Reflections
self reflection, healing presence, duty of care, cycles of interdependence
I’ve spent this month in deep reflection…
Partly self reflection, as I reviewed my old journals back to 2001. It was interesting to recognise the qualities of my 19 year old self that are still present today. And those that I have let go. We all live with multiple layers of self. Being aware of these younger selves brings compassion and a sense of responsibility.
And also, I’ve been reflecting on healing presence. Noticing how being in nature gives me space to think and feel, to be accepted just for my aliveness, to know I am part of a larger whole - in entangled and reciprocal relationship with the world.
I’ve been practicing embodying this healing presence, trying to ‘be more like my place’, as Tyson Yunkaporta says. This includes:
sitting in stillness with my family to give them space to think and feel
accepting our dog’s needs and heightened reactions just as they are
letting go of the impossible expectation of individual health and purity
It feels like a profound shift. I’m able to support family, friends and clients without feeling depleted from giving too much. I feel whole and grounded. Mutually supported.
I recently came across Susan Raffo’s blog giving the bones back, and among other important ideas about my profession, she raises the notion of duty of care:
The oldest believed root of the English word “duty” is a word that means “to give or receive.” When I read that I thought, but of course. Of course. While the meaning of the word has grown disconnected, the word’s oldest memory is about a cycle of interdependence, of giving and receiving. I would imagine that the ancestors grieve alongside us when noticing that this word - duty - got frozen into something that can feel like a burden rather than life.
I wonder where you feel a sense of duty? A responsibility to give and receive in a cycle of interdependence? Which places and relationships feel most alive?
Inspiration
Grounded by Ruth Allen
Against Purity by Alexis Shotwell
Small bird habitats at my local creek
Much love,
Emily