The Art Of Relaxation
Yet again we find ourselves being offered a binary path of polarisation. A pathway that sets us all up for division - pick a side, choose a team. black or white, you or them, be absolute, say yes or say no. Narratives that set teeth on edge and elevate nervous systems, the pot getting stirred with the stick of fear and amplifying grief.
Why does it feel so awful for so many, these kind of absolutes?
Speaking in broad terms not just specific to the current noisy and often nasty narrative, the reality is that every circumstance is nuanced - nothing is absolute and everything is relative. When it is demanded of us to engage in these unnatural ways of absolutes, the very intelligence of human consciousness is afflicted. No matter what the person presents on the surface, no matter how absolute they even perceive their position to be, the deeper intelligence is aware that the capacity for nuances is one of the abilities that makes us fundamentally human. The potency to negotiate and navigate, to listen to each other, unrestricted by false deadlines and fears, with love and care at the core, is our birthright as human beings. When our systems push us into these places, our emotional patterns, our own personal lived conditioning, always ends up as the driving force, squashing community and connection. Our divide is only increased.
Our chests become tight with panic and fear, our shoulders lift as we are challenged by our opposers, absent is any space for deep listening. We are living in an age of unprecedented local, national and global trauma. We are living in a time of things - at least on the surface - coming to a head. Fires, floods, melting ice caps, rising sea levels, racism, discrimination, sickness, conflict. But what lies underneath all of this turbulence that is our get out of jail free card in terms of tension? How do we find an attitude of relaxation in a relentlessly challenging world?
KINDNESS.
Relentless, overflowing, uninhibited, unconditional kindness. Such a potent quality that is too easily dismissed as naive, yet it is imbibed with the power to truly change the world. It takes such commitment sometimes but unlike separation, kindness fills us up with the effort of it, it never depletes. In any given moment, what is the kindest thing I can do? Is it being silent for a minute and listening? Is it sharing? Is it leaving space for others who have more authority to speak? Is it lifting something? Is it simply smiling? Hugging? Providing that gentle, intelligent touch that could be the difference between someone falling or floating?
Can you set kindness as your compass this week? Can you use it to fill your cup, to lower your nervous system, to melt away your biases, so that you can continue to wrap your arms around those who may need it and be someone who connects deeply, openly with land, yourself and with others? That is our invitation to you this week.
Sending so much love now, tomorrow and always.
Lissie and Shane.