There’s an illusion we carry in these bodies—one so ancient and persistent, we often forget it’s not real. It is the illusion of separation.

And from that illusion, pain arises. A pain so deep and so human that we sometimes try to rid ourselves of it by handing it off to someone else.

But the ache of believing ourselves to be separate—from life, from love, from each other, ultimately from whatever you call God—cannot be offloaded in that way. When we pass our pain to another through blame, anger, or judgment, we do not lighten the burden. We multiply it. Their suffering deepens, and so does ours. The wound of separation grows.

If you’re hurting, release your pain—but not into the heart of another soul.

Offer it instead to the great Presence that holds all things. Lay it down at the feet of awareness. Let it be received by the Divine flow, where everything is transformed in Love.

There are always consequences—not as punishment, but as a natural return of energy. Everything we do, everything we speak, everything we feel… echoes. The universe is not cruel, but it is exquisitely precise. What we send out circles back, often in quiet, aching ways meant only to awaken us.

And in time, we do awaken. We begin to see: the love we’ve been longing for has never been absent. It has always lived within us, silently waiting beneath the noise of forgetting.

It has never been separate. Just unseen for a while.

So when pain rises again—as it will, in moments of confusion or fear—meet it with gentleness. Take responsibility for it, not in shame, but in love. Tend to it. Let it soften you. Let it guide you home to your own center, where love still lives—whole, unbroken, untouched.

Please, do not hand your pain to others. If you must offer something, let it be your compassion. Your quiet presence. Your love.

Help each other remember. Care for one another. This is why we are here.

Nigel Lott teaandzen.org

Get full access to Tea and Zen - Meditation Sans Frontieres at teaandzen.substack.com/subscribe