SAFE in a Pandemic
Over the last handful of years, I've traveled, often. One of those years, I spent the equivalent of three months in a bed other than my own. Sometimes my travel is for work, such as leading a retreat. Other times, I enjoy a holiday with my husband; I find myself engaged in an adventure; or I participate in a learning workshop. In recent years, though, I have discovered the power of the personal retreat - a time out, free of obligations of any kind. No organized schedule looms, and no personal interactions mark my agenda. It's just time, between me and me, in a location other than home.
This year, of course, things have been different. After Mark and I returned from our extraordinary adventure in Sri Lanka (image of a sunrise in Ella above), I enjoyed a quick visit with friends in Florida. That was in February. Since then, I've been unwilling to sleep any place that's NOT my own bed.
However, in June, I realized my retreat time was no less important, during a pandemic! The heaviness of the energy cloaking the globe weighed on me. While impossible to escape, it mattered that I carve out time for going inward, with no responsibilities or schedule to keep - an agenda-free zone - largely absent from email and social media, with my phone set to airplane mode, most of the time.
That June experience nourished me just enough to understand, I needed more time. I managed to fill the tank a few dollars worth, to get me to the next rest stop. The first two weeks of August marked my most recent fueling station. And while it's absolutely different to retreat at home, because life can so easily creep in, my rest served me well.
Not long ago, I shared a mantra with a client: "Inspiration instead of obligation." It represents a life choice I make, for myself, again and again. On the second to last day of my August staycation-retreat, I remembered why this mantra matters.
When I operate from a place of obligation, all of the space gets filled. This includes: time slots in the outer world and the free-form of my inner world. If I approach my life from a mind-set of "I have to..." I grow to resent what I'm doing. I, unwittingly, choke off the flow of universal creativity, that seeks to use me as a medium.
On the flip side, if I willingly create space - free of doctrine - allowing myself to meander...following the needs of my body...opening to the muse that emerges, as I mindfully surrender the thoughts and beliefs that clutter my mind, I enter the realm of magic. I listen more deeply. I see possibilities, rather than road blocks. From this place, I've given birth to new ideas. Hmm, perhaps that's not an accurate description. When the space is truly open, I more readily attune to what may be calling to me. What is that one next step on my path?
Often, it's a personal step for me to take, such as scheduling my professional photo shoot six months ago. And, through that one step, a world of growth and expansion opened to me. Sometimes, though, I am to extend myself to you. This particular "call" requires me to propose an invitation for your consideration.
The COVID pandemic has impacted every one of us in countless ways. Perhaps some of these changes have been hard, and yet also provided a kind of unimagined gain for you. You may have been accustomed to a jam packed schedule, and have been learning to experience time and space differently. Maybe your relationship with your housemates had been suffering prior to quarantine, and with the closing of schools, businesses, and public forums, that which you'd been willing to ignore or hide from, became a source of growth. This could include, discovering the power of speaking honestly to those who matter to you, in a way you might have easily avoided in the old paradigm. The list, of such personal scenarios, could easily comprise a tome of biblical proportions.
Whatever may be on the table for you, I am hearing many confronted with a common challenge: managing the scarcity of community. Yes, we all learned how to Zoom! And that offers a virtual connection, when nothing else is possible. Zoom absolutely has its place, and I continue to meet with individual clients, exclusively via phone and Zoom, because it affords the safest possible coaching protocol. Still, there remains an experience of loss, combined with the weight of bearing the burden of grief alone.
With that knowing tucked in the recesses of my being, this idea came forth at the end of my retreat:
What if we could begin to rebuild community? I envision an in-person forum for personal growth, with a very limited number of people. A small group that might gather once a month, following social distancing guidelines, wearing masks, and supporting one another, while working with whatever challenges this strange time in history has stirred for you.
With this possibility in mind, I offer you an opportunity to try on a new program: Sacred Assembly of Feeling and Expression (SAFE).
To begin, we'll meet three times over three months. If our gatherings meet a need, and support community in a health-minded fashion, we may continue.
See a friend? Merge Social Groups? Click the image above to read what medical experts believe may be safe. Click here to read the thoughts of another medical expert.
If participating in SAFE appeals to you, learn more about the logistics here. And, request a mutual phone interview. In these unprecedented times, it's natural to have questions about engaging in something new. I'll have some queries for you, too!
If SAFE doesn't fit, and still, you realize at least one of these scenarios apply to you, it may be a good time to reach out for some support:
you are feeling stuck, isolated, or facing a hard decision;
something is not quite right, and you can't put your finger on what's off;
no one seems to see or hear you;
it seems like, no matter what you do, you can't get it right;
you wonder why you have to take care of everyone else;
you just want to say "fuck the world!" because, "who cares?";
you're on the verge of losing hope.
I invite you to find a resource that fits your needs, and give yourself the gift of well-being.
With love and encouragement,
Joanne Lutz