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The Center of Being in the World
I was going to share a post today on being comfortable with discomfort, to reveal the lessons and blessings as a result of this action, but I have a little story/allegory to tell instead…
Once upon the end of a spring Shabbat dinner in the suburbs of Richmond, a parent said that the world is a terrifying and scary place. Their child, who was standing next to them, said, “what?! It’s scary?!” eyes as big as saucers. She couldn’t comprehend how her perspective of the world being a good/safe/fun/magical place was… wrong, shaken, misplaced. You could feel the fear and confusion rolling off her.
It's All Connected is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
Without batting an eye, and not because of the child but because I think we all need to be reminded of this (me included), I said, “hey, I think the world is what we make of it. It’s up to us to decide how we approach it, life is great no matter what’s going on or not going on.” The child’s eyes widened, a bit of relief softening her face, yet confused after hearing two adults say two diametrically opposed things.The parent, I don’t remember what the parents said…(Gratitude to my parents, especially my mom, for always being that “life is what you make of it” person in my life. She’s amazing.)
Presuming that we’re all adults here: we can hold two perspectives, two emotions, at once, right? Two things can be true at the same time. (At least, that’s what my aim is, and I have varying levels of success with this on a given day.)
To say, “hey, sh*t’s real right now, and we’re bombarded with zaniness and disruption every day that is meant to remind us all how life is not predictable. And wow, right on time, predictably and magically the cherry tree on the block is gorgeous, and all is right with the world because the birds are out and the bees are buzzing, and I’m alive.” It’s about being comfortable with the discomfort of living in an “uncertain” world.
Yet so much is indeed certain. I know within a week or so when the violets will be ready in my yard for picking and drying. I know when the wild strawberries will be ready way upstate NY (even though I haven’t been for this harvest since 2021). I know the smell of rain, that the sun will rise tomorrow morning. (Hey, maybe this is about being comfortable with the discomfort after all!)
Every day in the news there are dozens of headlines that make even the most resilient optimist shudder.
Yet, it’s our responsibility to make the most out of each day.
We only have this one life, how do you want to spend it? It’s both, and, right? Not either or.
(And, if it was either or, I’d choose to make the most out of each day after living in the other side for the first part of my life.)
Sitting around, getting each other worked up in a frenzy of fear is not going to do anything but make life feel zanier and more disrupted and scarier. At least for me. It doesn’t help me feel like I’m “doing something”, it makes me feel like I’m stuck in traffic yelling at the people around me.
Instead, what if we instead become grounded in ourselves, get quiet and in the present moment? Then, we can tune in and hear our Hearts -which only know love and joy anyway- live unattached to “certainty” via the present moment. Because then, no matter what happens… we’ve got this. Yes, our Hearts only know and resonate with love and joy.
Our Hearts are innocent in that way.
Sure, your Heart can become closed off, then hardened and bitter as a result; but we are not born this way, we do not thrive this way. If we feel fear (an emotion of the Kidneys, of Water), the fire of our Hearts shudder and shiver in response. When we feel anger (the emotion of Liver and Wood) we can create larger fires and our Hearts rage without consciousness and loving kindness. If grief-stricken (a Lung/Metal emotion), our Hearts can feel heavy and shattered, brittle almost, at what is lost - and can become stuck in the past, out of sync with who we are in the present moment. If we are stuck in worry (a Spleen/Earth emotion), our hearts seek sympathy and nurturing from others to soothe our weary soul. We can also be filled with desire for more stimulation, more excitement, and have a sort of FOMO of the “fun things” in life, and through that, our hearts become exhausted, hungover, overstimulated and out of sync with the natural rhythms of our lives.
Even through all of this, our Hearts keep beating, singing the song of our souls, of love and joy and peace if only we take the time to be present, to be still enough to listen.
The Heart is an organ of the Fire element. And Fire, like the sun, exists only in this moment in time. It cannot be captured, or held, or stored. (Think of how hot the desert sun is, but once it is set for the night, the desert temperature can drop enormously.) Your Heart holds the spark of your life, the joy and love in your life.
Healthy Heart energy can unify us with the Heavens/Universe/Oneness/God/Spirit/Gaia. This energy can lift us up, and fill us with light and faith, positivity (without naivete) and what’s called right-action.
