An Open Book

An Open Book

To love another person is to see the face of God.

Victor Hugo

Post written by Katarina Miletic  Follow me on Facebook

In order to experience the fullness of life that can lead to the only fulfillment we seek – we truly need the ability to stay open. Because only in our openness we can feel connected. 

I will talk about our absolute need for connection. Of course, the awareness of our own connection to the life creating force inside us is central, but equally so is our true recognition of that force in every other being. Hence the describable and palpable knowing that connection is essential for feeling oneness that we are. 

Is this a subject that is haunting only the most intrigued of the intelligent, in some very small circles of our humanity? Not at all. It is very much what we face in our daily life and interpret into every area of contact and interaction with others.

I say ‘stay open’ because this is a natural state of being. It is not the point of my examination to figure out the validity of anyone’s retraction from full participation in life, nor to weigh the circumstances, for I do understand they feel real and valid to the person. I’m sure there are countless examples of spirits that have humbled us over and over with inspirational power of their desire to rise and overcome what every one of us would consider an obstacle. They will eternally be the light in the darkness for everyone seeking to find a way out of it. 

It is worth remembering that we are powerful beings and that our thoughts shape, guide and ultimately create our life. Each one of us is equally powerful to access thoughts that will free our spirit from anything that we feel like it ‘happened’ to us. It’s only life happening to us. 

I have had a great privilege to connect with some great souls that inhabited our Earth, from Africa to Canada – people from very different social and educational backgrounds, but very much united in oneness of life’s richest experiences. These interactions, these connections and deeply felt human relationships, some moving friendships - would have been impossible without that simple formula: ‘Here is my whole heart, I am sharing it with you’. And the only motivation behind it is this impulse of really getting that is how the real connection occurs. If this is still not clear as water, let’s put it this way: I am not interested in, nor am I seeking, any other connection – and neither are you, my friend. 

Therein lies the whole reason for me writing this: if I could help only one person to have that moment of insight really sink in, then my heart is at peace. 

I cannot unravel for you your own Why – but I can and will shine a light for you. There are no shortcuts, no possibilities of not being exposed to heartache and feeling of loss in life. It’s a battlefield of learning curves out there, but it is possible to navigate, it is definitely possible to hold your own, it is definitely worth loving and being there in the middle of that ring – because it is so rewarding to know your own strength and to gather tool after tool, and memory after memory – until you master it. Because you will. If you do not give up, if you stay open no matter what – you will master it. 

What helps me? The connection to the power bigger than me, that I know as the life giving power, which is a part of me - and part of you, and part of everyone. This connection is vital as the air I breathe. I never functioned without it, and I could only imagine how dark and hard it would seem to feel disconnected from it… What can help you recover this connection, as this is a place you need to be in order to restore the openness and the possibility of the harmonious connection with others? Start by slow, deep, conscious breathing and clearing your mind of as much noise as you can – and then notice the tiny and not so tiny blessings. Start observing things you feel full of and grateful for. They are there, they are always there – and they are your surest connection with the greater part of you. 

I wish I spared myself a lot of heartache by removing the word ‘forever’ from my vocabulary. Our forever is now! Forever can only be in the moment of giving, and feeling, and having your all. An open book moments! Forever is a string of happy moments and when I turn back – all I can see are those moments that have fully captured the essence of love, of being, and of connection. Why did I always strive to project them forward, hoping I can somehow make sure I don’t lose them, ever? Forever is only evident and reachable in the moment of wholeness. 

Perhaps I am lucky in the way I think and subsequently feel the great ease and comfort reach me, but I assure you I was not spared grief and loss throughout my life. They are part of life as every sunrise, rain and season. We cannot stop it from happening, we cannot harden ourselves to the point of not feeling anything for anyone, including ourselves, and the life itself. There is beauty in every scar, there is a gift to take forward. There is an immense healing power within your reach. Trust that it is perfectly OK to feel pain, but know that the power inside you will bring the greatest comfort, and through that a new you, stronger and better version of you, will rise because of the experience. Accept it as a blessing and keep moving forward. Be willing to get up and start walking, even if that is literally what you do: a short walk through the park, or just standing in the garden, or at your window, breathing and allowing the healing to happen, step by gentle step. At your own pace, always. Just trust yourself that you will arrive at a point where you will see the blessing in what just happened. (Even if your Why doesn’t get answered. Sometimes that is really not even crucial.) 

It is much more meaningful to understand how strong you are, how powerfully beautiful to have given the best inside you as a gift to someone. Because, meanings do not come bigger than that - and love doesn’t come truer than that. To love someone else is to be pure love. That is your standard. That is who you are – everything else, my friend, does not depend on you.