was one of ’em.
If you missed it, you can read it here, on the blog.
It is so important to let ourselves feel the hard stuff and to remember that it is human to feel the whole spectrum of emotions.
It is okay. We are okay. And we do not need to go through things alone. Ask for help.
That said, I know that sometimes it can be really hard to ask. I talk a lot with my friends about this. If one of us is down and the others are up, it can feel like we are burdening them or dimming their light.
But this is NOT TRUE!
Everyone I talk to about this says it feels good when someone they love reaches out. It makes us feel connected. It gives us a chance to feel deep compassion.
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One of the people I’ve been reaching out to is a friend who is also an amazing poet.
I was telling her this week that I was feeling an old, old feeling that is one of “I don’t belong.” Now, as it happens, I’d had this conversation with my friend before, and she had written me a poem as a gift.
She sweetly resent me that poem to remind me of its message!
So, today, I want to share this with you. It is a poem by my dear friend Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer. And I am dedicating it to anyone who feels like they don’t belong.
I hope it comforts and soothes. I hope it reminds you that everyone goes through hard stuff and that we can find solace in people who can see a bigger truth than we do in the moment.
(Thank you, Rosemerry!)
Here it is:
You Belong Here
for SRB
You belong here—
here in the world
of wonder and fear,
of Zumba and street fights,
of pink hats and protests.
You belong here
with your questions,
your anger, your trust,
your voluptuous cursive,
your stubborn tears,
you belong here.
With your fine darkness,
your involuntary shine,
your shuttered faith
and your reckless love,
your uncertainty,
you belong here—
in the alleys, the rooms,
in the meadows, the halls,
in the sacred cathedral
of your body.
Whether or not
you asked to be here,
whether or not
you feel wanted here
here is where you belong.
It is for you the moment arrives,
wondering what comes next.
It is for you the next breath
finds your body and fills you,
it’s for you, this day, you
right here where you belong.
— Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer
A Hundred Falling Veils (8-29-20)
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I send you love today, my friend.
You are not alone.
We’re all in this together.
We are all just walking each other home, as Ram Dass said so beautifully. (And if we are walking each other home, that means we belong to one another!)
Thank you for who you are and for your beautiful spirit.
Seek celebration — even in the dark corners,
xo Sherry
💝 P.S. One of the things Rosemerry said to me this week was, “Remember, at the very least, you belong to the vast numbers of people who sometimes feel they do not belong.” —— If you feel or have ever felt like you don’t belong, respond to this email and say hello so I can send you a virtual hug!
💝 P.P.S. Rosemerry sends a poem a day through email! If you want to receive these, click here! I promise they will be pinpricks of light for you every morning!