Swimming Upstream

Sometimes in our current world it can feel like everything is a heavy lift. The world outside feels like chaos and things we depended on are shifting under our feet. That can make it feel like moving forward or upward is impossible, or for some of my clients, pointless.I think shifting the perspective is a necessary move in these instances. When it feels like we are swimming upstream, I think we need to get out of the water. The water is going to keep moving, relentlessly sometimes. But we have an opportunity to recognize that instead of feeling like we just need to keep our heads above water. The water is going to move. And keep moving. Just like our world. Change is inevitable, and in uncertain times, that can be a comfort. This moment, in our personal lives and in our lives in our communities, nation, and history, will come and go. We can focus on the overwhelm, but it mostly just keeps us feeling like we are drowning. The other option is to shift our perspective. We have this moment, ourselves and the community and found families we continue to create for ourselves. The thing that will move us through with a sense of strength is letting ourselves float on the water as it moves and look to our right and left to see who we are connected to. We can move towards one another and together we have a better opportunity to move through the water in purposeful ways. Just keep swimming (fighting the current) is disconnected from our selves and our larger narratives - let yourself float and you have the capacity to notice more, connect more and move more freely. It doesn't mean we don't shift direction or make moves, just that the energy we bring to the movement is different. And sometimes that makes all the difference.