If you are anything like me, you may have been feeling unsteady over recent weeks. I can recall speaking with a friend back in January, of a news report I’d heard about the emergence of a virus in China. Since then, I’ve had half an eye on it, watching with a kind of surreal birds-eye perspective as the mandala of dominos has rippled out to illuminate our intricate global interconnectedness.

The virus has now arrived into my community and many others, and recent days have seen rapid and incredible action in many places around the globe. Schools and social venues are closed, shop shelves are depleted, air travel has folded, this was all unimaginable, for many of us back in January. And so, over a period of days our lives, individually and collectively, are profoundly different.

As I awoke this morning, day 4 into our self-quarantine, I thought “OK, I’d like things to go back to normal now!”.  Then in the next moment realizing we don’t really know how this is going to pan out, that this is our reality for the next days ... or maybe even weeks. 

These are the moments I find myself going into overwhelm. I watch as she builds like a great wave and then I see my mind racing off into the distance of “what if’s …”

Then I bring myself back …back to NOW. Back to my breath. “I am OK right now …” and suddenly, I can feel the earth under my feet, I can feel my lungs expand, I notice the sky, the chatter of the birds, the temperature of the wind.

We are all being asked to find steadiness in unsteadiness. We are being required to connect deeply to our, intuitive, creative and adaptive resources. The one thing I know, is that we can only do this when we are able to leave fear at the doorstep. Once we invite fear in, she works to contract and constrict, and shrinks our capacity to respond flexibly.

And through this, I do see some truly amazing things. Maybe you’ve noticed them too. WE, as a global collective, have be able to respond to the call to action. We have, and very quickly changed our behavior, drastically. And in this pause, I sense the Earth taking a breath. Or perhaps what I sense is Her out-breath, Her exhale, as She can for a moment relax and be in quiet. And as She settles, so do we.  

My feeling is that this is a pivotal time of transformation for each one of us, the planet and the environment. As the understandable waves of uncertainty and fear arise, can we remember to breathe, to remain expanded and connected, and open to the next step?

As a gift, I am offering a meditation practice to find steadiness in the unsteadiness, to help you ride this wave. Click here if you are interested to sign up.

With prayers for our collective healing!

Jess