PAUSE!
Alone with nature
The sky was bright blue, there was a cold wind and I was the only human being around; no-one within my field of vision even. Cleanup, cleanup! I was walking in nature, by myself, yesterday. Totally alone in and with nature. I constantly heard ‘cleanup’ popping up in my head. This happens more often: when I take time to stop the chatter in my head, these clear messages keep coming through. Of course! It is time to cleanup! I wrote a blog about it in July 2018, after I experienced the earthquake in Bali: 'rubbish in, rubbish out’, was the message I got then. The message was repeated over and over again, while I was meditating to listen to mother Earth.
The invitation
Back then, in 2018, I walked (ran;-)?) to the hotel lobby to ask my Indonesian friend what to do during this earthquake, since it was my first… She looked at me, very calm, almost amused and said: ‘I always meditate in these situations, there is an invitation in these natural phenomena. Mother Earth is trying to tell us something.’ This was not at all what I had expected…I was expecting where to go, what would be the safest spot, what to do or not to do. Such a Western perspective! How do I save my butt!? I was surprised by the answer, but immediately knew there was a great lesson for me to learn from my wise Eastern friend. And I went and meditated.
Western Corona anxiety
This week I fell into the trap of the ‘saving my butt urge’ again….Firstly: 'oh shit, all business gone'. Then worries about: ‘how with grandma in a home, mom being in Spain and sister with astma?’. Then I felt desperate how to deal with two kids at home all day without any structure. Then I felt amazingly alone and restless, when they where back to their mom and my husband kept on going to his office. Then I was totally frustrated about the different views of do’s and don’ts around Corona: both within our home and society. And then I red Otto Scharmer’s blog and felt ashamed (for my ego behaviour) and hopeful (for the emerging opportunity to create the new normal, together) at the same time.
GAIA: Pause, reset and step up
Amazing to see how beautiful things are created right away. Like Otto Scharmer, who launched GAIA: Global Activation of Intention and Action. Five days ago. In his latest blog (a must-read: https://medium.com/presencing-institute-blog/eight-emerging-lessons-from-coronavirus-to-climate-action-683c39c10e8b), he talks about how we are faced with a choice. We can either freeze, turn away from others and only care for ourselves. Or we can turn toward others to support and comfort those who need help. That choice between acting from ego or acting from ecosystem awareness is one that we face every day, every hour, every moment. He offers to ask ourselves three questions now:
1) Why do we keep ourselves busy with stuff that is not essential?
2) If we let go of everything that is not essential — what’s left?
3) What if we used this disruption as an opportunity to let go of everything that isn’t essential in our life, in our work, and in our institutional routines? How might we reimagine how we live and work together? How might we reimagine the basic structures of our civilization?
Scharmer encourages to use this time to pause, reset and step up.
Waking up to listen
I am emptying my agenda. Which was immediately filled with all kinds of alternative things. I will pause. And I will start cleaning up myself. No calls, no zooms, no developing, no brainstorming about what’s next. Also no gardening, no Marie-Kondo-ing and no chatting with friends. I will pause. Pause, cleanup and listen. Listen to myself and listen to nature. Listen to learn what I am asked to let go of. So that I am ready to enter GAIA April 10: with a clean mind, body and spirit. To jointly reimagine how we can live and work together. Based on eco and not ego.
Be well and take care of yourself and others.
P.s.: April 2, I just got this great post from a supportive friend ;-)… So if you want more stimulation to go for a ‘pause’, please be inspired by the Leaders’ Quest: https://leadersquest.org/why-purpose-matters/purpose-stories/a-pause