I love seeing Marie Kondo on Netflix demonstrating the value and practicality of claiming one’s space and organizing it in a way that sparks joy and a feeling of support and ultimately empowerment. Of late, I have been wishing for the book on “inner organization”!
Currently, since the end of covid-lockdown, I have had a growing list of both situations and physical things that require my attention. I choose to live as consciously as I can and see every opportunity as a growth opportunity. An Oneida elder once taught me the endless value and beauty of considering a conflict and saying to one’s self “What am I to learn from this?”. It can bring a powerful and significant shift in perspective that puts me in the driver’s seat. I also believe it is closer to the truth than anything else I could tell myself.
No other time in history have we had so many choices. Never before have we had so much ___, fill in the blank! And not just on the positive side of the spectrum either! I feel pummeled by the sheer volume of activity, information, awareness, necessity, importance; I could go on. Perhaps now you have a sense about the overload of my circuits? Clearly, an overloaded circuit is not the most stable or productive support tool.
Drawing from the knowledge and experience I have, I remembered my training in Permaculture. It operates from the perspective of concentric rings starting at the center with the most important sphere of influence, and traveling out with distinct differences, to the fifth ring which holds space for the “wild corridor” those untamed beings. It is essential in planning purposeful space in a homestead for example. So I got the biggest paper I could find and started drawing concentric rings. I caught myself putting “home” and “family” at the center and then corrected it by putting “self” instead. That, helped to center me in an instant.
You see, I’ve been experiencing myself checking out as a result of mentally spinning. I encounter overwhelming volume of things requiring my attention, some of which I really don’t want to do, and then in a fit of exhaustion or mental hysteria, I check out. I will admit, in that moment it feels like the most powerful thing I can do for myself. However, it’s a bit like a snowball, overtime the list gets bigger and the pressure compounds.
One teacher of mine, called us the planet the “duct tape generation” because we are having to come up with fixes to things we encounter broken. We need to make it up as we go in order to preserve life in support of getting to a better tomorrow. We, are the ancestors of the future. We are the ones who are using what we have to make a difference that will influence all of the tomorrows. I don’t want to check out in the face of an uncomfortable feeling like overwhelm. I want to learn how to powerfully choose how I will respond, not expect perfection because of course, I am “in process”! So I have my gigantic drawing of what my concentric rings are and will use it to help me navigate through setting priorities, self care, patience and trusting the future.
That feels more aligned with “Love” than “Fear”. I will use that as my guide along the way.
Here is a beautiful song just released by MaMuse called Her Speak that offers loving and powerful medicine aligned with this topic. Treat your heart and mind to a listen!
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