the power in recognizing powerlessness
Admitting powerlessness has a contradictory effect. It is not admitting defeat, it’s releasing control. Rather than giving up and checking out, an attitude of powerlessness invites us to unhook from the pressures we put on ourselves to predict and perfect.
between inhalations
The waxing and waning of the moon, flooding and ebbing of the tides, blossoming and decaying of the fruit, and so forth are a kind of breath. In and out, expansion and contraction, becoming and releasing. From a zoomed-out perspective, there's impartiality to the process. The cycle simply is. Tracking this dance orients us. There's something comforting about recognizing the season of a thing. Where things get tricky, however, is not trusting this process in our own lives.
navigating the unexpected
As our emotional landscape tries to settle, internally we may feel like we're in freefall. We're dropping, dropping, dropping, and as we reach for the world that once felt "under control" its construction reveals itself as paper thin. There's nothing to hold on to.
From this perilous place, we vacillate between a desire to recreate or "get back" what's been lost and total collapse. In our body a hot buzz of anxiety grips our throat and belly while at the same time we may feel heavy, dull, and uninspired.