Into me, you see

Come close.

Be near.

Gather in.

I want you to know.

Hear me. I’ll listen. Together we’ll be. 

Into me, you see.

Intimacy.

We long to be known, to be cherished, to be seen. To be loved. Our soul desires this unspoken connection, this cosmic unity. We take steps and make decisions all in the reflexive manner to satisfy our innate desire for intimacy. Consciously or unconsciously, we move throughout this life in relation to our desire to be seen. Is this not the joy that whispers in our hearts? The warm peace that settles in our bellies? Or even, how the loud dictator in our head is directed? 

How does intimacy show up in your life?

Let's explore this. A common place we see this desire present itself is in our personal relationships; with our spouse/partner/lover, our friendships, and our family. But can we expand our gaze a little further, our longing for intimacy can be found in all relationships. The relationships we have with our jobs, food, sex, status, shopping, animals, social media, and our homes. So often we wade through these relationships with beings, objects, and situations in an effort to produce that connection, affirmation, sense of belonging we so desire. May we reflect and see where we have even craved, clawed, shamed, sacrificed, and abused in these relationships in order to feel that whisper of being known in our heart, that peace of oneness in our bellies, and to have the dictator in our head tell us that we aren’t alone. We may experience moments of this intimacy I am describing. Maybe a big project at work, an ‘I love you’ from a child, an attentive spouse, a great hamburger for dinner, a full body orgasm, the perfect pair of jeans,  a cuddle from our pup, a like on instagram, or walking in to a clean house after a long day. These moments are bliss, we get a taste of what it feels like to be seen, to have our desire be satisfied. But these moments are fleeting, so the cycle to recreate them begins anew.

Maybe you have never experienced an intimacy that didn’t include hurt, fear, or doubt, leaving the desire of intimacy scary, shameful, full of guilt, and destructive. The intimacy then is only experienced through our connection to pain. We in turn are attracted to the relationships in our life that create tension, situations that make us want to go numb, or feel separated from ourselves because it has been shown to us that intimacy can only come from pain. There can be a sense of belonging even in the pain of life. But is this the answer to satisfying the unwavering, unending desire for intimacy our soul knows? No, the intimacy of pain is temporary as well and the cycle to seek more pain continues, creating more misery than intimacy. 

In these examples, we attempt to find the origin of our intimacy in the things that live outside of us and in return have failed to satisfy the desire to be known. 

These cycles can feel endless and out of our control when the origin of intimacy is misplaced. The truth we often forget is that intimacy originated within us. It is found in the very fiber of our being. Our longing to come close, to gather in and be near is foundational to our lives. 

This is our design. You see, intimacy is literally written into our DNA, spoken into our souls before birth. The soul cannot ever eliminate the very desire it was created in. To be intimate. In unity, in love, in closeness we were first known. We were formed in the very presence and place of intimacy. Into me, you see. We all came into this world through the intimacy of our parents and in oneness with our mother. Here we knew her and she us. We have always been whole, never deficient, or without. The fact that we can recognize intimacy in our environment, even just glimpses of it, reminds us that it was never a choice to seek intimacy, it was there before we even were aware.

So in this moment, can we become aware of how we are striving, craving, abusing, and manufacturing intimacy? Hear me when I say, there is no shame, blame or guilt to be carried here. We can acknowledge without judgment that we have been sold the lie in one form or another that we will only be known, loved, and seen if it is given to us from our environment. Believing we must obtain this longing from outside of us. We are driven then to demand intimacy when in reality our environment is actually just a reflection of what has always resided within us. If we choose to see that intimacy first begins in the knowing of our own soul in connection to our creator; the origin of our first intimate relationship then is actually with ourselves. Seeing ourselves, our mind, our body, and soul in unity. This is love. You can be known by you. 

When we are one within ourselves and all other relationships are just gifts reminding us that we are all connected, never alone, always cared for, seen. Once this truth is known, you can’t unsee how intimacy is everywhere. And with new eyes and a soul that already knows itself intimately, it doesn’t have to look to the external to provide satisfaction but delight. It is then not earned or restricted for only a specific person, situation, or place but is with us always. We are free to see, love, hold, gather, and reflect the beauty of intimacy to everyone and all things.

Will you have the courage, the vulnerability, and acceptance to see that intimacy is as near as your next heartbeat? You see you. Into me, I see. Your soul cannot help but find and desire connection in everything. As intimacy expands from our internal to external, Joy grows from a whisper into a roar, peace moves from our bellies to take up residence in our bodies, and the dictator in our head becomes our champion. Striving can cease, demanding can be surrendered, and expectations can fall away. Be here now. You are seen. You see you and that same intimacy you recognize in yourself is all around you waiting to be acknowledged. Are you able to see everything as an extension of the intimacy within yourself? 

Into me, you see. Into you, I see, Into, me I see. We are one. I am beloved, You are beloved. I cherish you because I cherish me. I love that I get to be near you, hold you, see you because what is in you is in me and that which is found in me is found in you.

Intimately.