With a lack of Fire in our Hearts, we are unable to utilize our spark of innate joy to live our best lives. With too much Fire in our Hearts, we are so concerned with wanting and getting more of what brings us one type of joy that we lose perspective on life and can become controlling.
Either way, the Heart is unable to turn the feast of life’s joys into insight, intimacy, mastery, living through doing nothing (wu wei), propriety (which is right action at the right time) and sageliness (thoughtfulness, carefulness, compassion, kindness).
For if all we’re doing is listening to the noise of our minds, or the news, or the fears of others, then we’re ignoring the most healing and helpful sound of all: the beating and song of our own Hearts. When we live from our Hearts, in tune with our Heart’s song, then this resonates to others. Others can then join together in harmony and then rise in a sense of unification, attunement, love and joy – the beating of a drum.
Let’s remember that this is not just for you or for me, but for each other, for our loved ones, for our friends, for our community, for the world.
It’s up to each of us to focus on the good (not just the gloriousness of spring, but also the actions we need to take to help make the world a better place*) and what we CAN do today that helps make things better.
And yes, of course, rally, protest, organize, take action where you feel compelled to! Use your money for the things that you care about so that additional ACTION is being taken to support the causes that you care about. Be proactive, not reactive.
When life is reminding us that everything is uncertain, for to live is to be in a state of uncertainty: it's up to each of us to decide what song to sing and dance to.
I for one, prefer to tune into my Heart, and live life from my Heart’s song. What about you?
***********************************************************************************************************
If you liked this post, please hit the heart button!
If you resonated with something here, I’d love to know what it brought up for you (comment below).
And, if you think someone would like this post too… feel free to share it.
Please consider subscribing (as a free or paid subscriber) - it means the world to me, and encourages me to keep sharing with you!
* Think of how Gandhi’s resistance against British colonial rule was not fighting against the British, but instead via non-violent and non-compliant action. The resistance was done so from a place of proactive dignity and honor, from a place of solution, of how he wanted India to be.Martin Luther King Jr led the civil rights movement by being a living example through speech and action for how he wanted the country to be. He lived and spoke from that place as if it already existed.
It's All Connected is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit pamelashaw.substack.com/subscribe
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By Pamela ShawI was going to share a post today on being comfortable with discomfort, to reveal the lessons and blessings as a result of this action, but I have a little story/allegory to tell instead…
Once upon the end of a spring Shabbat dinner in the suburbs of Richmond, a parent said that the world is a terrifying and scary place. Their child, who was standing next to them, said, “what?! It’s scary?!” eyes as big as saucers. She couldn’t comprehend how her perspective of the world being a good/safe/fun/magical place was… wrong, shaken, misplaced. You could feel the fear and confusion rolling off her.
It's All Connected is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
Without batting an eye, and not because of the child but because I think we all need to be reminded of this (me included), I said, “hey, I think the world is what we make of it. It’s up to us to decide how we approach it, life is great no matter what’s going on or not going on.” The child’s eyes widened, a bit of relief softening her face, yet confused after hearing two adults say two diametrically opposed things.The parent, I don’t remember what the parents said…(Gratitude to my parents, especially my mom, for always being that “life is what you make of it” person in my life. She’s amazing.)
Presuming that we’re all adults here: we can hold two perspectives, two emotions, at once, right? Two things can be true at the same time. (At least, that’s what my aim is, and I have varying levels of success with this on a given day.)
To say, “hey, sh*t’s real right now, and we’re bombarded with zaniness and disruption every day that is meant to remind us all how life is not predictable. And wow, right on time, predictably and magically the cherry tree on the block is gorgeous, and all is right with the world because the birds are out and the bees are buzzing, and I’m alive.” It’s about being comfortable with the discomfort of living in an “uncertain” world.
Yet so much is indeed certain. I know within a week or so when the violets will be ready in my yard for picking and drying. I know when the wild strawberries will be ready way upstate NY (even though I haven’t been for this harvest since 2021). I know the smell of rain, that the sun will rise tomorrow morning. (Hey, maybe this is about being comfortable with the discomfort after all!)
Every day in the news there are dozens of headlines that make even the most resilient optimist shudder.
Yet, it’s our responsibility to make the most out of each day.
We only have this one life, how do you want to spend it? It’s both, and, right? Not either or.
