Meditation for When You Are At the End of Your Rope

"I just can't deal with it anymore", is a state of being that is no stranger to any of us. No matter what social media claims, we don't have it all together 100% of the time. We all feel some kind of pain; we all suffer. Life punches us to the ground - we shake it off and put ourselves back into the ring.

And then there are times when there is simply no fight left in us.

Meditation can be life-saving in these moments, with one caveat.

Many people believe you are supposed to be always calm and tranquil in meditation.

That is NOT TRUE.

Meditation is about honesty with the self.

It is about meeting ourselves where we are and addressing our current needs instead of focusing on being sanctimonious.

When our Spirit is broken, giving into that feeling becomes a portal to transcendence. If our hearts are hurting, ignoring the pain or shutting it down to impose artificial calm on our inner world doesn't serve anyone.

You don't want to betray your own tender Soul to meet some unrealistic, fake standards of a perfect meditator.

Our hearts ache when they need our support and attention. And meditation is one of the best places to give ourselves that tender love and care.

Accepting we can no longer hold it together opens the doors for the benevolent forces to take care of us. Call it your Soul, Spirit, Higher Self, God, Chi, prana, universal wisdom, or whatever your preferred word or philosophy is. Something in the Infinite answers the call of human despair.

And if you are in a place where you truly need support, beware of blind positivity, especially if it lacks empathy and discernment. Sometimes, we must admit we are miserable and allow ourselves to fall apart. Then, the structures that maintain our current state of affairs loosen up, and our lives can change. This mini giving up allows us to keep going on a bigger scale. We give up the rigid ideas of how things should be to clear space for something NEW.

Here is how it works on a practical level:

If your job is toxic and is slowly killing you, there is only a certain extent to which you can convince yourself to be positive about it. Once that extent has been reached, it is best to pull out that resume out of the drawer and start updating it. If you are meditating in these moments, frustration, dissatisfaction, and gloom might knock on the door in your meditation, and if so, don't push them out. These feelings are simply an indicator that the status quo is no longer HEALTHY. Switching jobs is scary, but staying at a job that gives you ulcers might be more damaging long term.

Honor your feelings and find a compassionate way to let your body know that you are listening. "I hear you, and I will do my best to address your needs", can soothe the pain and give you enough energy to change the course of your life.