Ok guys, this is a hard one.

Especially given how much turmoil and suffering is happening right now, not just due to the absolutely terrible war being waged against so many innocent people in Ukraine, but in many places all over the world.

There are horrific acts of violence, mass shootings, power struggles, attacks on the truth, divisiveness, racism, oppressive systems doubling down – for some of us it can sometimes feel like the whole world is just going mad.

Things are not easy right now, there is a lot happening in the world that is pushing us to find dimensions of strength and resolve that we didn’t imagine we would ever need.

And the events of the world today are also calling upon us to open our hearts to each other in ways that we never have – to give help to those who need it, to be advocates and allies, speak up against injustices and cruelty.

It’s important to not allow tragedy and painful things to cause us to withdraw and close us off from each other, but rather soften our hearts and connect with others in a loving way.

And also to not turn a blind eye to what is happening, to acknowledge the terrible and cruel, even when it feels uncomfortable to do so.

The truth is, your soul chose the life that you are living right now with the intention of pushing you outside of your comfort zone so you could have a chance to learn, grow, and step up to meet the demands and challenges of these times right now, today on planet earth.

This is not to imply that it is easy, as it is often not and even very, very difficult.

Many of us deal with challenges that bring us to our knees and are even unthinkable and unimaginable to others.

It’s easy to see suffering on the other side of the world with relief that it isn’t happening to us, but the suffering of others is ours as well.

We are all interconnected and our separateness is an illusion.

The point of all of these challenges and suffering are so that we can overcome them, have more empathy for others, and add more love and compassion to a world that is so desperately wanting and needing it.

You didn’t choose the life your soul wanted- you chose the life that your soul needed.