The dance between effort and surrender, between form and formlessness, between the known and the unknown flows through us as life.

There are so many ways to explore this dynamic, so many useful tools to help us stay present through what can, oftentimes, be an overwhelming array of thought, emotion and stimulus.

These tools help us to develop our capacity to respond consciously to life, to meet what is in front of us with ease and grace as well to find ways of finding our breath when life appears and chaos and grace escapes us.

Sometimes it really is as simple as looking at a tree and noticing.
How are the leaves moving with the wind? What colours stand out? How does the trunk of the tree stand, stable and strong?
Sometimes this is all that is needed to allow that deep sigh of relief from what can be the relentlessness of our minds followed by a grateful return to the breath – if even for a moment.

Short moments like this over and over again. That is all. Noticing. Over and over again. We don’t get rid of emotions. We don’t transcend beyond feeling and thought, although it may sometimes appear that way. Everything is always here. For me, the release somehow comes when I embrace what is there and work with it. Then it becomes free and the creative potential becomes vast.

Some useful questions in shifting the focus when we are feeling at the edge.
Does it evoke a reaction or a response?
Do I relate to it as an enemy or an ally?
What can I learn here? Where is the opportunity?
And, in overwhelming times, can I find that simple thing, that tree, that breath, the feeling of feet on the floor, that brings me back to here, with breath and, if not, offer myself the care and loving attention enough to seek support?
What am I grateful for?

I wonder how it would be to turn towards life and playfully engage with it rather than to see it as something out there that comes at me. It’s a simple shift in perception that, in my experience, makes a huge difference.

I wonder what difference it makes for you? What tools do you use to find your ground? I’m curious.