Giving Comfort to those in Sadness
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| Don't tell people to just be happy. Instead, tell them you will sit beside them so they won't be alone in their sadness. It affirms their right to feel-and is more comforting. |
The temptation to hide
I have an unusual background. The kind that makes me want to hide. If I could say I came from the foster system, or did drugs, or had some flamboyant life, I think others might more readily accept me. But when I say I lived in a monastery for over 20 years, I get strange looks, sometimes individuals withdrawing, or even ghosting me. So it makes me uncomfortable revealing that past. I suppose it is the same for others, fearing sharing secrets about our past less we feel rejected. I don't agree that you have to be an open book with everyone you meet. But I have learned that keeping secrets hurts only one person, myself. And so, I am gradually exposing my secret, letting others know that indeed, I was a lady monk for many years, and no, I didn't slap children with rulers (I didn't teach or nurse or do social work, I lived in a monastery where we didn't go out). I had to recover my old self when I left. I had to regain self-trust, confidence, and be okay again to be me. ...
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