No, they’re not new smurfs. I’ve been hearing a lot of reports from people that they’re raw, overextended, or just plain done. I’ve also been hearing from my students, who are actively and consciously working on their issues, about the pointed opportunities to practice the skills and tools they’re developing. I suspect that everyone is being presented with the same opportunities, there are just different perspectives at play.

Patterns are an opportunity to heal a past wound. Every time that pattern comes up, it’s our higher self asking to heal. When we finally do that healing, the pattern changes.

Those issues which require the most healing are the ones that trigger us. A trigger is a very loud request. Sadly, most of us duck and cover, or run away, rather than taking our power back and healing the wound.

When I see wide swaths of people with loud and painful issues coming up all at once, it signals to me a paradigm shift barreling down on us. It’s the last gasp of the dying ego. It’s the higher self pleading for resolution. It’s that flurry of last-minute packing the night before a move or a long trip. The urgency itself can be overwhelming, and healing falls by the wayside. The whole process is somewhat counterintuitive.

Instead of shrinking back, though, lean in. Run toward, rather than away from, the growth opportunities. Give as much earth energy as you can, rather than pulling your own energy away. View every challenge as practice; it’s the only way to shift it.

May you be the light of the world!