The Myth of Happily Ever After

Happy Summer to you, wherever you are! 
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These early days of summer at Sweet Water Retreat have been filled with so many joyful times already. Slowing down and catching up have been front and center in my life recently. I have had cherished friends and family come to visit from far and wide. We have been basking in the long warm days and cool nights that are common in the Sierra foothills of Northern California, throughly enjoying sweet summertime activities. Sharing relaxed meals on the deck, hiking in nature, dangling feet in the cool creek, and enjoying live music in this charming small town have been deeply satisfying. Life simply doesn't get any better. 

​Our most joyful experiences often occur when we feel deeply connected with others in nourishing ways. Yet, we sometimes unconsciously stop ourselves from deeply connecting because the pain of disconnection can be intense and hard to move through gracefully.

We have all felt the sting of disconnection, in large and small ways. At some time or another, you reached out to someone and they turned away. A once cherished relationship ended or radically changed. Someone you believed in betrayed your trust. Maybe your child grew up and moved away. Or your beloved partner, parent or friend died.

And there you were feeling the pain of disconnection, longing for the warm glow of healthy intimate connection. Instead you felt empty, alone, and sore to the bone.

The unresolved pain of feeling disconnected robs us of joy and sometimes keep us from creating new connections.

Yet, disconnection isn’t inherently painful or sad. Sometimes holding on to the ideas about how life should be unfolding is more painful than the actual experience of disconnection and separation. One of the reasons disconnection can feel so bad is that we often believe in the myth of 'happily ever after'.

The myth goes something like this...

Anything good should last forever, right? And if it doesn’t, something went horribly wrong.

But, what if the myth of 'happily ever after' isn’t even remotely true?

What if the temporal nature of experience is one of the elements that makes life so good?

What if the experiences of connection and disconnection are essential parts of the natural cycles of life?
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Connection and disconnection are like night and day. They are complimentary polarities, each with unique gifts to give. What if it is perfectly natural for one cycle of connection to end and another to gracefully begin?

We don't cry when the sun goes down, because we have faith that it will rise again. And in the meantime we get to enjoy the cool dark of night. 

Can we learn to face the pain of disconnection with calm abiding, confident that we will again experience the warmth of intimate connection?

As hard as it can be, disconnection also opens the door to creating rich and nourishing new connections. 

​​​​​​​Maybe the biggest myth of all is that disconnection even truly exists. 

When we really get that we are always connected to everyone and everything as parts of this one magnificent life, that's when the real 'happily ever after' begins.

In loving connection,​​​​​​​
Ariana

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