You know their spirit

I was lying awake the other night, struggling to fall asleep, and I spent some time reflecting on my relationships. Not close ones either, but more like acquaintances, friends of friends or even past friendships that fell apart. I started to think about how I felt about the person, and my most recent reference point was a social media post, an interaction over Facebook Messenger, or maybe an uncomfortable conversation. These triggered parts of me that saw them in a negative light, through the lens of the discomfort in my body or the anger or judgment I felt towards them at some point in the past, or even presently today.

But then something beautiful happened. I began to visualise their faces, most notably their eyes, the "doorway to the soul," and I felt like I could sense their energy versus a mental idea of who I judged them to be. It was like I could see the totality of their being versus the mentally constructed idea that focuses less on who they are and more on what I think about them. It was as though I could see them, the true them, for the first time in a long time. The warmth of their spirit was apparent, and I felt the sensation of their energy and the impact it had on me. I also felt a softening of my parts that hold rigid beliefs about our differences.

So I propose there is a theory here about how the distortion of social media is so convoluted that we betray our innate capacity to be with a person's spirit. To sense into that deeper knowing that goes beyond any interactions we had with them in this life, that doesn't rely on the nervous system's assessment of safety or morality. It's a simple recognition of life. Like we are looking out from the void, sensing a node of consciousness that can feel and sense everything just as we do. Instead of analysing and interpreting... our spirit comes forward and simply acknowledges and confirms that this is in fact another entity that contains spirit.

I wish I had this child-like, non-judgmental lens every day. It revealed to me how deeply corrupt our views of humanity can become when we are spending so much time in a social filter that doesn't take into consideration our felt sense of spirit. So I spent some time that night, returning to the innocence of my heart-felt openness towards these people that I thought I knew. This doesn't excuse the reality of suffering people cause others, and I know that forgiveness does not require us to forget about the pain and suffering of this world. But I think we could all benefit from suspending the judgments, the resentments, the criticism and even the hate that is perpetuated by a machination that is disconnected from spirit. Even just for a moment, to imagine how that person's spirit glows and radiates the same way ours does, that their heart longs for connection and love even though many are encased in a cage of trauma and pain.

So even if we disagree/uphold different values, regardless of the anger I feel, or how much my mind wants me to protest your existence, I feel called to take a breath and reassess. With this recognition, I'm going to take more time to remember the simple truth that I do, in fact, know their spirit. And the mind-bending influence of social media doesn't have any sway over that.