unsteady ground
The soul does not follow straight lines. It moves in spirals, in whispers, in reroutes we don’t expect. The moments of pause, the doors that close, the sudden changes that shift our course - these are not mistakes. They are invitations. A call to trust that even in the unknown, we are being led.
- Rebecca Campbell
I am writing to you relegated to one small room of our half-renovated condo, having moved out of our digs of the last 5 months and waiting for our next space to be available in 48 hours. The initial excitement of “camping out” has worn off (it only took about 2 hours ;)) and my very real needs of home and space as my way to ground are already being tested. While I found myself disregulated and raising my voice at Sebi over yogurt, I put on my perspective hat and thought of all of the displaced families from the fires, many of which are still bouncing around from non-home to non-home, and halted the pity party.
Outside of the three months of 2025 that have environmentally, politically, socially, and economically affected our collective nervous systems, I am in the eye of a storm of professional changes and family uncertainties. There is a when-it-rains-it-pours “life is lifing hard” sentiment I hear from many others around, yet… despite all this, I feel, overall, grounded. It’s not perfect, and sometimes the clues of my non groundedness come out in the mundance (hence the yogurt confession) but I’ve been proud of how I’m navigating this storm. It has taken me a long time to find myself able to feel the pace around me and of what is expected of me and tap into the ability to slow down and feel the current through and around my feet. This over getting caught swimming upstream or getting caught in the current (been there done that) as this is NOT where I best operate.
These steps have been pretty game changing during this particular peak that I wanted to share them with you. They may seem so overly simple but that has been the beauty in them all.
I walk slowly. Even when I’m in a rush or late. Slow, intentional, present steps.
As I walk slowly, I breathe slower and deeper.
I slow down my speaking (hard to notice when I’m caffeinated but I am trying lol).
I check my calendar meeting-by-meeting to stay on track but I give myself (and the person/people I am with) the gift of presence - to be where I am as fully as I can.
I am boundaried with my time.
I let myself feel pockets of sadness, fear, anger, confusion as they come up.
I take the help where it’s available (someone to walk Barney, dinner delivery) guilt free.
I keep what I can of my routine, rituals and prioritize movement.
I tell those around me that I love them, or why I’m grateful for them (sometimes, this is in the form of watching sweet Sebi sleep at night or snuggling with Barney extra hard and matching my breath with his).
I let go of grandiose plans in order to listen to the universe - for now, this is in the form of prioritizing visits to family to Canada as often as I can because that’s the closest to my heart.