Connecting

It's amazing how easy it is to forget that we as human beings all go through the same things. We all have the same hangups to a greater or lesser degree, we all experience the same emotions to a greater of lesser degree, and we all avoid and seek things to a greater and lesser degree. The idea of feeling isolated is so ridiculous when you actually consider just how similar we all are. None of the emotions, situations, or relationships we have are unique to ourselves. I am continually surprised at how comforting it can be to simply acknowledge and recognize this. Either through conversations and connection with people or through reading about certain human situations. Tonglen is so valuable in this. As a reminder and a way of working with all the pain and joy we experience. As a way of opening to the world and the people who inhabit it. It's so easy to get wrapped up in your own small little existence and forget that we are all just a small part of a larger existence. I hope to stay in contact with that realization more and more and implement Tonglen as a daily practice.