Ready enough is ready
It unfolds as you go. It makes sense as you look back and forward, not necessarily in the moment.
And not every moment needs to be FULL now, because there are more moments available. Inshallah. ان شاء الله
Neurodivergent women are curious and enquiring, kinesthetic learners – they may learn best by experiencing and doing.
And they are conditioned to tame their quick minds to being taught, to staying inside the lines, to follow instruction, to stay on track and target.
Which undermines our trust in our steady, non-linear gathering and synthesis of meaning when it clashes with received authority.
I suggest establishing a discipline of curiosity (and kindness), so that you can call on it when you need it most.
For me, that’s when I find myself descending into an unhelpful spiral of self doubt and criticism, usually because I’m not conforming to some externally imposed, subconsciously internalised expectation of performance.
Curiosity can lighten things up quickly.
Oh, here i am again! Ok. How is it serving me to be miserable and self flagellating when I could simply rest and let this go for a while? Hmmm. What would I rather be doing now?
Take a nap. Go for a walk. Cook/craft something. Do the washing up. Something simple and direct that makes an immediate and visible difference.
Remind yourself of the practical power at your fingertips.
To dream. To move. To create. To bring clarity and order.
I don’t want to suggest for a moment that this is an easy or natural transition for everybody, although it can be taught.
But mostly, it needs to be learned through repeated modelling (community) and supported practice (creativity).
And this is your call to adventure.
Because the way your own curiosity will lead you to learn and grow is completely unique and uncharted territory.
It’s ok, if apparently unfortunate, that so often we only discover how vitally important curiosity is when we’ve stopped following it for a while and get out of the habit, then find ourselves in an uncomfortable dead end … again
This week I wrote a poem. Can’t be any more direct than poetry.
The form of the poem is an OOREI created by Beau Sia on Instagram @beausia, brought to my attention by @adriennemareebrown
I find this form accessible to write because it encourages me to keep the title, the message, anchored front of mind, helping me go deeper, not wander off… (although those two might not be so different)
After I’d written this particular poem, I was very aware of the pulsing repetition of the title line, which then brought to mind Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen’s description of the Blood Circulatory System in her book “Sensing, Feeling and Action : Experiential Anatomy.”
Arterial blood, travelling outward from the heart, pulses with a regular, precise, rhythmic beat.
Venous blood, returning to the heart, is continuous, cyclic, wave like, alternately rising and falling.
For me, the feeling of this poetry form matches that description well. A clear repeated outward signal, then rest and listen, the reply comes back continuous, rising and falling.
She also writes that “the blood circulation system functions in communication, nurturing, embracing, gentleness, assertiveness and the flowing towards and away from ourselves and others.”
So I wrote this poem from a place of stuckness – needing to get words out to send you this week’s message. Perhaps you can see/feel something of my mental journey in the writing.
For the easter egg hunters, there’s three pop culture nerd nods to find.
Taylor Swift, Dr Who and Hunters and Collectors.
This is your call to adventure
Were you expecting trumpets and horses
Were you waiting for your wardrobe support
Now. it’s here, now, with your name on it
Inviting you in to this moment your body your self
Can you hear it? Can you feel it?
Or have you become so distracted and busy you are numb
Numb to what it is to feel a call.
No one has reached out for so long, you’ve forgotten your name
Your name, your story, your desires all present.
Everything and everyone you need is here now.
THIS IS YOUR CALL TO ADVENTURE
This is your call to action hints predictive text
I am honestly confused and silenced by your indifference
It’s your call, it’s your turn, it’s your time!
Yes, you, the one who has been silent and waiting
Hello. Are you there? Is anybody in there?
I have a message to deliver, and I need to find a receiver.
Beep beeb, beeb bop beep bop beep beep beep
What is the language you can comprehend
Secret – it’s in the subtext. And in the text
Can it be the same message all the way down
THIS IS YOUR CALL TO ADVENTURE
Echoing across time and space
Again and again the same message
It’s you, it’s you, it’s you.
The world is waiting for you.
Narcissus gazing longingly into the pond
Hearing it’s you it’s you it’s you.
It’s confusing for a mind that sees only its reflection
Close your eyes. You still exist.
It’s you, it’s you, it’s you.
Wherever you turn, it’s you.
THIS IS YOUR CALL TO ADVENTURE
Turn inward. It’s you, it’s you, it’s you.
Tissue, tissue, tissue. Bless you.
Issue, issue, issue. It’s you, it’s you, it’s you.
It’s me? I’m the problem? It’s me?
The clock ticks loudly. The egg timer tick tocks.
The words click out from under my fingers.
Whose call to adventure? Now i;m confused.
Every day the confusion about who should go and who should stay
Can you hear the drums?
Your heartbeat, your blood in your veins.
THIS IS YOUR CALL TO ADVENTURE
This is your call to adventure
This is your call to adventure.
This is your call to adventure.
What else, unfamiliar needs your attention
What is awkward, difficult, confronting
THIS IS YOUR CALL TO ADVENTURE
What is delightful, tempting, delicious
Long awaited, long denied.
THIS IS YOUR CALL TO ADVENTURE
Which direction is the blindspot ?
You don’t have to go alone.
THIS IS YOUR CALL TO ADVENTURE
You don’t have to go alone.
Who will you bring with you?
THIS IS YOUR CALL TO ADVENTURE
Throw away the stories, the lives of the saints and heroes.
Follow your own path. Theirs is known.
THIS IS YOUR CALL TO ADVENTURE
A cryptic whisper. A searing stab of pain.
A frustrating niggle. A deep longing.
THIS IS YOUR CALL TO ADVENTURE
Whichever way you go now
Adventure is calling you.
THIS IS YOUR CALL TO ADVENTURE
Pay attention. You’re standing in it.
Already conscripted. You’ve done the training.
Now it’s your call.
Two more immersions in LOVE MOVES US under the full moon and I can assure you that it’s DEEP and rich.
It can hold all of you that you can hold and a little bit more. It’s both spacious and supportive.
And if you want to float on the surface, or fly over, or turn away, that is welcome too. There’s no wrong way to engage with it.
But concretely, if you’re bored, frustrated, disengaged, fidgety, you’re especially invited in.
And because finding the time to do the things we need to do is difficult for many of us:
One step towards the universe BONUS live online offering
– because we know that purchasing and participating are different commitments.
Included in the purchase price of LOVE MOVES US is four weeks access to One Step Towards the Universe.
Two hours a week of live online parallel play. Commonly known as co-working or body doubling.
Meet me and the group online. Quick voluntary share how each of us is intending to spend the next 45 minutes. Then do the thing. Mic and camera off or on depending on your comfort. Last few minutes of the session report back on what we each achieved.
Two online group sessions a week, from 7 November 2024
