What Will You Leave Behind?
Any way you slice it, the world as we knew it is over. That is an observation, without any judgment attached to it.
As much as we might long for things to return to the way they were, they won’t. They can’t. And from where I stand, they shouldn’t.
We are sitting in a space (or standing, or whatever) that has an energy of transition to it. We are between what was and what will be. There is opportunity here. And a longing for something to emerge.
I don’t know what that something is. I have a sense of what it might be, for me, specifically. I’m not sure what it is for others, or what it is for the world at large.
I do know this: whatever it is that is emerging is relying on each of us extracting lessons from this moment, and applying them going forward. And so the question to hold is this: what are you learning? What are you learning about yourself, about the world, about the space in which you live and operate? What do you know now, that you didn’t know even 6 weeks ago?
These are questions I usually ask at the end of each year, as I dream and imagine what I might bring forward in the next 12-month period. At this moment, it doesn’t feel right to wait to ask these questions. Instead, it feels imperative that they be asked now, by each and every one of us.
And so I ask you again: what are you learning? What are you noticing and understanding about the relationship between you and those around you? What is drawing your attention?
In speaking with a few colleagues and clients this week, there is a common experience of feeling like things are different; more than that, however, is the feeling that they actually NEED to CONTINUE being different in some way.
This is the thing that matters right now. We all need to understand that it’s time to embrace a new way of operating in the world.
We need to notice the things that are bringing us enjoyment (if not full-on joy).
We need to notice what we are missing and why.
We need to pay attention to what is becoming possible.
We need to see what is working NOW and extrapolate those lessons as we move forward.
Once we have focused our attention and noticed all of this, we need to create a space that lets us hold on to what’s working, and let go of what will no longer serve. We need to release -- energetically and physically -- the tribulations and trials that we’ve managed to leave behind, willingly or not. Because the fact is, those trials and challenges no longer need to be here.
Bottom-line: as the dust starts to settle and you catch glimmers of a “new normal”, ask yourself: what will you bring forward from this time of uncertainty? What lessons will you allow to inform you? And what will you leave behind? Knowing the answers to these questions will ensure your ability to move into the future in a meaningful way.