Hi Emotion Community.
Welcome back to the Prescription to Feel Steadiness series by Emotion.
My name is Matt,
Javi's dad.
I'm grateful to get to reflect with you today about how we can find pockets of beauty amongst our anguish.
I find that holding and exploring both beauty and anguish together makes it easier for me to feel close to Javi,
Like I can access her in moments that might be otherwise mundane and where I might try to contain my longing for her.
But before we get moving,
Let's take a few moments to ground ourselves.
If you can,
Find a space outside where you can be still.
Find that place and push some weight into your feet.
Feel them solidly on the ground.
We are in this space now together and it's okay for us to be right here where our feet are.
Take a deep inhale through the nose and a long exhale through the mouth.
Let's do three more.
Whatever you are carrying with you today,
We honor it and all feelings.
Let's give ourselves two gentle taps on our hearts.
Maybe rest your hand there on your heart for a few seconds longer.
Now let's open up that heart space,
Stretch out our arms wide,
And reach out for connection.
Let's let connection rather than comparison be our guide.
Are you ready to move?
I'm going to be running with you today,
But whether you're walking,
Running,
Hiking,
Or biking,
Remember to find a pace and a rhythm that feels most comfortable to you.
I'm going to pause for a brief moment as we find our stride.
Today we are reflecting on finding pockets of beauty amidst our anguish wherever you are.
And when I talk about beauty,
I don't mean beauty in a superficial sense of glamour.
In a conversation with Krista Tippett,
The late John O'Donohue asks us not to confuse beauty with glamour,
But instead to imagine beauty as emerging fullness,
As a greater sense of grace and elegance,
As a deeper sense of depth,
And a type of homecoming for the enriched memory of your unfolding life.
I love those words.
Fullness,
Grace,
Elegance,
Depth,
Homecoming.
I also want to name that in grief it can be difficult to consider beauty amongst anguish.
It can sometimes feel impossible.
For me,
This shows up often in the sound of my living children's footsteps.
Javi never walked,
Never ran,
And I had for a long time dreamt about the sound of children's footsteps in our home.
When I hear them now,
The kids running down the hall,
It makes my heart jump,
And at the same time I feel a pang of longing and ache for Hav,
For her footsteps should be a part of that symphony too.
Holding both of those feelings together is difficult,
But I think it makes the moment even fuller,
And I appreciate those little things even more.
But a sense of beauty can inspire awe and invite possibility.
It can relax our nervous system,
And natural beauty in particular can be especially powerful in evoking these things.
For me,
The natural world has always been a place that evokes Javi's existence,
And sometimes I'm not present enough to feel or find that connection.
I've found that when I go into nature and open myself to seeing and experiencing its raw beauty,
That I am more present in my emotions and can feel closer to Javi,
And I've found that doing this when I'm with friends or even new acquaintances can bring depth to relationships where there was none before.
Beauty can show up in so many unpredictable and predictable ways,
And finding beauty amongst our brokenness can create some space for softness.
In just a moment,
We are going to move into our quiet movement.
After the chime of the bell,
I will quiet my voice for a few minutes of movement on our own,
But know that I'm still here running alongside you.
In this time of quiet,
Set an intention to seek out pockets of beauty,
Whether that's in the color of the sky,
The shape of a flower or a tree that you pass,
The smile of a stranger walking by you,
Or a moment of presence you experience while moving your body in the natural world.
If it feels challenging to seek out beauty right now,
That's okay.
Just continue to focus on your breath,
Your steps,
And how your body feels during this movement.
When we come back,
We'll reflect on what came up during this beauty walk,
And then we'll close out with some wise words.
Our quiet time starts with the chime of the bell.
See you soon.
Let's come back together now.
We set an intention to find pockets of beauty during our quiet movement time,
And I'm curious what came up for you.
What pocket of beauty did you notice?
How did it change,
Or not,
Your movement experience?
What does beauty mean to you?
How do beauty and grief relate to you?
Let's hold on to these questions for a few more strides.
We are approaching the end of our session today.
Feel free to start to slow down your moving and take a few deep breaths as you come to a stop,
Or you are always welcome to keep moving as we close out our time together.
This practice of finding pockets of beauty as we move reminds me of this beautiful poem by Andrea Gibson.
It's titled,
Grief Astronomer.
Friend,
You are who taught me that a difficult life is not less worth living than a gentle one.
Joy is just easier to carry than sorrow,
And you could lift a city from how long you've spent holding what's been nearly impossible to hold.
But this world needs those who know how to do that.
Those who can find a tunnel with no light at the end of it and hold it up like a telescope to show that the darkness contains many truths that can bring the light to its knees.
Grief astronomer,
Adjust the lens,
Look close,
Tell the world what you see.
Thank you for sharing your beauty with the emotion community.
This is Prescription to Feel's steadiness series,
And I'm Matt,
Hobby's dad.
I'm honored to move with you.
See you next time.
Prescription to Feel is a series created by Emotion,
An organization on a mission to change the way the world relates to grief and loss.
Learn more at emotion-mc.
Org or find emotion on Instagram at we are underscore emotion.
Thanks for moving with us.
