Suffering II

the suffering,
when allowed to move,
colors the mind,
body,
soul...

...and it flows into life...

and the pain spreads
in waves
through contortions, twists and turns...

once the fear is accepted
and the scaffolding removed,
the soul is finally freed
to move
and be moved...

while the inner witness, the impersonal self, oversees the happening...
with care and steady calm, it guides the soul's inner suffering,
reminding it to allow all feelings
and let them flow as they must.

until the soul wakes up
suddenly
and realizes

that perhaps the suffering does not belong to it alone.

perhaps this suffering is just something that comes,
impersonally,
larger than the very small story of one small being,
something that cannot be owned, trapped, or specifically named.

perhaps this suffering really belongs to another--
and another, and another...

in time, without hurry, the soul realizes
that this is truly the universal suffering of humanity itself,
which belongs to no one at all,
for this is the suffering that exists only because it must...

...and is only released once clearly seen in all its grandeur...

and with this realization, the breath comes
and the suffering is given space to live
and to move onwards
and outwards
through the body, mind, and soul.

this is how
the pain leads us home

when we choose to stop
allow
and follow.