What a year (or four) it’s been. These are intense times.

Some of us are feeling challenged to find or keep our center. Some of us are managing through alright but keeping emotions at a distance. Some are doing pretty well and keeping up on self-care and connectedness in ways that are sustaining, but maybe there is still a sense of anxiety and inner stirring.

The tension is palpable here in the United States – leading up to this week in particular. There isn’t anyone I speak with who isn’t feeling it.

Our collective is being called upon to pay close attention and to do some serious repair and mending work.

There is so much “up” and so much that needs attention, from COVID to racial/ social justice, to rising political and social tensions and our beloved planet.

There is much to DO. I know I receive multitudes of emails a day of what actions I can take, where I can put my money, how I can be involved. And I feel the pull, as I’m sure you do, to be responsive, to DO, to ACT, to help make a difference and make this world better, in any and every way we can.

I hope this note finds you navigating these wild times with deep breaths and beauty in your heart. Sending you waves of both breath and beauty as I start this note…

Years ago, while I was navigating one of the health crises that led me onto a deep and long healing path, I remember despairingly asking the questions, “Am I going to die from this? What am I supposed to DO here? What am I supposed to GET from this?”

Years later, when I was doing my training in energy medicine work, I learned to dive deeper, and steadier, exploring answers to different questions, like, “What do you need to take a closer look at here that you’ve not been paying attention to? What is this health issue and crisis saying to you about what needs shifting in your life?”

In these wild and trying times, do you find yourself holding your breath, maybe a bit more than usual?

So often we hold our breath, in times of challenge, stress, and even trauma.

Whether working the front lines, stuck at home attempting to work with restless children needing attention, navigating new financial hardships or simply reeling from the uncertainty of what is and what will be, life feels stressful and demanding for many of us right now.

Since this pandemic began, and more recently in looking at “returning to normal” or re-opening, I have been ever more aware of this collective breath holding:
waiting until that moment we can re-emerge from our homes, socialize, hug each other, go to restaurants, remove our masks…

Good wishes, and deep breaths to you.

I hope that this note finds you in good health, close to those you love, taking good care of yourself, and contributing in a way that feels right and good.

It’s time for some big shifts here on Planet Earth. Some we are consciously choosing, some not. We don't have experience in navigating these wild, unprecedented times and the waves that come with them, but we’re figuring it out as we make our way.

We are front line health care professionals, leaders running hospitals, businesses and non-profit organizations, professionals delivering services, folks delivering groceries and necessary supplies, suddenly unemployed people. We are parents, teachers (or parents turned teachers), professors, policymakers, changemakers, healers, helpers and caregivers.