Thank you, Amanda. I can relate on so many levels! Feeling what we feel...allowing it to wash over us...focusing on the good/beauty/peace/presence/love in front of us...letting go...trusting...all while feeling the breath of life flowing in and around us...
Beautifully written! I really feel so many of us are in this liminal space - not quite who we were, not quite who we are becoming. But so many glimmers of what is to come to be grateful for 🙌
I am so glad I have people around me - such as yourself - so I stay anchored in these changing times.
How I am: Well, I no longer think I am going to end up on life support, which is a plus. What helps me do the best I can: Meditation, so that I know I am not alone here and someone/s is/are sometimes willing to explain the things that happen. Writing, which keeps the brain interrogating itself and can act like self-therapy. Reiki, which plugs people into an energy network I don't really understand after thirty years of it. Good books: The last one I liked a lot was Paulette Jiles's novel Chenneville. Thanks for asking.
Hi Laurinda, thank you for sharing how you are and what you’re doing. Great to hear you no longer think that. That’s a definite plus. I’m doing my level 2 reiki course next week and I have no idea what I’m plugging into either but I like it! Thanks also for sharing your good read. I just recently read the first novel in ages that I liked a lot. When I Sing, Mountains Dance by Irene Sola. Wonderful. Told from the point of view of all sorts of people and all sorts of natural beings including clouds and mushrooms. 💙
I can't tell whether I'm accepting or in denial. I came to the conclusion a while back that human beings as a species don't deserve this planet, and the planet will fare much better without us. But I'm being so matter of fact in thinking along these lines that I wonder if this is where denial comes in. Will it hit me all of a sudden, exactly how badly humanity has screwed up? Meanwhile I get on with life to the best of my ability. I want to order a litter picker and start picking up the rubbish in the verges around here where I live, stuff people just chuck out of their car windows with no other thought than that they don't want it in their car.. It would be some small contribution to making this small patch on earth a better place.
Maybe you’re both? Sometimes one then the other. And I believe we as a species do deserve this amazing planet we’ve been gifted with. So many of us are doing wonderful things. Yes, there’s the thoughtless litter bugs, but there’s so many other humans doing good at the same time.
There are definitely stories that give me hope, individuals doing conservation work, and I've been a member of the Marine Conservation Society for decades, but then there are the people on the other end of the scale. But this is a different conversation. I agree with you, it's important to acknowledge what’s going on and to let ourselves feel. I’m just not sure what it is I'm feeling. 🫤
Really beautiful Amanda. So powerful that you're able to hold the dark and the light together simultaneously. This is true freedom. The kind of freedom that so many chase outside, but actually resides within us. Thank you for this piece 🙏🏽
This really resonated with me, especially the idea of holding the dark alongside the light rather than trying to get rid of one of them. Over the years, I’ve come to see spiritual practice less as a way to escape difficult states and more as a way to stay present with them without being completely defined by them. I’m curious, has your relationship with “letting go” changed as your practice has deepened?
Thank you for reading and sharing your experience, Mariano. I think that my relationship with letting go has changed. I used to think I had to let go of feeling certain ways but I’ve come to realise I have to let go of believing I should feel a certain way and just be with what is. As difficult as that is sometimes as it’s human nature to want to run away from the hurt and the fear! 💙
I recognise so much of this! The grief at the uncertain, damaged world, and the challenge of knowing how we best exist within it. For me, I need to create and I need to be outside and move, and often I feel that’s not enough, but - I remind myself - it is a start.
We both wrote about letting go today! I enjoyed this, Amanda, and I wish you well in the next phase. Keep up the wonderful work! 💚🌈
There’s something in the air! Thanks Don. I’ll keep on keeping on. 💙
Thank you, Amanda. I can relate on so many levels! Feeling what we feel...allowing it to wash over us...focusing on the good/beauty/peace/presence/love in front of us...letting go...trusting...all while feeling the breath of life flowing in and around us...
