Focus On What You Can Control

An invitation to take a few deep breaths—ones that bring you back to yourself, back into your body, back into your power. 🌬️ You don't need to keep reading; just keep breathing. 😇

As we move through a week of heightened tensions across the country, we get to remember what we can control—our breath. We can nurture ourselves in our space and ground ourselves into this moment using deep exhales to support our well-being amidst uncertainty while deepening our presence and faith. 

Collectively, we've all been holding our breath, bracing for what’s to come. Amidst uncertainty, we can find calm by grounding ourselves in the powerful energy of the divine life force within—our "Inner Chi" as our breath—using it as a moving, living, breathing prayer.

Our Space and the Subconscious Mind

We cultivate peace by turning inward and focusing on our breath, and we can also nurture our sense of calm by tending to our physical space. Connect with your surroundings to process this week, tending to our space as a moving meditation. Instead of focusing solely on the breath, like in meditation, shift your attention to your environment, intentionally creating a calming space that reflects your beliefs, values, and identity. This simple yet powerful act signals to your subconscious and the universe that you are actively nurturing your well-being and stepping into a deeper sense of control over how you feel and who you are at your core.

Balancing our prayers (yin) with our actions (yang)

This week, allow yourself to say, "I don't need this anymore," as we toss low-self-worth shirts or angry old pants that don't fit well into the giveaway pile. "I'm sick of this broken-down dresser and its sixteen coats of paint," as the dresser goes off to Goodwill.

Free yourself from anything big or small as a devotion to what you can control.  

We make way for the new and suitable by tossing out the old and unworkable. A closet stuffed with unworn clothes does not invite new ones. A space overflowing with odds and ends and tidbits you've held on to for some time has no space for the things that might enhance today. 

When we search and discard to tend to our inner world, two crosscurrents are at work: The old you is leaving and grieving, while the new you starts celebrating and growing strong.

As with any rupture, there is both tension and relief. Long-seated depression breaks up like an ice floe. Long-froze feelings thaw, melt, cascade, flood, and often overrun their container (you).

You may find yourself feeling volatile and changeable. You are. 

A well-tended space deepens our spiritual connection. When our surroundings align with our values and intentions, our outer environment harmonizes with our inner desires. Simple rituals like decluttering, closet audits, rearranging furniture, or adding meaningful decor can become powerful acts of self-care, reminding us of our ability to shape our lives and our spaces with dignity. 

I embraced these practices during a challenging time when I felt disconnected from my purpose as a management consultant and full-time leadership coach in an industry that was misaligned with my values. I had nearly lost hope that life could be fulfilling. By focusing on what I could change in my surroundings, I found a way to start healing within. I used my environment to transcend feelings I couldn’t fully process or feel to step into a more fully expressed and reenergized mission in life. My Zen teacher reminded me during my most difficult time: “Allow your suffering to be the catalyst for your awakening.”

When our awareness rises, so do our circumstances. 

In this transformative season, let’s embrace the chance to connect with our space and ability to breathe as extensions of ourselves and all we hold and can let go of in life. By nurturing our environments and capacity to breathe, we create a supportive atmosphere for personal growth, healing, and deepening our spiritual practices.

A Closing Poem

Remember that growth means that you are absorbing something new every day 

And that absorption is only possible if you are open 

So now your windows and your doors are open 

And sometimes the rain comes in

And sometimes the wind comes in

The sun comes in, too, and life moves within you 

And around you and through you

So, you'll feel a few disturbances

Your newspaper will start to move in the wind 

The papers on the table will be disturbed 

And if the rain starts coming in, your clothes may become wet

If you have always lived in a closed room

You'll ask "what is happening?"

Actually, something beautiful is happening

It's good to be available to the wind, to the rain, to the sun

Because this is what life is ~*

So rather than becoming worried about it

Dance

Dance when the storm comes

Because silence will follow

Dance when challenges come and disturb your life

Because in responding to those challenges, you'll be growing to new heights

Remember, even suffering is a grace

If one can take it lightly, it becomes a stepping stone

People who have never suffered and have lived a convenient, comfortable life

Are almost dead

We forget that

We often envy those people whose lives are not disturbed by all the elements

But let yourself know this

You can relax in all aspects of your life today.

And remember... remember... remember...

You can dance

In the challenging times

In the disturbing times

You get to give yourself permission - for that 

Remember, this earth, and all its elements, is an altar for the heart.

Knowing that Heaven and Hell are both in the mind.

Who do we become as we dance to build a new altar?