God did answer the call and sent a shadow so strong it's hard to ignore as you say, Open. It's dark and getting darker out there day by day. So the time is indeed nigh to get into the pain I'm feeling as I witness all the fear, hatred, suffering, injustice, violence, madness and mayhem out there. To feel my heart torn to shreds. To feel my flesh retract from the cruelty. To feel my fear, sorrow, shame, guilt, and rage without bypassing by blaming others and becoming the poor, powerless victim at the mercy of those terrible aggressors. Or by escaping into a false love/light bubble where it can feel better for awhile. Instead, look the beast in the eye without flinching and realize in the deepest depths of my being, "This is not me. This is not who I truly am." So it's time to blow up my illusions into smithereens. And forgive myself for my part in co-creating all of this ugliness in the collective so I can come home to the One I truly am beyond the garbage and the gutter, come home to the higher world where all life is served with respect and compassion. And from that placeless place, act on the powerful surge of aligned rightness that arises from deep within and simply must express. I have my days where it all feels too much and I just want to curl up into a ball in complete exhaustion. So I find I need lots of time alone right now to recharge my batteries so I can get back at it with care and vigilance. After all, you can't keep a divine human down for too long!

Such a perfect song you post to accompany your inspiring message, Open. I felt to post the lyrics since they so aptly speak to my heart and soul in these tumultuous times.

"In this farewell
There's no blood, there's no alibi
'Cause I've drawn regret
From the truth of a thousand lies
So let mercy come and wash away
What I've done

I'll face myself to cross out what I've become
Erase myself
And let go of what I've done

Put to rest what you thought of me
While I clean this slate
With the hands of uncertainty
So let mercy come and wash away
What I've done

I'll face myself to cross out what I've become
Erase myself
And let go of what I've done

For what I've done
I start again
And whatever pain may come
Today this ends
I'm forgiving what I've done

I'll face myself to cross out what I've become
Erase myself
And let go of what I've done

What I've done
Forgiving what I've done."

~What I've Done, Linkin Park

x Cathy