This is something that has been coming up for me lately. What is my work? How do I best support myself, my children, my partner, and my family of origin and of choice? Is it my job to make my kids happy? To protect them from all the really hard feelings? When do I step in to help my loved ones and when is it best to listen and simply hold space for them?
Separating the clear from the turbid is the job of the Spleen in Traditional Chinese Medicine. The Spleen is a metaphor for our digestion and metabolism, but interestingly the negative emotion associated with the Spleen is worry. We all know that worry can zap our life force; It is essentially projecting negativity into the future. It is particularly unhelpful when it takes us out of the present or when it arises at 3 AM, exactly the time when we should be resting to be ready for whatever the next day will bring.
It is an exercise of the brain and heart (deeply interconnected in Chinese Medicine) to sort through and let what is most important arise. Our intellect can only manage a certain number of things well, but our hearts have unlimited capacity for all of it, and with greater wisdom.
This is why maintaining a daily spiritual practice is so crucial to navigating our lives with purpose and love.
We do not exist alone, and we must overcome this illusion and remember that our worries are not just our own. We are held by the earth and connected with all the animate beings. In order to internalize that connection, we must create the space to focus, listen, pray, and come back home to what really matters.
