At times we often gaze into the sky, into nothingness, to the stars, to the horizon, to apparent emptiness.

In these times of deep and sincere gazing, we question our place and path. We abstractly enquire into the nature of our existence, of our actions and our feelings.

What does it all mean? Why me? Why the pain? What are the lessons? Is life meant to be this challenging? These are some of the questions we may ask.

These questions and more penetrate our heart and soul. We query our capacity, we question our beliefs and models of reality, we doubt, fear and become apprehensive.

We belittle ourselves sometimes and we devalue our worth. We regret the choices we did not make and those we did. We cannot ‘understand’ nor connect to our power and we feel shame, guilt and pain.

This stops us from being vulnerable and open, engaged and connected to our truth. We become sad for the love we have lost and we become disheartened for the love we have not received.

We dwell on the past and we worry about the future. We struggle to remain present and agitation gets the better of us.

And then…We may breathe. We feel, we move into stillness, silence and solitude. We recalibrate our internal movement and overactive mind and under-feeling heart and we connect to the core of who we are.

We recognize that life is actually a blessing and not a burden. We begin to be attentive to the wonder in the world. We recover from the disharmony and we enter into the spark that is life.

And so the cycle begins once more. We have all been there – these cycles are transient, impermanent and an integral part of growth. But one thing remains true throughout the ebb and flow of life.

Peanut butter always tastes so f*****g good! It’s always dependable and it’s always there as the simplicities of life can once again grant us perspective to liberate us from our attachments and pain.

Peanut butter will always be there. Seriously, who the f**k does not love peanut butter??? You will always have a friend and support in peanut butter.

And if not peanut butter (for some unexplainable reason you are super strange and don’t love peanut butter) then there will always be something else (an experience, person, memory, great love, earthly pleasure) to warm your heart and strengthen your resolve.

You are intrinsically magnificent. Focus on that. Bring that into your heart. Own that. Pay attention to the value that brings in to your life and nurture that experience in your time of need. It will liberate you from limitation and constriction.

You’re welcome.

One is glad to be of service.

STEFANOS SIFANDOS

Relational Alchemist, Speaker & Author