What supports you in moving forward when the path in front of you is obscured or unclear? How have you made it through moments of unknown and uncertainty in your life?
These are the questions I am sitting with (again) at this moment in my life.
As someone living in the United States, I am again faced with the unknown of an election, which will have significant repercussions. No one really knows how it will go. Even after the votes come in, there is a lot of speculation about what will happen next.
As a human living in this world, I am sitting with the deep desire for things to be different than they are.
(And this is likely how most humans have felt throughout history.)
I want there to be less pain and suffering. I am especially sitting with a clenched heart when I continue to see the images and horror coming out of the war in Gaza. I am desperate for the reality of the Palestinian people to be different now and in the future. I want the war to stop, not spread. And yet, peace feels out of reach.
As I wait for the next news to drop about a natural disaster, I think about the well-being of all the people I know in the place and all of the people I do not know.
I can be carried out to sea when I consider the scope of human suffering.
My mind can go to places that say there is nothing to be done to help and that I should deny myself joy when the suffering is so great.
I know that is a very dangerous story.
It prevents me from joining the wave of humans throughout history who have not given up and have pushed the long arc of justice forward.
And it stops me from living out my full humanity in this one lifetime.
So what to do instead?
I have to anchor down first.
For me, anchoring down means:
- slowing down enough to be in touch with my own being, body, and breath,
- knowing my core values at this time and remembering what is important to me,
- connecting to my larger purposes,
- tuning into the longer timeline of the planet,
- and connecting into appreciation.
I have a set of practices that help me do this.
However, there are various ways to do this – from traditions and rituals across the globe.
The primary ingredients are to slow down, reflect, connect with your breath, and other humans outside of tasks, and connect with other forms of life (plants, animals).
If you are lost in the woods, you are not supposed to run.
Your first move is to stop and get your bearings. The next move might even be to stay still.
When the world swirls around me, and I am overwhelmed by the unknowns and possible catastrophes, I have learned that slowing down and dropping my anchor always needs to come first.
This is the only way I can then turn out and support others.
Your turn – what is the simplest way you can drop an anchor and slow down?
How can you add a moment of pause and connection into your day today?
Of course, slowing down and connecting internally and externally is not the only thing we need to do in times of uncertainty. If we stay in the pause, we can get stuck. We need support, actions, and maybe even a plan.
Stay tuned for my next note where I will dive deeper into what I do after I slow down.