Lightly, my darling

''It’s dark because you are trying too hard.
Lightly child, lightly. Learn to do everything lightly.
Yes, feel lightly even though you’re feeling deeply.
Just lightly let things happen and lightly cope with them.

So throw away your baggage and go forward.
There are quicksands all about you, sucking at your feet,
trying to suck you down into fear and self-pity and despair.
That’s why you must walk so lightly.
Lightly my darling,
on tiptoes and no luggage, …
completely unencumbered.”

~ an excerpt from the poem ‘Island’ by Aldous Huxley

How are you travelling my friend? 

There is definitely a sense in the air that we are in the thick of change and transition.  Life is asking us to shape-shift once again as we begin to take baby steps towards the post-pandemic world.  You may have heard the term ‘liminal’ to describe these times, where we feel we are in the metaphorical waiting room between one stage of our life and another, a sense of navigating the unknown, of trying to find our bearings in the void.

How is this transition showing up in your life right now?

Perhaps you are experiencing changes in your workplace, or reassessing the work you do.  Relationships with family and friends may be in flux, loved ones passing on or maybe you are grappling with your relationship with yourself and how you want to live your life in the post-pandemic world.

These times of change give us a precious opportunity to really examine our relationship with transition, what it means and how we hold space for change. What tools or strategies are you using to enable you to navigate these times with skill and wisdom?  Are you holding on tightly to what you know or what you are comfortable with, or are you open to exploring another way?

The sense of crisis and change in our society is certainly amplified right now, and in order to move forward with skill and wisdom, it will require a 'light touch' from us, giving ourselves the space to feel safe enough to keep our hands open, fingers soft, and mind quiet. This light touch will allow you to tune into the unchanging reality, to sense the natural wisdom that underlies all change, just like the unchanging open sky which gives the clouds the space to arise and dissolve in their own way.

Your home practice is now more important than ever. 

It gives you a precious and reliable container to explore this time of change and what it means for you.  Remember, your home practice does not need to be time-consuming or complicated to give you what you need.  Making the commitment to hold space for yourself for a few moments each day could be all you need to give you the strength, clarity and courage to ride the waves of change and realise a life you truly love.

So where do you start with your home practice?

Try this:

Find a quiet space, it can be inside or outside.

Mark the space by lighting a candle, burning incense, or holding something from nature like a flower, leaves, rock, seed pods or a crystal.

Get comfortable in your seat, hands resting in your lap or rest your hands over the centre of your chest. You may like to close your eyes or keep your gaze soft and directed towards the floor.

Take a slow breath in through the nose and out through the mouth.  Do this three times.  Each time you exhale, feel your face softening, body relaxing, heart tenderising.

Ask yourself, ‘How are you my friend? What do you need today?’

Sit quietly with yourself and listen. Not searching for or thinking up an answer but just being curious about what you can feel, hear, see or sense in response to these questions: ‘How are you my friend? What do you need today?’

Stay here for a few moments

Now smile to yourself and whisper to yourself, ‘Thank you. I love you’.

Make the commitment to show up for yourself in this way again tomorrow.

It is in this sense of space and awareness that we can tune into the deeper wisdom of life.

It is here we can begin to nurture a ‘light touch’. 

It is here we hold space for all of who we are.

It is here we can get a glimpse of how to move forward as Aldous Huxley suggests ‘…on tiptoes and no luggage … completely unencumbered’.

Lightly does it my friend, and see you soon 🧡

Sharon
xxx