What’s Present
Taken on a rainy day @Storm King Art Center
Meeting Yourself Where You Are
One of the core tenets of my work as a performer and in my coaching practice is meeting people where they are. By design, my work has taught me that we can’t truly meet other people where they are if we are not doing the same for ourselves. This practice of presence comes so easy when I’m in the flow so to speak- and holding space for others to feel seen and heard, but not so much when it comes to just me being me and taking care of myself. And I have a sense that may be true for a lot of us.
A great insight I received this weekend from @the.trauma.witch is that it’s OK not to know exactly what we need at any given moment, but it’s important that we keep asking. In taking that moment (really just a moment!) to check in - hey there, where are you at right now, what do you need?) without expectation, and acknowledging what we are feeling, we are allowing ourselves to be seen (by ourselves). And that in itself is healing.
Another thing that happened this weekend, is I had the pleasure of leading a workshop on Embodying Virtual Space for Everything Immersive’s Spring-Fling Weekend. This lovely group of humans and I explored connecting with our somatic experience despite the disembodying effect of Zoom. Feeling our feet on the ground, breathing, going internal, giving ourselves permission to not be “on camera” so that we could feel connected to our own physical and emotional experience and seeing how that opened up many more layers of awareness that had previously been cut off - not only of the different spaces we were in, but also of what our bodies needed in the moment- and seeing that ultimately allowed space for us to be more attuned to each other as a collective. The effects of turning off the “self view” as it turned out was quite a revelatory and vulnerable discovery. Essentially as one of the creators on the call noted - it was like breaking all the unspoken zoom rules that we’ve somehow created for ourselves.
Ooof. How many “rules” do we unconsciously make or subconsciously internalize for ourselves, all the time? And how is that impacting us?
So yeah, taking a moment of stillness, slowing down, looking out the window, feeling your feet on the ground, your back in the chair, taking a breath, saying hey, what’s happening right now? And accepting what is present - not judging, just noticing. This is how we ground and center ourselves, and how we help others do the same. In real space, in virtual space, in transformational space - this is how we co-regulate. This is how we drop in in order to connect. It doesn’t take much. It’s so simple that it’s easy to forget.
And I think that’s what makes it so radical.
Take care and be you. You are great.
Tara
P.S. Another big inspiration for me lately is this episode of the On Being Podcast with Krista Tippett - What’s Happening With Our Nervous Systems? . Psychologist Christine Runyan beautifully puts a lot of our collective experience with the pandemic in perspective and offers some simple strategies (like breathing and feeling our feet on the ground - yes!) I highly recommend.