Marianne Williamson: Don’t run from pain

Life can be painful.

This may sound like a pretty negative thing to say but having had numerous painful periods in my life, I believe so much suffering people experience comes from trying to avoid it.

Which is why I’m excited to share with you my recent conversation with one of my all time favorite authors, Marianne Williamson. What I love most about Marianne is her fierce commitment to saying what she feels needs to be said, even if it’s not what people want to hear. Myself included. The first time we met she admonished me for ‘diminishing myself’… something we laugh about in the video below.

When we run from what is causing our pain, we set ourselves up to feel more of it. Only by having the courage to confront and sit with it can we be freed from it.

Marianne’s passion for shining a light on that which she feels needs attention is what compelled her to write her latest book. From Tears To Triumph focuses on how we can experience life’s dark and painful periods with greater courage and compassion and, in doing so, spare ourselves (and others) unnecessary suffering.

Our happiness obsessed culture has given birth to an ‘epidemic of depression.’ Unwilling to confront what has created the discord in our lives, or to simply feel the depth of our ache, we set ourselves up to feel more of it.

“Sometimes those sleepless nights, as painful as they are, are necessary for our own healing and growth.” – Marianne Williamson

As Marianne shared with me, “Sometimes those sleepless nights, as painful as they are, are necessary for our own healing and growth.” There is nothing wrong about feeling sad or down on life. It’s normal. Yet we do ourselves (and others) a profound disservice when try to numb or deny it rather than to look at what part we’ve played (or are playing) that has us feeling this way.

I hope you’ll make some time to listen to our conversation where we also talk about raising brave self-reliant children, overcoming self-doubt, letting Grace flow in to our lives and so much more!

I’d love to know what your own experience of moving from tears to triumph; from emerging through difficult periods in your life with a deeper appreciation for what they taught you.
As Marianne shares in her book, ‘The greatest opportunity for humanity in the twenty-first century is not in widening our external horizons, but in deepening our internal ones.” This applies as much to each of us on a personal level as it does collectively.

Here’s to deeper horizons and braver living.

Want to hear more of Margie’s conversations with Marianne? Subscribe to the Live Brave Podcast to hear their conversation about stepping into your power to change the world or read more on the blog at  Your Playing Small Serves No One