There is a joke about a guy who falls over a cliff and as he’s falling to his death, he grabs onto a branch.
He hears a voice from above and it says,” Let go, and I’ll catch you.”
The guy protests several times, saying, “No, no, I am too scared.” Finally he lets go.
And crashes to the ground and as he lays dying, he calls up to the heaven’s and pleads, “I thought you said you’d catch me.”
And the voice says, “I did! But I never liked you, you SOB.”
For years that’s was my belief system. I was terrified f I let go and leaned into the new thing coming down the pipe, I’d be dropped on my head.
I believed it was not a friendly universe.
Then I made up stories about how this time I was going to be dropped.
Well these days a lot of us feel this more and more. With our freedoms, our health, our environment constantly being threatened we are tossed around in a maelstrom of uncertainty. We have to change our minds quickly and often hourly!
Maybe its because I am older ( or just plain exhausted from the past two years) but I don’t fight uncertainty as much I used to!
I don’t always find these thing easy! I don’t like changing my plans and I don’t even think of them as blessings in disguise!
As Roshi Joan Halifax says, “They aren’t gifts, but they are givens!”
Accepting the givens of the day help me to adapt better!
In fact, the more I focus on just this day, the more my ability to embrace uncertainty increases. But it does require simplicity. Some things and some plans need to get left behind. Just for now.
Another thing is to try and accept that you feel uncertain. We often expect ourselves to warriors and not let all of this upheaval to affect us!
On those particularly vulnerable days, what can you let go of and who can you elicit help from? Who has some insights into how to deal with what you are dealing with. Often sharing and brainstorming a bit can get you feeling not so alone.
An example of this in my life was when all my live performing work went away during COVID. I met with a coach all during COVID who taught me how to take my classes online. I began producing those classes the way I produced live shows. They were full productions.
I also gave away online workshops so I could figure out how to do virtual training.
Every step of the way I felt weird. It didn’t feel normal. And now 18 months later I am slowly building new clients for Zoom Holiday and Staff meetings. And creating a membership where I can put all my funny videos and blogs!
And no like you its not what I planned. ( Many times a day, I yell “I am 64 years of age!! I am too old for this shit!”
In many ways it seems there is more uncertainty than March 2020. We are tired of this damn virus! We are tired getting vaxxed and not being allowed out to play! Or we are scared of people who think different than we do? Or we have resisted being vaxxed because it scares us. All of it is uncertainty!
But if we can make peace ( however haltingly) this is our new reality. This is new given, and all of our feelings are just that: feelings. Not facts!
They are just passing show.
We can bring our minds back to the moment, to this day and realize just for now we are okay!
Please share with your group!
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