(And, if it was either or, I’d choose to make the most out of each day after living in the other side for the first part of my life.)
Sitting around, getting each other worked up in a frenzy of fear is not going to do anything but make life feel zanier and more disrupted and scarier. At least for me. It doesn’t help me feel like I’m “doing something”, it makes me feel like I’m stuck in traffic yelling at the people around me.
Instead, what if we instead become grounded in ourselves, get quiet and in the present moment? Then, we can tune in and hear our Hearts -which only know love and joy anyway- live unattached to “certainty” via the present moment. Because then, no matter what happens… we’ve got this. Yes, our Hearts only know and resonate with love and joy.
Our Hearts are innocent in that way.
Sure, your Heart can become closed off, then hardened and bitter as a result; but we are not born this way, we do not thrive this way. If we feel fear (an emotion of the Kidneys, of Water), the fire of our Hearts shudder and shiver in response. When we feel anger (the emotion of Liver and Wood) we can create larger fires and our Hearts rage without consciousness and loving kindness. If grief-stricken (a Lung/Metal emotion), our Hearts can feel heavy and shattered, brittle almost, at what is lost - and can become stuck in the past, out of sync with who we are in the present moment. If we are stuck in worry (a Spleen/Earth emotion), our hearts seek sympathy and nurturing from others to soothe our weary soul. We can also be filled with desire for more stimulation, more excitement, and have a sort of FOMO of the “fun things” in life, and through that, our hearts become exhausted, hungover, overstimulated and out of sync with the natural rhythms of our lives.
Even through all of this, our Hearts keep beating, singing the song of our souls, of love and joy and peace if only we take the time to be present, to be still enough to listen.
The Heart is an organ of the Fire element. And Fire, like the sun, exists only in this moment in time. It cannot be captured, or held, or stored. (Think of how hot the desert sun is, but once it is set for the night, the desert temperature can drop enormously.) Your Heart holds the spark of your life, the joy and love in your life.
Healthy Heart energy can unify us with the Heavens/Universe/Oneness/God/Spirit/Gaia. This energy can lift us up, and fill us with light and faith, positivity (without naivete) and what’s called right-action.
With a lack of Fire in our Hearts, we are unable to utilize our spark of innate joy to live our best lives. With too much Fire in our Hearts, we are so concerned with wanting and getting more of what brings us one type of joy that we lose perspective on life and can become controlling.
Either way, the Heart is unable to turn the feast of life’s joys into insight, intimacy, mastery, living through doing nothing (wu wei), propriety (which is right action at the right time) and sageliness (thoughtfulness, carefulness, compassion, kindness).
For if all we’re doing is listening to the noise of our minds, or the news, or the fears of others, then we’re ignoring the most healing and helpful sound of all: the beating and song of our own Hearts. When we live from our Hearts, in tune with our Heart’s song, then this resonates to others. Others can then join together in harmony and then rise in a sense of unification, attunement, love and joy – the beating of a drum.
Let’s remember that this is not just for you or for me, but for each other, for our loved ones, for our friends, for our community, for the world.
It’s up to each of us to focus on the good (not just the gloriousness of spring, but also the actions we need to take to help make the world a better place*) and what we CAN do today that helps make things better.
And yes, of course, rally, protest, organize, take action where you feel compelled to! Use your money for the things that you care about so that additional ACTION is being taken to support the causes that you care about. Be proactive, not reactive.
When life is reminding us that everything is uncertain, for to live is to be in a state of uncertainty: it's up to each of us to decide what song to sing and dance to.
I for one, prefer to tune into my Heart, and live life from my Heart’s song. What about you?
***********************************************************************************************************
If you liked this post, please hit the heart button!
If you resonated with something here, I’d love to know what it brought up for you (comment below).
And, if you think someone would like this post too… feel free to share it.
Please consider subscribing (as a free or paid subscriber) - it means the world to me, and encourages me to keep sharing with you!
* Think of how Gandhi’s resistance against British colonial rule was not fighting against the British, but instead via non-violent and non-compliant action. The resistance was done so from a place of proactive dignity and honor, from a place of solution, of how he wanted India to be.Martin Luther King Jr led the civil rights movement by being a living example through speech and action for how he wanted the country to be. He lived and spoke from that place as if it already existed.
It's All Connected is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit pamelashaw.substack.com/subscribe