On Thinking and Letting Go

Mike Parker is a liminal coach and shared this book of reflections recently:

This is not a book of answers but of invitations. It is an exploration and evocation of the in-between, a reminder that growth happens through alignment and through releasing what we don’t need.

– Reflections Seeded from the I Ching

I struggle with daily practices and routines, and I beat myself up for it. Why can't I be like others, why can't I just do the damn thing, consistently?

It's fear. It almost always comes back to fear.

I spoke with someone who called the Crisis Clinic tonight – I volunteer there – and she said she was worried she was a failure because of some things that happened at work. I reassured her that she was not a failure, and that things happen. I often talk about the "next job" mentality. Whatever happens, good or bad or in between, there is something that needs to be done next.

I spoke with Jason Early earlier this week, and vented about how I often get paralyzed when trying to find focus and consistency. He reminded me that it doesn't have to be finished, it just has to be started. The next job is to start something, do something, rather than just sitting in the overwhelm and overanalyzing trying to figure out what the best thing to do is.

There's an ebb and flow to life and creative work, and something Mike mentions in his introduction resonated (emphasis mine):

It is also a way of saying that you are not alone in living an ongoing process of transition. The way forward is always there, perhaps concealed beneath shock or disappointment or confusion. We nonetheless return to what matters.

I love the idea of daily affirmations, daily rituals, making art every day. I love photography. I love nature. This is a reminder to myself as much as any of you. Just write. Just post. Just do it. It's all just energy flowing around the universe. Rather than fearing the worst, ask, "what's the best that could happen?"

I'll leave you with one more thing I read this week.

"I would give anything just to hear your story of how you picked the shirt you are wearing today… Anything that brings me into your chronology, your relationships, your proclivities, your being.

Our little personal vignettes, however insignificant they may at first appear, are portals into the nuance and detail of the complex world around each person. The urge to pop into grammar and structure that scrapes out the intimacy of personal story is a violence to the commons of soul..."

– Nora Bateson on LinkedIn

Let's all let go of perfection and share something. I'm curious. I want to know what's in your soul, your being, your creative mind, what energizes you. If you've been thinking about sharing but holding back, just put it out there.

The universe needs it. Humanity needs it. I need it.

☮️❤️

P.S. If this resonated with you, and you do share something, please send me a link. Even better, I'd love to talk about this with you. Book a time and let's seek out some nature and have a conversation.