Wholeness

For decades I have taught about healing into wholeness. But what is wholeness, really? The dictionary defines it as a “complete and harmonious whole” or the “state of being unbroken or undamaged.” When it comes to an object, that’s easy to picture. But what about human beings? Is there anyone among us who remains untouched by damage, who has never been broken by loss or trauma? I don’t think so. To live in human form is to know brokenness, and sometimes even physical damage. Perhaps living well through those experiences is the very training ground that allows us to learn and grow.

When trauma strikes, the first step is to stay fully awake with it. That alone is a workout, because the instinct is to curl up, to hide, or to bury the pain deep inside. For me, loss often brings a haze, as if I’m moving through the world on autopilot. It can be excruciating to admit I am not okay; to accept that I feel shattered into a million pieces. But falling apart is the first step toward wholeness.

Wholeness does not come from pretending I was never broken. It comes from acknowledging the rubble and climbing, step by step, up and out of it. Healing does not always mean fixing what was damaged. Sometimes that simply isn’t possible. If someone I love dies, I cannot undo that. When illness appears, my work is to create an inner environment that gives my body every chance to heal. Even in the presence of what cannot be repaired, I can still move toward wholeness.

I often say: the goal of the medical model is curing; the goal of the healing model is peace. Healing is inner work, the daily practice of cultivating harmony and completeness, regardless of what is happening in the body. Building an inner climate of peace is a moment-by-moment practice. I am the only one who thinks my thoughts, the only one who responds to my emotions. Even in the roughest seas, I can rest in my lifeboat, rising and falling with the waves.

Our world carries much brokenness. Each of us has the power to contribute to wholeness by tending peace within our own small piece of Earth’s body. The energy of that peace radiates outward, rippling into the collective field.

A Blessing for the Journey:

Today, may you walk gently and peacefully into the deepest state of wholeness you can embody.

-Robin