"Sometimes I wake up with anxiety as I feel the pain and suffering of the world. I know that emotional pain is always a tough subject and facing it and doing something about it is really our most important task of the day.

Over the last 48 hours, I have heard the pain, fear and struggles in people's voices and in their words. Every experience and each person has their own journey with the highs and lows that take them inside to feel or into distraction with denial. Physical pain seems to be more acceptable to talk about, yet the emotions drip off of every word. How we feel cannot be hidden and this is where compassion can create the safe place for release.

I find myself feeling my heart heavy and it is a constant opportunity for me to let go of any attachment to someone's pain as I feel my own sadness it is bringing me to. Once I acknowledge my own experience I can then choose life and celebrate in the moment I explode into the love of my heart.

I feel alive here...in this moment of truth. I am here....fully and I am living with a deeper connection of peace as the energy of life flows freely through me."

Colleen Hoffman Smith