Space Be Held — Empowered Living

"On the journey of the warrior-bodhisattva, the path goes down, not up, as if the mountain pointed toward the earth instead of the sky. Instead of transcending the suffering of all creatures, we move toward turbulence and doubt however we can. We explore the reality and unpredictability of insecurity and pain, and we try not to push it away. If it takes years, if it takes lifetimes, we let it be as it is."-Pema Chodron

None of us is insulated from the impacts of this crisis. We are all navigating an unfamiliar level of intensity in the emotional landscape, and it is vital that we cast, hold and nurture safe space to feel what we are feeling.

Space be held for the discomfort, for the dis-ease and for the screeching uncertainty.

Space be held for the fears, the tears, the restlessness and the sleeplessness.

Space be held for the anger, the loss, the instability and the grief.

Space be held for the overwhelming.

Positivity alone will not balance the tip on which humanity is crawling right now.

Bypassing the intensity of this transition through negating the fears, the tensions, the apprehensions will not ease our navigation.

Now is not the time to set development goals.

Now is not the time to fix self.

Now is the time to sit with the emerging rising suffering and move through and toward this turbulence and doubt however we can.

Now is the time to step into the dance of dark, immersing fully into the discomfort, without fixing, without shooing, without shying away.

Now is the time to gather self, ground in courage, build resilience for the weeks, months and years to come.

In weeks, months and years to come, this world will be called to step up for unpreceded mental, emotional, psychological and financial support, guidance and healing.

Now is the time to practice showing up vulnerably with our fears, our doubts, our confusions, our emotions, our feelings.

Now is the time to delineate what belongs to us and what belongs to the other, for this delineation will teach us to draw lines and own individual and collective responsibility for our inner and outer worlds.

Now is the time to sit with our fears, with the intent seeing, feeling, hearing and witnessing our seeing, hearing, feeling, touching, smelling, sensing and thinking. Through this process of meeting and facing, we will be humbled and opened deeper, for this opening and depth will be needed in weeks, months and years to come.

Some paddle strides on how to navigate through the anxiety:

1. Acknowledging the raising emotions

Denying the rising waves will worsen things ahead. Ahead can be just a day away or an hour away.

Acknowledge that which is showing up. Acknowledging does not mean we have to like it or dislike.

Acknowledging your fears, your worries, your discomfort, your emotions does not make of you weak, but rather this act of acknowledging opens possibilities to see through this phase and openings to explore.

2. What are the facts and what are the fictions?

While we are endless coating our worries, this coating will not last for long.

Now is the time to ask self: what is real? What are fictions?

This intense sense of unsafe that I feel inside, what are the facts and what are the fictions?

What are I am feeling unsafe about?

Is it death?

Is it the roaring ripple of what I have lived, what I have gained, what I have accumulated are whooshing past my grip?

3. Grounding

Grounding is the act of becoming present to your physical body.

In this time of hyper arousal, we are many to be dwelling in non-stop thinking, unspoken rage, heightened fears of the unknown and possibilities of irrevocable lost, pains and wounds.

Ground yourself.

The simplest act of breathing and move your attention to your hands, touching your hands, looking at your feet.

A simple exercise, start becoming present to our hands and feet.

Pressing our hands, walking with deep awareness on our feet.

Each time, panic rises, pause and press your palms, touch your fingers and become aware of nature within your nature.

Please find link to a simple grounding exercise and feel free to repeat same over and over again in coming days.

GROUNDING EXERCISE

You may want to guide your kids, your close ones and your family through this exercise.

4. Support

Reach out for support, to support and to be supported.

The act of reaching out for support, to support and to be supported asks of us that we show up vulnerably, open, willing and ready to connect with self and others.

Support is to start home.

Now is the time to engage in deep honest conversations with your family, your children, your community.

What can be sustained over the long term?

What can no longer be sustained?

Who is to step up to own responsibility?

What new structures do we need now onwards?

Community is build, enhanced, nurtured and sustained through cohesive support to and for one another

5. Boundaries

Grounding is pre-requisite to dwelling in the quality of safety and safety does not exist without boundaries.

Boundaries are about deciding what is allowed in our space when, where, why and this process of deciding is dynamic, ever changing to be negotiated over and over again.

Now is the time to decide what you will allow in your space in terms of information, content, drama, people and energy.

Now is the time to choose and to draw boundaries.

Boundaries find their roots in our core values.

Now is the time to move back to our values, if not to uncover our values.

From this uncovering, may we be brave enough to assess whether our current living structures are built on these values.

From this view, we will be called to choose, whether to keep moving against our values or to gather strength and brave through the doubts and unseen, rooting new roots for an unknown future.

May we become mirrors of

To and for one another

This will pass | This phase will pass | This wave will pass

May we learn to honor

The Ugly, The Dirty, The Discomfort, The Filthy, The Unknown

The Uncertain, The Unclear

The Differences, The Diversities, The Divergences

May we be reminded

It is only up to us to find our way through this phase

May we be learn to

Respect self and others through this navigation

Love from my heart to yours

Megha Venketasamy

Feel free to reach out be it to share your concerns, your fears, your worries,your experiences, your insights, I am here, open, observing and holding space for us all.

Image source: @Unsplash

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