Finding Our Feet
Unsettled. This is a feeling that I have become familiar with over the past several months. I keep finding myself with the energy of unsettledness. There is so much upheaval in our world, so much uncertainty, so much chaos… It is not surprising to find myself unsettled, but it is an energy that I have some difficulty handling.
This has led me to reread Pema Chödrën’s book, When Things Fall Apart: Heart Advice for Difficult Times. Pema says that when things fall apart, we want to get ground under our feet. However, this is not possible. Impermanence is a fundamental part of the life experience. There is a basic groundlessness to life. So rather than hanging on and trying to find solid ground, a less stressful way to navigate these times is to surrender, to embrace the groundlessness.
Embrace the groundlessness? Embrace the unsettledness? Easier said then done! Truthfully, I’d rather get rid of the unsettledness. I’d like to find some solid ground to stand on. I’ve been reflecting on this and something from my experience as a ballet dancer surfaced. Years ago, I had a dance teacher who used to tell us to “find our feet.” Essentially, this is about becoming aware of our feet, paying attention to our bodies, and connecting with the earth. This is not about finding solid ground or attempting to cling to what was. It is more about centering ourselves in our bodies and opening ourselves to the movement that is the constant of life..
People usually don’t think about dance as an exercise in falling, but in many ways it is. Dance is movement. And much of the movement of dance is about allowing ourselves to fall, catching ourselves, recovering, and moving onto the next step. Finding our feet is really about finding some comfort with the constant motion, and allowing ourselves to be in the flow.
Think about a young child learning to walk. With each step, they lose their balance, right themselves, then take another step which again puts them off balance. Often that loss of balance results in a fall. And the child picks themselves up and tries again. Over time, the child becomes more proficient, and this activity of losing and regaining her balance results in the fluid motion we call “walking.” That fluid motion requires that we find some ease with continually falling - continually loosing our balance.
Each of us has a lifetime of experience of falling and recovering. In this time where things are falling apart, what might serve us best is to “find our feet.” We cannot contain the level of change that is upon us and the unsettledness it creates for us. We cannot find solid ground. Rather than trying to hang on, I see this as a time of deep surrender, of opening to the groundlessness, and trusting the flow of life. It is about embracing the rhythm of falling and recovering.
When we are feeling off balance and unsettled, we can pause and find our feet. We can acknowledge the thoughts and emotions that are arising within us without making them right or wrong. We can stay in touch with our bodies and where and how the unsettledness is being held. We can take notice of our resistance to the movement and our desire to hang on. And as we find our feet, we can let go, opening ourselves fully to Source, and allow ourselves to surrender to the dance. We can remember that there is more to this than we realize or understand. We can trust the process, and the grace inherent in the unsettledness. For without the loss of balance, we cannot move forward.