It’s my writing day. Although it’s still early, I’ve had my morning walk and taken care of a few emails. I was about to go to my meditation chair, yet sitting here in front of the fire, coffee in hand and some dried figs nearby, I feel a strong urge to write first before meditation. So here I am with my laptop, curious about what wants to flow onto the page, because I have no idea. Yet last week I wrote about creativity and how what we create turns around and creates us. And I know that the first requirement with creativity is that you have to show up. So, this morning I’m showing up for whatever wants to be created. So here we go.
With all that’s stirring and turned upside down in the world, I am sometimes surprised that deep inside, it’s been relatively quiet. Yet at the same time, it feels like that quiet is sandwiched in between layers of confusion and not knowing. I can even sense an image of those sandwiched layers. And although I’m grateful for quiet wherever I can find it, if I’m honest with myself, I can feel the unquiet and unsettled layers encroaching on that layer of quiet. Which brings up feelings of loss as well.
Perhaps you can relate. Maybe you, too, can find a quiet place within yourself—a place to be still, a place to find a bit of respite—yet you can also feel a pressing encroachment from the unsettledness around or within you.
I also notice that I can’t quite bring myself to write the word “rest” as I describe that quieter layer. Because the quiet within me is not necessarily restful. The unsettled realities are too pervasive, too consuming—they seem relentless. So, I feel quiet and still and restless and unsettled all at the same time. Empty and full. Peaceful and agitated. Grateful and wanting. Tension longing for resolution. And so, again, if I’m honest, perhaps learning to sustain my own inner peace in the presence of the tension is my current learning edge. Maybe this, too, is not so unfamiliar to you.
It’s also about making peace with all that I don’t know. Not knowing where we are going as a country in relationship with ourselves, as well as in relationship with other countries, whether they have historically been friends or foes. Not knowing where to find stable and steady ground. And learning to find and sustain my own grounding and centeredness and my own sense of being “gathered,” as I wrote about back in January, no matter what is happening around me. Breathing into my bones and staying anchored in my body and in my knowing of who I am and why I’m here. And then creating from that awareness—writing from that awareness—knowing that what I create, what I write, will turn around and further shape how I live my days, how I show up in my community, what I bring to the world.
Graduates of the Transformational Presence programs have described our community as “a place to come home to yourself in the presence of others.” Having and feeling a sense of home is a critical part of personal and societal wellbeing. That said, the part of that description that speaks to me the most right now is “in the presence of others.” Many of us feel deeply, yet don’t often have a place to talk about what we feel—to talkabout what we experience, what we know, what we yearn for, what is most important to us deep in our hearts. The human experience is vast and complex, deep and wide. And our experience longs to be expressed so that we might process it, celebrate it, or find our way through it, or just understand it a little bit more.
Where do you feel safe to come home to yourself in the presence of others? Where do you feel safe to sit or stand in your open heart and speak honestly and fully about what matters most to you? Do you have a place like that?
Since starting to write here on Substack a year and a half ago, it’s been my hope to create a space where you can come home to yourself—where you can acknowledge and express, at least to yourself, the experiences, awareness, feelings, and realities of your heart. To help make it ok to talk about things our society isn’t so good at making spaces for by sharing my own stories and experiences. To acknowledge grief and loss and sadness and joy and passion and creative expression and hope and love and wonder and curiosity and….
My hope is that perhaps something of what I write touches a deep place in your heart and spirit, and that you, in turn, might share that with someone you trust—someone with whom you feel safe. And that might lead to deeper connections, conversations, relationships, trust—deeper presence with each other. That person might be in your close inner circle, or they could be a kindred spirit you meet only once by chance, yet something magical happens between you.
What we create, in turn, creates us. What we feel shapes what we create. What we feel deeply yet do not express in some way will, over time, stifle our creativity. What we yearn for yet remain silent about holds us back, and in turn, holds back our relationships, our connections, and what we can offer to the world. Just sharing our deep thoughts and feelings, even with only one person, can begin to liberate our spirit.
With whom do you feel safe to speak openly about what matters most to you? With whom can you say whatever you need or long to say without fear of judgment or loss? For many of us, that may only be one or two or, at most, a handful of people. It’s not about how many people—it’s about creating safe space for unconditional love and acceptance—safe space to come home to yourself in the presence of someone else.
It takes courage to build and nurture those relationships—to be vulnerable and open with one another. And it may take time to build mutual trust and safety. Yet when that happens, it’s perhaps the greatest gift we can offer one another. Hearts open, love is lived, openings emerge, our souls take flight. The more we practice, the more we learn how vulnerability can become strength. It’s such a gift when someone creates and holds this space for us. Creating and holding that space for others becomes both a gift for them and for ourselves. A full circle of loving presence.
A couple of weeks ago, I closed “Held in Grace, Strength, and Love” with an old Irish proverb:
It is in the shelter of each other
that the people live.—Old Irish Proverb
We create shelter for one another by making space to come home to ourselves in the presence of others. By creating spaces that are safe and without judgment—spaces that embrace the full spectrum of the human experience. In these tumultuous times, whether it’s for a moment or forever, may we create shelter for each other every day.
Invitations
- Free recorded Meditations for Changing Times led by Alan. More than 50 guided meditations. Choose the title that speaks to you and listen. Available for free to you anytime.
- Visit The Center for Transformational Presence website
- Consider reading one of Alan’s Books
- Explore Coaching and Mentoring with Alan
- Invite Alan to Speak to your organization or conference
- Explore Upcoming Programs in Transformational Presence
