I drove through a storm recently.
It began gently, the sleet offering a delightful musical accompaniment to my journey. Intensifying, the noisy deluge and increasing winds demanded my careful driving attention. And then it was over. Just like that.
How different from the storm which has overtaken the world.
My country, the United States, is rife with division, anger, confusion, and fear. Basic human rights are threatened. Fires burn out of control, decimating homes and businesses. The ecosystem, already polluted, is now facing the impact of withdrawal of protections. I could go on and travel the world to speak of war, corruption, poverty, and compromised food sources.
You feel it, these winds of massive change, uncertainty, and overwhelm. Littering the airways with too many demands, unclear directions, and an overabundance of talking heads spewing opinions like free candy at a parade. Everyone is unsettled. There is no comfort in being part of that tribe – an unsettled, fearful cohort who is having trouble holding steady in the storm.
These are the times in which we live and we’re not through to the other side.
We’re in the “Messy Middle” of a long transformative process.
This term, coined by Scott Belskys, acknowledges the influential middle phase of any project, product development or transformation of a company. Whether intended or forced upon a company, big change brings uncertainty, ups and downs, mistakes, struggles, and frustration. Volatility is to be expected and may be worked with. Far from being helpless, there are wise ways to proceed.
It helps to recognize that no journey is linear. And every middle is messy.
At the beginning of a challenge, planned or unplanned, you may rally. Expend your energy to creatively adapt and to help others do the same. You settle into the new plans in place and manage the frequent need for adjusting your response.
And on it goes while the storm continues.
You engage. You withdraw. You adapt and look to the future. At some point, you lose sight of that future you looked to and have nothing yet to replace it with. Eventually, energy expended and mindset recalibrated countless times, you realize you’re tired. And unclear about the next tweak, action, or directional focus.
When you run out of steam, it’s a good thing to rest.
Even though life will still blow the winds around you, demanding your attention and your presence. That’s to be expected. Choosing to rest doesn’t mean you’ll give up your responsibility. You know how to show up for work, feed the children, and complete the basic tasks of living. It all gets done.
The choice becomes where you place your focus: on the storm around you or on the calm within.
It’s too easy to be pulled in the direction of the loudest wind. It takes intent to pull back and engage the quietude within. Here in the stillness of your own being, it’s not so much about doing anything. Not seeking answers or even trying to listen. Just dropping into the quiet spaciousness that awaits your return. Resting there.
Imagine that. In the midst of the storm, you do nothing.
It sounds simple, but it takes practice. Especially after years of the mind and the body clamoring for the “to do-ing.” Yet, living in flow with the universal energy and the wisdom of your own Soul requires you to slow. And still. And open.
You want that, right? Living in flow with a wisdom that exceeds anything you can access with your little, smart mind.
It’s a life practice, this flowing with the Universal wisdom, not just a smart meditation. (Although it also is a smart meditation.)
Dropping within and seeking nothing, you open the way for deep nourishment. Naturally, you access a wellspring of wisdom that soothes, sturdies, and (eventually) reveals the mystical invitations to live differently than you had before.
It doesn’t happen on day one, so keep on.
Maybe it doesn’t seem to happen at all in this loud and terribly threatening world. Yet, the flow is there and it can be found. Much like the sun is always shining above the dark clouds in a sleet storm. Waiting for its chance to flow light.
There’s an ebb and a flow to the process. And it’s not to be rushed.
There are many ways in. You are in charge of finding yours. For me, walking the Feminine mystical path has revealed the deep nourishment of sitting within exquisite stillness. Engaging the archetypal energy of the Mystical Feminine, with Her many faces, you awaken your capacity to flow in coordination with life’s movements.
Within this depth of sturdiness, connection, and replenishment, the way becomes clear.
Internally guided rather than externally pulled. Moving with the complexity of Life’s harmonious dance, your life becomes simpler. And the middle is less messy.
