Here I am.

Here I am. I have witnessed the pain of loved ones, colleagues, clients, and nothing could fill the void of being truly listened to. The connections that transformed where the ones where authenticity could flourish. Where stories were exchanged, in confidence. Where touch was used, to replenish, not harvest energy source. In selfless giving. The constant push for inner work, however beneficial, will never truly ripen if we do not integrate in practice with others.

For a long time I felt like I was clenching. Clenching and gripping tight to my armor. Putting up walls around my heart. I was yearning to find spaces to exist in without it. So I made a promise to myself that I am creating the places where myself and others do not have to stay braced all the time. We are not a constant improvement project. We are symbiosis. We are permeable beings. Influenced easy by the tides, the seasons, and the living beings in proximity to us.

Who are we if not in relation to the other?

masks from San Juan’s Art Museum, May 2026

As I get myself together for the work with coffee in the morning. Meanwhile in the other room a Tom Petty C.D I borrowed from the library plays —

And the days went by like paper in the wind
Everything changed then changed again
It's hard to find a friend
It's hard to find a friend

— I start to remember flashbacks of moments between friends & loved ones. The beautiful moments, and the complicated ones. These flashbacks and memories sometimes comparable to prophetic visions of the tangled web of life. If I share joy, more joy spreads. If I share misery, discontentment, fear, that spreads instead. Coming down from mind entrapment is similar to coming out of a deep meditation.

As we come out of the highly visual world of silence in meditation, I try to remember that stillness is not an escape. It’s a homecoming. The quiet I touch here within is the same cave within all of us — a place where the nervous system rests, where the heart remembers its natural rhythm.

Stillness clarifies perception and softens reactivity. From that ground, we can respond instead of react. We can offer presence that calms instead of amplifies. When we nourish that inner well, our outer action flows with courage, clarity, and compassion. Joy, when shared, never decreases.

So we return here to this stillness not to hide from the world, but to meet it — steady, awake, and loving. Be still… then show up.

 Carry your inner fire into the storm. I’ll speak to you soon.

With love and warmth,

Santosha