8 Weeks In & 8 Weeks to Come – Christa Hesselink
Eight weeks ago all of us were rushing around preparing to “hunker down” in some sort of quarantined-social-distancing-isolated reality.
I thought it would a pause – like a nap in a busy day. I had early to mid-April in my sights – I was hoping that’s when we’d “get back at it”. I think most of us were.
But this nap has turned into a long-haul hibernation or sorts. And, it’s not yet time for us to rise from our caves, but there are signs of stirring all around.
Here are eight ideas from the last eight weeks and for the next eight weeks to come.
Hibernation is completely different than napping.
It’s a full body re-set.
It takes us from one season to the next.
It works on us, melting away the excess of the past in preparation for what lies ahead.
1. The more humane we act, the more human we become.
Spiritual and self-care is “human-care”. When we do humane things, we become more human. And, you know this: going for a walk, cooking a healthy meal, playing a game with your kids, connecting with your family, helping a neighbour, getting outside more often – these very humane ways of being, have made us more human. If we take care of our bodies, we are taking care of our spirit. If we take care of our mental health, we are taking care of our spirit. If we take care of our heart and emotional well-being, we are taking care of our spirit too. And don’t forget to spend time connecting with the transcendent, invisible, mysterious qualities of being human – your longings, desires, questions and curiosity. See how it all points to the Divine Life.
If you’re wondering how to care for your soul, it’ll look like caring for the whole self.
We are not human beings having a spiritual experience, we are spiritual beings having a human experience.
– Pierre Teillard de Chardi
2. What if we made our quarantine “life-line-hacks” into ongoing “life-style-habits”?
You’ve likely figured out a few things that have made this season bearable. Maybe you’ve even surprised yourself.
Making bread, sitting together as a family for meals, crafts and handy-work, learning new recipes, getting outside more, watching your kids figure out how to play and create, getting more sleep… they’ve been life-lines.
What can you bring forward as an ongoing habit instead of just a quarantine hack?
If you’re like me, your wardrobe has changed (read: how on earth am I supposed to wear jeans again?!) Doing these life-line activities has been like wearing a different wardrobe. So, what if you were to style your life to suit you better? What old “clothes” need to be boxed up, and which new ones will fit better for the season ahead?
3. Practice doesn’t make perfect; practice makes Presence.
I spend a lot of my time supporting groups and individuals in slowing down so they can wake up to their life, to their soul, to the Divine.
And in our practice to “tune in”, I remind people that we practice because we’re generally pretty lousy at it. But, our practice isn’t about getting it perfect, it’s simply about being present.
Being present to this present moment is the only place to experience Presence. (Take that in for a moment.)
For many I work with, there is a stunned delight when there is awareness that experiencing the Divine is found in this given moment; a place so many of us don’t hang out in. Our thoughts are often in the past or future, deceiving us of what is really real.
There’s nothing like the cosmic upheaval of this pandemic to shake us all to the present moment – and it’s been painful, hasn’t it?
Social distancing has a way of making us radically present. There’s a profound invitation in this for us all.
Spiritual practice helps us pierce the illusion that God is distant or absent.
– Father Thomas Keating
4. Don’t let your self-awareness run too far ahead of your self-compassion.
I heard this sentiment taught at some Enneagram training last year, and it’s saved me. These past eight weeks have been difficult for me. So much time to notice, observe, and be aware of my thoughts, patterns, and decisions, etc. have, at times, sent me spiraling.
In order to keep my wits about me, I have had to PRACTICE listening to a compassionate voice versus an accusing one.
5. There are plenty of voices to listen too. Listen to Love.
As we are forced to slow down, tune in, and listen to what is moving most deeply within us as individuals and as a collective conscious, let’s take the following to mind and heart:
If it doesn’t sound like love; if it doesn’t have the quality of gentleness and goodness; if it doesn’t invite compassion for ourselves and others; then it isn’t a voice worth listening too.
For many, this loving voice is the voice of God inviting us to rest in these tumultuous times. My hope is that we’ll find a way to cultivate this rest and practice abiding in this Love moving forward.
6. When in judgement, turn to awe.
Well this idea kicked my butt a few years ago. When I was studying with The Center for Courage and Renewal, I remember a light-bulb going off when I heard this.
When I feel anxious and confused and start to judge others – turn to awe.
When I feel anxious and confused and start to judge myself – turn to wonder.
“I wonder why they are doing that?” “Huh…look at them, I’m curious why they are saying that?” “There I go again…I wonder why I’m feeling this way?
You see, when we can turn the corner on our judgement and stay in a posture of curiosity, we allow for some gentle possibility, and wise grace to enter the situation. And Lord knows we need more of that in our world right now.
7. Our senses are the gateway to gratitude.
I’m an outdoors person. You never have to force me to be outside, but this spring has been a balm for my weary soul. The birds’ song has lifted me, and the vibrant colours of spring flowers has saved me. If you are ever in need of a bolt of delight, tune into your senses. Take them one at a time and really notice what’s around you.
Savour.
You don’t need to be outside either. Smell the dinner cooking, or the cookies your kids have made. Watch the clouds from your window or the leaves of that house plant you’ve been trying to keep alive. Listen to the melodies of your family doing what they do all day long. Touch the cushion on your couch…really feel it.
Savour.
Become an expert practitioner of tuning into your senses. It’s the portal to grace, presence and joy.
8. We are all trying to find our way home.
We’ve spent A LOT of time in our homes, and if you’re like me, a short drive or a quick errand is like a weird mini-vacation. It’s a diversion and a distraction.
But consider this: Is it possible that our “old” way of living (both individually, culturally, globally) was slowing “dis-membering” us? The pace, priorities, privilege, and power we held was splitting our souls?
Our illusions of control, freedom, and certainty have been pierced, and we are noticing the fractures in our own foundations – or rather, we’re discovering the parts of our foundation that has been build on sinking sand. It’s near impossible to find our favourite diversion and distraction these days, and instead we’re becoming aware of what has been breaking us and dividing our lives.
I wonder how we’re being invited to “re-member” ourselves. To gather up the fragments of our split selves and allow ourselves to be mended.
What are we learning about where we truly belong? How shall we live? What is the rock we should re-build on? What and where is our true “home”?
I’m not going to answer this for you, but invite you to let yourself be re-membered. I’m trying to do the same.
Consent, allow, let-go, and stay open to the process of wandering and wondering through this wilderness-time; you’re not walking alone.
Let Love show you the way to remember your Home.
Hibernation is completely different than napping.
It’s a full body re-set.
It takes us from one season to the next.
It works on us, melting away the excess of the past in preparation for what lies ahead.