The edge of the cloud

As we watch change unfold around us in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, it can be hard to make room for it all.

Maybe parts of you feel afraid, uncertain, angry, confused, suspicious, helpless, powerless, or obsessive.

Maybe other parts of you react by downplaying your worries, assuring you that everything’s really okay, inviting you to stay logical, or directing your gaze to the edge of the cloud—the silver lining gleaming.

My guess is that these reactions bring respite to the challenging emotions you may be feeling.

Many of my clients, though, tell me that the reprieve leaves when the next headline rolls across the screen. Perhaps a new state of emergency invoked, perhaps another border closing.

And in our encouraged isolation, the lull falls away.

There is no right or wrong here.

It makes sense that we might feel a dissonance inside in such an unprecedented time.

But there’s a way to experience a measure of calm in the cacophony, a measure of clarity in the confusion.

And that way begins with making space for every part of our experience.

With witnessing it—not with you viewing from a neutral distance, but with you connecting with a comforting presence.

In a time of distancing from one another, there’s been no better time to be connected to yourself.