Creating New Ground

“Storms make trees take deeper roots.”

~Dolly Parton

Words cannot truly express the inner weeping that I know so many of our hearts are experiencing at this pivotal time on the planet.  
 
I wrote a newsletter a week and half ago with the intention of sending it out last week.  In light of the unfolding of the events I made the choice to hit the pause, to not put my words out but rather to listen, to witness, and to open my heart to the unbelievable injustices and pain and suffering that has been going on for entirely too long and is now being magnified.  

We are being called to change on the most fundamental level.  It is our job to show up for this life that we have been chosen to be a part of.  

We are all alive today to create impact.  

So I am choosing to focus on what I can do rather than what I cannot do.  What I can do is show up every single day. Meet life with the whole of myself.  Meet others with kindness and compassion and love.  What I can do is educate myself and educate my child and commit to raising a child in a conscious and aware home. 
 
What I can do is support.  

I can support others to find that inner resource during this time of unbelievable upheaval and pain. To support others to come into their bodies and connect with their hearts in feeling themselves so that they may show up every day in their own lives from a place of wholeness.  Not from a place of defeat or reactivity but from a place of strength and courage and presence.  

What I can do is take care of myself to the best of my ability in every moment so that I can support others.  So that I can be a light in this tunnel that we are collectively in.  I can be that support and hope and perhaps bring some inspiration and comfort into even one life during these wild times.  

I acknowledge these are uncharted waters…the ever-unfolding week-by-week of our collective trauma…I cannot even begin to touch the bigger issues at play here.  What I can do is show up with the whole of who I am, well-intentioned and humble.     
 
It is so critical to really feel the outrage and unbelievable grief at how astray this country has become under such anti-human, harmful, and dsyfunctional "leadership"(I am putting it mildly!). We are seeing the impact of this on every screen that we own and, for so many, right there up close and personal in their communities and homes.  

We cannot run from it, we cannot hide or turn our backs on what is happening.  Instead, we must use this as an impetus for change. Personal change, collective change, communal change, systemic change.  

We cannot ignore this call. 

As much as I want to crawl into bed and pull the covers over my head or hide up in the mountains somewhere indefinitely -- praying that this all passes without more lives being lost -- I will continue to show up for this life.  

I hope that you will join me.    

Whether you are moved to protest on the front lines, offer your services to those who are in need of them, and/or cultivate and deepen in practices so that you navigate this time awake and embodied….any action on behalf of humanity is crucial right now.  

We also cannot allow this time to discourage us from living and connecting and appreciating being alive.  If anything, we are being given an opportunity to deepen into our own bodies, our own broken hearts, our own unstable lives and truly create some practices that will support us so that we can support others.  

To me, there is no other option.  

My original offering to you still feels of value. It is about creating new ground in midst of so much unknown, unpredictability, and unrest.  To me, this is the time to cultivate, re-enliven, and deepen into practices that anchor us into our bodies so that we can continue to meet this unfolding with presence and connection.  

Learning how to create steadiness and ground in the wake of a storm requires diligent practice.  

We are living in tender times to say the least. Each day, each week brings with it a whole wave of emotion and information to digest and assimilate. Any sense of stability or ground that we may have had prior to this pandemic I can boldly say has been lifted and what remains is the raw, vulnerable, heart-wrenching reality that we are collectively witnessing unfold.  
 
It is critical to create new ground for ourselves as individuals so as to be of greater service to the whole, even if that means to your closest community and family members.  Every impact is important right now.  
 
Creating new ground in the ever-changing landscape of this time of pandemic is no small task. Everything is shifting constantly and it is truly time to anchor ourselves more deeply into our lives.  
 
Many find ourselves searching to find new ground in midst of a constantly evolving, extremely unsettled and unknown sense of structure or lack thereof.  It is a time of orienting and allowing this new flavor of life land in our bodies, in our hearts, and in our lives on the whole.
 
One of the most potent actions that we can all take as individuals in support of the collective navigation is to create, implement, and re-enliven practices which lead us to cultivating peace in our bodies and openness in our hearts.  
 
It truly is an inside job and it is up to us to do what we need to to create a solid platform and foundation so that we may meet the days ahead.  
 
What can we do during these days of confusion?  How can we access a new way of living and being in midst of the swirls of unknown and upheaval?
 
Each day we have the opportunity to begin anew, to try new ways, to cultivate some semblance of ground underneath us in midst of the lack of ground.
 
Please remember to be gentle, kind, and compassionate with yourselves. This is not easy terrain to navigate and all that we can do is strive to do our very best in each moment.  
 
Honoring that this new space of ground may look and feel quite different than any other space we have been in before.  That our time in this current scenario is quite different than anything we have experienced before.  
 
It is truly a bit of trial and error as what used to work may no longer.  

For me, the creation of new ground in my own life involves what I call “non-negotiable practices”.  I do some iteration of each of the below every day in support of staying steady, balanced, open, and awake during these wild times:  
 

• A practice to work with the mind:  For me, meditation is the medicine for everything.  Any practice to give you the opportunity to work with your mind with consciousness will greatly serve.  

• A self-reflective outlet:   For me, writing is my connect point in self-reflection.  It could be creating art, singing, talking to a friend or trusted professional.  Anything that gives you that dialogue with your deepest inner self and the truth that is alive. 

• A practice that drops one into the body:  During this time, I am doing a lot of gentle unwinding yoga, taking slow mindful walks and hikes, kitchen and living room dance parties, and/or conscious movement with connection to my breath and the subtleties of my body.  This could be any embodied practice that keeps you feeling attuned to your body as you navigate the ever-changing landscape of the outer world. A hot bath does wonders to connect to the body! 

• Connection to the natural world:  Nature is so grounding and is such a deep healer for the heart and soul. If you have access to the natural world, immerse yourself as often as possible.  Feel the sun on your face, hear the rustling of the leaves of the trees as they sway with the winds, stand next to a tall tree and access their strength and stability.  

• Time in quiet:  Taking time to just BE quiet with oneself is such a crucial aspect of staying connected to ourselves and creating new ground in midst of the outer world chaos. Even moments can do wonders to calm the nervous system, locate oneself in space, and attune to our inner needs and rhythms.  

 
 
This is a potent time on so many levels.  
 
As the Dalai Lama said so powerfully, “We can never obtain peace in the outer world until we make peace with ourselves”.   
 
Peace begins within and ripples out to the whole through our relations, our families, our children, our communities. 

Every act on our own behalf is important. 

We are the only ones who can truly create change in our lives.  

May we use this time of disturbance to keep our eyes wide open, hearts soft, and deepen in our own inner connection so that we may impact the greater good.  
 
Give yourselves lots of space to breathe, to love, to open, to listen, and to BE.  
 
Dig deep and get rooted in the BEING of your life.
 
We are all in this together.