January 1, 2021--Happy New Year!
In order to have material to “weave anew”, we have to harvest the unraveling because:
“You can’t steal second base with your foot still on first” (an American folk saying), and
“In order to discover new lands, you have to consent to lose sight of the shore for a long time” (Andre Gide).
The strange time we’ve been in during 2020 and this new year we’re entering now is not just a time of “change”, of “things” being different.
It is a time of powerful transformation, of us being different, because in order to truly change the game, we have to go beyond doing things differently.
We have to become different people. Transformation is the name of this game.
We’re on a journey that we couldn’t have anticipated or predicted, because that’s what transformation is about. That is how it’s different from the changes that we can plan, manage, and control for outcomes that we want.
No one has been where we're going because we are building the road as we travel. This journey is unfamiliar “territory” and we don't know, we can’t know, what’s ahead, because we’re discovering and co-creating it as we walk through it.
The Void is where we meet ourselves and our greater Life Force/Essence, the place of creative power and all possibility. It can be scary, energizing, difficult, exciting, confusing, inspiring, painful, life-giving, and any number of other experiences.
And it’s REAL. Deep, authentic connection and power are available here.
As Gale West puts it:
“We are all in the in-between. In between the old and the new.
“The truth is, big change can’t happen without disruption that’s sustained enough for a disconnect from the familiar.
“It’s stressful. There is grief. There is anger and frustration. There is anxiety and fear. It’s tiring, very tiring.
“New neural pathways take time and a lot of energy.”
This is the journey that Joseph Campbell spoke to when he said, “You can't make an omelet without breaking eggs. Destruction before creation.”
I also appreciate how Deborah Fryer says it:
“Everything in Nature is always contributing to what's next. The leaves fall and become the compost for the next generation.
“When the leaves fall, the tree is more exposed, and more light gets in.
“The darkness is an invitation for the leaves to fall.
“It's an invitation for us to drop what we no longer need… and let that letting go serve our next level growth.
“The letting go feels vulnerable because we are more exposed than ever... and it's how Nature does it.
“You are in good company if this year you've felt more raw, more exposed and more vulnerable than ever.
“This is how growth happens.
“You cannot skip this step.
“Growth happens in the letting go. The consolidation. The retreat into the core.”
My experience of this journey and process is very consistent with what Elizabeth Gilbert (Eat, Pray, Love) eloquently describes as “The Physics of the Quest”:
“I’ve come to believe that there exists in the universe something I call 'The Physics of The Quest' — a force of nature governed by laws as real as the laws of gravity or momentum.
“And the rule of Quest Physics maybe goes like this:
'If you are brave enough to leave behind everything familiar and comforting (which can be anything from your house to your bitter old resentments) and set out on a truth-seeking journey (either externally or internally), and
“if you are truly willing to regard everything that happens to you on that journey as a clue, and if you accept everyone you meet along the way as a teacher, and
“if you are prepared — most of all — to face (and forgive) some very difficult realities about yourself . . .
“then truth will not be withheld from you.'
“Or so I've come to believe."
One of the challenges we face in this journey is being in limbo, that very uncomfortable “in-between trapezes” place where you can’t “get in gear” no matter what you do. Seth Godin makes good distinctions about this:
“Uncomfortable limbo happens when we’re seeking firm footing and there isn’t any. The discomfort comes from not knowing, from our unlimited desire to get through it to the other side.
“And comfortable limbo is a place to hide. We lull ourselves into complacency, because the limbo of being in between feels safe, with no responsibilities.”
As part of this process, it’s important to realize that we’re not just helpless victims being tossed around like leaves in the wind. Danielle LaPorte says this eloquently:
“Going with the flow isn't about being passive or laissez faire. It's not about just letting things happen "to you." It's not aimless wandering.
“Going with the Flow is a co-creative act.
"The Flow" is the ocean of cosmic intelligence. It's the substance that carries creation forward. Prana. The Divine Feminine Principle.
“The Flow is life energy itself.
“When you go with the Flow, you’re surfing life force. It’s about wakeful trust and collaboration with what’s showing up for you.”
Deborah Fryer expands on it like this:
“Going with the flow doesn't mean being passive and waiting and seeing what will happen.
“Au contraire, it means you're having fun with life force. You are actively playing with it and it is actively playing with you.
“You're riding the waves. There will be ups and downs, and you'll most likely get thrown off your board as you're learning to surf, but you'll climb back on because life is FUN.
“Going with the flow means you're going WITH it. You're no longer fighting against it.
“You realize that you and life are on the same team. Suddenly, life becomes a grand adventure instead of a battle.”
I am a trusted guide for navigating this “territory”. I have walked my own path on this journey many times over and continue to do that because, to me, this where real life is experienced. This is my life’s work and my soul-work. It would be my joy to accompany you through harvesting your “unraveling” and weaving your life and world anew.
I’ll be offering a workshop on this during January, so you can watch for an announcement soon.
If you’re navigating this kind of territory or having these experiences and would like to connect, you can contact me. I’d welcome that.
Please feel free to share this with others who might be interested.