May your up-coming journey be a Joytrek...
Blessings to you!
Thank you, Pamela. Blessings to you too. 💙
Beautifully written! I really feel so many of us are in this liminal space - not quite who we were, not quite who we are becoming. But so many glimmers of what is to come to be grateful for 🙌
I am so glad I have people around me - such as yourself - so I stay anchored in these changing times.
I’m glad for that too. And despite the fear days, I do really believe that all will be well. 💙
Amanda:
How I am: Well, I no longer think I am going to end up on life support, which is a plus. What helps me do the best I can: Meditation, so that I know I am not alone here and someone/s is/are sometimes willing to explain the things that happen. Writing, which keeps the brain interrogating itself and can act like self-therapy. Reiki, which plugs people into an energy network I don't really understand after thirty years of it. Good books: The last one I liked a lot was Paulette Jiles's novel Chenneville. Thanks for asking.
Hi Laurinda, thank you for sharing how you are and what you’re doing. Great to hear you no longer think that. That’s a definite plus. I’m doing my level 2 reiki course next week and I have no idea what I’m plugging into either but I like it! Thanks also for sharing your good read. I just recently read the first novel in ages that I liked a lot. When I Sing, Mountains Dance by Irene Sola. Wonderful. Told from the point of view of all sorts of people and all sorts of natural beings including clouds and mushrooms. 💙
I can't tell whether I'm accepting or in denial. I came to the conclusion a while back that human beings as a species don't deserve this planet, and the planet will fare much better without us. But I'm being so matter of fact in thinking along these lines that I wonder if this is where denial comes in. Will it hit me all of a sudden, exactly how badly humanity has screwed up? Meanwhile I get on with life to the best of my ability. I want to order a litter picker and start picking up the rubbish in the verges around here where I live, stuff people just chuck out of their car windows with no other thought than that they don't want it in their car.. It would be some small contribution to making this small patch on earth a better place.
Maybe you’re both? Sometimes one then the other. And I believe we as a species do deserve this amazing planet we’ve been gifted with. So many of us are doing wonderful things. Yes, there’s the thoughtless litter bugs, but there’s so many other humans doing good at the same time.
There are definitely stories that give me hope, individuals doing conservation work, and I've been a member of the Marine Conservation Society for decades, but then there are the people on the other end of the scale. But this is a different conversation. I agree with you, it's important to acknowledge what’s going on and to let ourselves feel. I’m just not sure what it is I'm feeling. 🫤
Thanks, this novel sounds way cool. It's on my library list now. Borrowing your blue heart because I don't see how to find emojis here. 💙 --LL
Really beautiful Amanda. So powerful that you're able to hold the dark and the light together simultaneously. This is true freedom. The kind of freedom that so many chase outside, but actually resides within us. Thank you for this piece 🙏🏽
Thank you, Leilah. It’s a practice I keep on keeping on with. 💙
This really resonated with me, especially the idea of holding the dark alongside the light rather than trying to get rid of one of them. Over the years, I’ve come to see spiritual practice less as a way to escape difficult states and more as a way to stay present with them without being completely defined by them. I’m curious, has your relationship with “letting go” changed as your practice has deepened?
Thank you for reading and sharing your experience, Mariano. I think that my relationship with letting go has changed. I used to think I had to let go of feeling certain ways but I’ve come to realise I have to let go of believing I should feel a certain way and just be with what is. As difficult as that is sometimes as it’s human nature to want to run away from the hurt and the fear! 💙
Felt all the feels in this piece xx
Ah. Thanks Sinead 💙
I recognise so much of this! The grief at the uncertain, damaged world, and the challenge of knowing how we best exist within it. For me, I need to create and I need to be outside and move, and often I feel that’s not enough, but - I remind myself - it is a start.
Yes I need to be outside as much as possible too. And see and swim in the sea as often as I can. Whatever we’re doing is enough. 💙