Welcome to this moment.
Welcome into your center.
Welcome your breath into your body.
Inhale.
Exhale.
Welcome to a hit of hope.
Do you ever have those times when you feel like you are at sea,
And the world is rocking and the wind is blowing and nothing is nailed down?
Everything is caught in this rocking,
Slippery slide,
And you don't know when you might land on a solid,
Safe shore.
Inhale.
Exhale.
I had a period like that recently.
I sold my beloved house a good thing because it's a problem,
Not being able to hammer even a nail when you live in a hundred and five year old house.
But saying goodbye brought a sharp grief with it.
And an overwhelming sense of uncertainty.
I couldn't take possession of my new loft for six weeks.
Since I have two dogs,
It wasn't just me searching for room at the inn.
All of this was happening as my current job was growing more and more uncertain.
Inhale.
Exhale.
Maybe this has happened to you.
There is all of this sea change when your inner resources are dangerously low.
Maybe you are stretched thin over committed,
And the rations in your hold.
Feel like they are almost down to nil.
Inhale.
Exhale.
In the midst of sea change,
It's easy to feel as if you might not be able to stay afloat.
As this roiling,
Rolling uncertainty comes at you.
Wave after wave.
But as is often the case,
There are powerful lessons present in a period like this.
Inhale.
Exhale.
First,
When the wildness roars around you,
Hunker down and hold on.
Think barnacle as compared to mast.
When you get low and grounded,
When you turn toward those things that steady you,
It's harder to get knocked off balance.
Do what you can to find the things that make you feel safe.
The things that keep your wits and courage sharp.
And know this,
It is never selfish to do those things.
It's survival.
It's throwing yourself a ring buoy to help you stay afloat.
Inhale.
Exhale.
The second thing builds on the first.
Get your sea legs.
Sea legs are a person's ability to keep their balance and not get seasick on a moving ship.
In other words,
It's the skill of making micro adjustments.
Small movements that allow you to ride each wave as it comes.
This is less about finding the grand gesture that will make everything okay.
And it's more about choosing the one small thing that will help you handle this swell.
Then choosing the next small thing that will help you handle the dip.
This allows you to balance and meet whatever arises rather than thrashing and sinking.
Inhale.
Exhale.
Finding your orientation is the third lesson.
In the midst of sea change,
Dreaming of landing in a port might be nice.
But the thing that's really going to help you right then and there is to find the one light you want to keep your eye on.
What's the thing you want front and center in your life?
When you can get very clear about that one thing,
You have a much better sense of what direction you want to be heading.
And then you keep going back to making those small changes that keep you in line with your light.
Inhale.
Exhale.
And lastly,
In the middle of sea change,
Live with courage.
Courage is not the absence of fear.
It's to bring a thing into good heart.
Bring the uncertainty,
The overwhelm into a good heart.
One that is willing to step forward.
To be vulnerable.
To live in the wide wildness.
Steady.
Grounded.
Free.
Live Light.
