Grounding Into Uncertainty
HOW TO FIND YOUR FOOTING IN UNCERTAIN TIMES
THE NEW NORMAL
Here we are, about 2-3 weeks into this new way of living and what I can only presume it will be like into the foreseeable future. Our daily freedoms and access to both luxuries and necessities are changing constantly. The public leaders, figures, and authorities we look to for safety, stability, and answers know just about as much as we do which, to some, can be worrisome. It’s safe to say we are living in uncertain times and the proverbial rug from which our comfort in day-to-day familiarities has been built on has been pulled out from beneath us.
Terms like social and physical distancing, self-isolation and quarantine have become the new norm. While I’m certain this won’t be the way we live in the future, for now, it is not only unfamiliar, it is uncomfortable.
We, as humans, seek stability, a firm foundation to rest our feet on, regular routines and a place to call home. This time of uncertainty is pushing almost all of us to the brink of our comfort zone. So how, in this time where the only certainty is uncertainty and change, do we ground ourselves so that we can feel supported and stable. How do we cope? And, in some cases, how do we survive?
I believe this time, more than ever, is pushing us to come back to the simplicities of life and towards the inner work. We are being presented with an opportunity to recalibrate what is important to us as a collective.
Here are a few suggestions on where to begin grounding in this time of uncertainty and I plan to expand on each of these points in a series of posts throughout this week - be sure to stay tuned!
GROUNDING INTO UNCERTAINTY
1. BREATHE
It seems simple and obvious I know, but it is more important now than ever to remind yourself to breathe fully and consciously. When we are experiencing fear, anxiety, stress, and discomfort we tend to shorten our breath or breathe really shallow. This not only deprives us of much-needed oxygen (life force), it puts our body and most of its systems on high alert.
The feedback I’ve gotten from those who I coach and those who attend my Breathwork session is that there is a general feeling of overwhelm right now and we tend to want to jump right to the solution. I offer to all of my students this advice: Tap into or return to your heart space and breathe. Breathe slowly, and breathe consciously. And then do it again.
That means being aware of your breath, where it is in your body, the shape it takes. It also requires tapping into your heart space, your home. For some, this act is the discomfort as it may be the first time we’ve connected with our heart space…ever. As you breathe, hand over the heart-center, notice what you feel and where. Again, your job isn’t to fix it or judge it, your only responsibility, and yes it is a responsibility you have to yourself is to bring loving awareness to what you are feeling.
I invite you to come back to this simple (but not always easy) practice daily, multiple times a day. When you sense overwhelm, guilt, shame, fear, stress, or any sort of emotion bubbling up in you, BREATHE INTO IT.
2. FINDING YOUR FEET (literally)
We are being bombarded with a lot right now - content. News. Memes. Opinions. Fears. Thoughts. FaceTime calls. This swirl of information and distraction can keep us, for lack of better terms, heady. In our heads. So what’s the most literal way to find our footing in times of uncertainty? Feel your feet. Feel them on the floor. Notice each point that is in contact with the ground beneath you. This is grounding, rooting to the earth. It is pulling us out of our heads and into the present moment. Often, anxiety starts to build within us when we start projecting into the future, worrying about what is, what could be, and all sorts of other things that are out of our control. Mindfulness practices like this are designed to bring us back to the here and now.
I practice this often, in my everyday life. Before big meetings I’ll repeat to myself silently, “I feel my feet on the floor” and while doing so send my breath and my awareness to each part of my foot that is in contact with the floor.
3. SLOW DOWN
One of the potential silver linings of this global situation is that we are being forced to slow down. Another theme I’ve heard from my students and clients is that there is a guilty around not being productive and using this time to ‘get shit done’ or be creative. While, yes we are being given the gift of time right now, we are also facing trauma and it’s more important than ever to take comfort in stillness and use this time to reflect and integrate. Our personal and collective worlds are changing, the landscape of how we provide for ourselves, our families, and our communities are changing. If we don’t slow down how can we expect our bodies to integrate into the changes?
Give yourself permission to rest when you need (notice I didn’t say numb). Recognize when you feel guilt over not doing things and find ways to bring joy and nourishment into your day. Your body, mind, heart, and soul need it and have probably been craving it for a long time.
Many of us come from and find safety in the hustle culture and we wear busyness as a badge of honour. I would ask you to explore: Who are we when we strip away the mask of being busy?
This question can present a beautiful opportunity to find out who we are at our core and what is truly important to us. I invite you to use this time to slow down and to allow stillness, even just in the moments that you consciously breathe.
4. ALLOW WHAT IS
I truly believe that the path of least resistance through all of this is to invite in an allowing. As a recovering control freak, this time of uncertainty is pushing on every one of my last buttons. I feel completely out of control. So, instead of resisting the flow of the world right now, I am practicing softening, loosening my grip on expectations and allowing more than ever. I practice reminding myself of what I can and cannot control. I practice allowing myself to feel the array of emotions that come up daily.
I cry daily. I get frustrated, I get upset, I am fearful, and I worry. But I allow. I allow myself to feel these feelings, instead of fighting against them, pushing them down or pretending I’m fine.
Where can you soften your grip on expectations or how you ’think’ things should be?
Can you allow yourself to feel what you are feeling, really experience the feeling?
When I feel into the overwhelm of the situation, I place my hand on my heart space and I ask myself what I am feeling and where. I ask myself what I’m afraid of, why I feel guilt or shame or frustration. And I ask myself is this something allowing or resisting?
5. BECOME ONE OF THE HELPERS
There is nothing more grounding than being of service to others. It invites connection in a whole new way and I think we can all admit we crave connection more than ever right now. When we provide from a place of selflessness, it helps to shift the global mentality from ME to WE and takes you out of feeling like this situation is ‘happening TO you’ or victim mode.
I believe we all have a gift that we can share and the world NEEDS it more than ever right now. Whether you are doing your part by staying home, getting groceries for an elderly neighbour, connecting with a friend who might need it or finding ways to uniquely offer your gift to the world, BE OF SERVICE.
WHY WE NEED THIS NOW
In my heart of hearts, I believe this time of uncertainty is offering us an opportunity for awakening and transformation. It is giving us a chance to come home to who we are, who we truly are. It is also giving us an opportunity to weed out our old ways of being that are out of alignment with our core and it’s giving us an opportunity to emerge as our true self. I’m finding many of us want to jump straight to the solution, the outcome of all of this.
But, true transformation starts with an awareness and a grounding into what is. This is my intention here. To provide with the tools you need to not only find your footing in an uncertain and uncomfortable time but to invite you to take the first step to your own awakening. I can’t promise it won’t be uncomfortable but I CAN PROMISE IT WILL BE WORTH IT.
Inhale // Exhale