It weighs me down like a weekly shop,
Sainsbury’s bags swinging at my side
As I struggle with the front door keys,
Just wanting to get inside, forget
About the queues and the man coughing on me
Down in the bacon and sausage aisle.
But this weight is necessary,
I need to feel it in my heart and lungs,
If I am to survive…
I’ve heard lots of really sad stories over the last few days and they have been weighing heavily on my heart. They were stories told through audiobooks and Youtube so I could have quite easily turned them off; but I didn’t.
I continued listening all the way to the end and really took the weight of the pain in the process. And I’ve been spending the last few hours thinking about why I kept listening.
Sometimes, I think that we need to hear of other people’s pain to help us with our own. These stories were told by highly successful people who appear to have their shit together. These people pulling the curtain back and showing us that everybody hurts makes us feel connected, no longer alone.
However, that doesn’t take away the heaviness that comes with hearing these stories. I think these stories were sent my way to remind me that life is hard but we can all pick ourselves up after a fall.
Much Love
Rachel xx
Margot Kinberg
I think there is definitely comfort in knowing that we are not alone in feeling life’s pain. Each of us has burdens to bear, and there is a feeling of camaraderie when you know that others have things to cope with, too. I think the trick is to acknowledge others’ pain without taking it on. That’s hard to do, especially for people like you, who are teachers and who reach out to communicate with students. But I think we have to set that boundary. As you say, feeling that others have pain is a helpful reminder. I think it’s also a useful nudge to try to do something to make a positive difference. Too idealistic? Possibly, but I like the idea…
patientandkindlove
Yes, acknowledging that others have pain is the Step One. Step Two is to actually do something about it….. and that’s hard.