There are a lot of things to absorb in life. We are all porous. We can be sponges to people’s grief and sadness, we can be affected by their paranoia, their pain. So, we must learn to cope. Some of us turn to spirituality, some of us turn to the Earth, some of us turn to family and friends, whom we know we can trust to be observant and nonjudgemental as we unfold with them. A lot of us spend time alone. Existing on this planet, we learn to cope. It is imperative that we learn to cope in healthy ways.

Addictions come from being sensitive. Other mental illness can be a result of this as well. The world can be an unforgiving place, and so we suffer. We feel misunderstood, we become isolated, either in our outer worlds, or within our psychology. We talk of healing, but what does that mean? How do we find a place that we can call home, that we can be ourselves, and that we can exist untethered?

Today, I went for a swim in the Puget Sound. I was out bobbing in the gentle current and subtle waves. In my mind, I discussed the possibility of coming in contact with an octopus or a whale, but as I floated there, and swam along, I settled in the comfortableness of my experience. Those fears are pretty bazaar. And it always feels like the world is shouting its opinions, about how one should be safe, instilling fear in our every move. Why do people think that what I am doing is any of their business? Because they own the beach, or have some controlling opinion about nesting birds that may or may not be there? I have found, that if you just press on, and learn to ignore the voices of fear and dissent, it can be possible to be free. Faith keeps you moving along, like a willowy rubber band, and you squish and bend and let it all just pass by, like the current around your body.

I have found that there are helpful voices and messages that follow me around, also. I tend to give these voices the name of ‘angel’, and I try to listen when the heed their advice, because it keeps them coming around. But you must be in touch with yourself, you must have an inner instinct. And the tapes and programming of the ego, or in other words the devil, can be like a bad cough that you just cannot shake. Relaxation, accepting entropy, embracing chaos, and loving the weird, the new, and the awkward are just a few things you can do to avoid the fate of the chronic narcissistic egomaniac. Yes, that sounds pretty harsh, but our society is littered with them. Then, the sometimes not so sure, absorb their fear like the plague and continue to spread that vein of existence. So, we may be porous creatures, but we have a choice in life. We can choose down which vein to travel. We can choose what to listen to, we can choose what we embrace, what to trust and follow. Find the soft inner voice within you. Believe it is good. Then move forward.