heartbeat: Staying Connected

Hello All,

It's time for another "heartbeat" post and teaching. I was just noticing lately how much our political times seem to be filled with chaos no matter who is in charge, no matter what we are trying to accomplish. I believe the Covid-19 pandemic is reaching those moments that we are truly feeling the trauma of it and the reality of how our society may be forever changed. With so many unknowns about whether our vaccines for Covid-19 will be the answer and the endless political strife in our country, it can be hard at the end of the day just to get back to being you and finding a safe place to rest. Yet, this teaching series is about that very thing. The one thing I know about God is that God is a provider. Whenever everything else seems confusing and there may be competing thoughts and ideas about what is true or more important, I can come back to this connection and the quiet place where I feel at peace with God and know that what I need will be provided for. I've just had to cut out the distractions to get there. I can immediately tell this year that if I get pulled into energies, vibrations, or experiences that are not life giving for me that I feel distressed, out of energy, and out of power. Innately, our culture has not changed. It's still animalistic and has the same values as pre-pandemic because our wiring hasn't really changed. We are in perpetual fight and flight, and I wonder if that will ever really change. The sympathetic nervous system of our culture and way of life is constantly going and going so much so that the only way that people can get peace is to withdrawal, go within, and simply gravitate to what is safe. Things that are too loud, too much, and too traumatizing are just simply not what helps us heal and feel as if we could get back to something more normal and healthy.

I realized more of this during this week when the sun was out all week. I talked with people and we talked about the weather all the time and what we were doing to get out in it. People are craving the light, something lighter, something less traumatic. We have so much to deal with but we are overloaded and overstimulated so much that our nervous system has not had the time to heal. I was blessed in disguise with a car accident that had shaken up my nervous system so much that I landed in physical therapy to fix this dysfunction as well as the physical muscle injuries. I am still extremely sensitive and I have to set boundaries with the outside about what my body will tolerate and handle. It doesn't matter if I want to do more or if parts of my body can do more. If the whole of my body is not whole enough to do the task, the other parts cannot compensate enough to make the whole of the task happen. That is what we are faced with on a whole. Parts of us can do the task, remain in survival mode, and do what is needed to function in society, but the whole of us is not ready for the full movement forward because parts of us are still behind in the healing. I had to face this in my physical therapy this week as I was dealing with a setback. Parts of me could perform and other parts could not. I had to deal with the increased inflammation and make adjustments so that I could feel better and make movements that fit true with how to take steps forward. It didn't matter what someone else thought, or what society thought about how I should be doing it, or whatever political divide was dominating the day. It only mattered that I mattered. I remember telling my physical therapist that my heart is my most vital organ. We can hurt it in the rush to get forward. I think what we have to reckon with in these times is how much our hearts need to heal physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. I started this series because of how much I wanted to realign with what mattered and what I felt mattered to making the heart truly thrive and making life happier to live. The truth is that people will likely have angst with each other for a long time because we are depleted, tired, and need self care and attention. Even those of us who are healers are depleted when we can't spend the time filling our cups up with nourishment. To do that, we have to spend serious time reconnecting. It's imperative to physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health. We must reconnect. This is why so many of us are talking about the weather. When there is more light, we are drawn outside into connection with the Earth, The Earth is drawing us into connection for very good reason right now. It's a soft place to rest. It's a place where we can put our worries aside for awhile and just drink in the warmth, the fresh air, the beauty of nature around us. We can get more active if we want to. We can do the small things for ourselves where it doesn't matter what someone else is thinking about you. I've been taking a walk around a nearby lake nearly every day when the sun is out. At first, my nervous system wasn't calming down. I felt like I was constantly working something out and that, by walking, I would get it out of my system. It's the drive of our society, ie. how many steps we can take, how many laps we can accomplish, or just the fact that we can talk about the weather and what we did in it in the next conversation. There's some innate drive to compete on even the most quiet of things. As I began walking though more and more, I began to enjoy it much more. I began to notice my surroundings. It was less about saying that I accomplished something and more about actually living in the moment I was in. I felt more grounded. More connected. Progress for me was tied to these moments. The drive of society was taking one direction with its forces and the quiet of me was taking another. I didn't feel so much that I needed to make an impression as much as I wanted to create more peace. I've come to this place more now. When the outside world disappoints me or drives my nervous system back into chaos, I remember that God is there in the most beautiful mindful ways pulling me back into the state of alignment and balance. There have been important people in my life who have reminded me to retreat to those spaces because it is from a balance of balance that I can accomplish more. I can let go of the forces that are distracting and causing harm. I don't have to get pulled in. My existence does not revolve around it. There is enough abundance that there is a choice to choose the best, supportive, and most thriving option. We can make a choice to stay connected so that our most sacred relationships stay thriving and healthy, and the relationship with ourselves matters in this endeavor.

I invite you in this time to get connected. The good weather was our inner cry for the light and something lighter to help our heart and nervous system become more balanced. Let us rejoice in the light and go towards it while rebalancing our sacred rhythms of the heart, sleep, emotions, and wellbeing. Let us be reminded that we don't have to let ourselves fail in these quiet moments. We can walk in them until the nervous system calms down and we feel more safe and thankful. We can choose away from the imbalance and if that means that it draws you away from the chaos of the constantly changing and moving world, then so be it. You matter. The little things matter. You most vital organ, the heart, matters. We should pay attention more and not take this for granted. It's not a flaky thing. We will function better in our lives when we do the small things to make sure that the parts that make us whole are functioning together better. God didn't lie in shaping and making us. We are meant to be whole. We are meant to be thriving. We are meant to have a good heart. Let us make a choice to drive in that direction. I hope you have some wonderful moments in the good weather that is calling us towards the Earth and something more peaceful,

'Til next time,

Jennifer