Daily, the phrase “To human is hard” enters my thoughts. This reality becomes even weightier with Oxford Dictionary’s 2024 word of the year, “brain rot,” defined as a “supposed deterioration of a person’s mental or intellectual state, especially from consuming too much trivial online content.” Just one more complexity to work to ward off as we navigate the new year.

As humans, we carry around a lot of baggage: insecurities, assumptions, expectations, old wounds, and now brain rot. We can reduce the list by diving deep and doing some “hard human work” in an attempt to overcome and achieve more balance and peace.

Some of the hardest parts of life’s path present themselves when we don’t do the hard human work. Often, we decide to put unaddressed issues on the backburner, and other times we don’t even realize they are there — until they are.

Regardless of unaddressed life management, we must feel everything, be vulnerable and love ourselves through all the feelings. Because to be human is to ache with both sorrow and joy.

The adage that life is 10,000 joys and 10,000 sorrows is a good reminder. The more we can accept our messy human lives, the more we can bring kindness to ourselves and others. Choosing to stop fighting who we are helps us grow into who we are fully meant to be.

In the poem, “The Guest House,” the ancient poet Rumi wrote: This being human is a guest house. Every morning a new arrival. A joy, a depression, a meanness, some momentary awareness comes as an unexpected visitor. Welcome and entertain them all!

Our ability to remain receptive to our ever-changing guest house rests in taking cues from nature. To combat what we perceive as “hard,” we can look for the “soft.” Soft invites acceptance. Pause and take in your environment without reacting to it or looking for short-term gain, which is often not as rewarding as anticipated. We can look at trees that go dormant for long periods of time and appreciate transition, knowing we possess these same tendencies within. Similarly, a wildflower does not bloom every season and does not feel obligated to do so.

Recently, the non-vascular, spore-bearing land plant moss provided me with lessons. Moss uses the environment by absorbing C02 and emitting oxygen. It reinforces earth by minimizing erosion and is strong enough to deteriorate stone. In many cultures, moss represents renewal, resilience and the interconnectedness of all living things. What a powerfully light, soft verdant teacher.

When challenged with the human experience, try this mantra: “Be soft like moss.” This simple phrase can move us from a state of hard ego-posturing to soft, mindful receptivity, welcoming peace and openness.

May our lives be soft like moss as we work hard to be fully human.

Jennifer Di Francesco is a wellness explorer and desert adventurist and can be reached at www.coachellabellaboho.com.