It's been a while. I hope you have been having a wonderful summer.

 

I have been on a wild ride. Just as I was embarking on the Body Awareness chapter of the book I'm writing, I slipped two discs in my neck.

 

 

I was writing about returning home to the body, and suddenly I was trapped inside mine. 

 

 

Unable to move, I had to apply my practice of listening deeply to what my body was telling me. I learned a lot, but one of the most profound lessons was my body begging me to truly surrender to unconditional support, within myself and in my relationships. I was forced to move through any barriers I held, conscious or unconscious, to receiving. 

 

To be honest, I fancied myself as fairly good at resting and asking for help. Yet as I moved through my body's messages, I began to discover whispers of guilt around being a burden. I even noticed a subtle, yet powerful, ‘tit for tat’ mentality: ask for help under the condition I repay it, and promptly, of course! 

 

I realized I was controlling guilt through giving.

 

What did I need to do to open fully to receiving? 

 

It wasn't so much about reaching out as it was about trust, letting go, surrendering, softening, and leaning into. Letting yourself be held up, rather than doing it all on your own. I was raised in an independent, boot-strapping society; of course, this is hard!

 

Through this process, I have come to deeply understand reciprocity—the ebb and flow of giving and receiving amidst the dynamic waves of life. Some seasons, my swell of energy has a lot to offer, and other times I need your energy to lift me. A collective symphony of give and take. 

 

When we trust this, our giving can come from a deep well of authenticity and abundance.

 

 

So how did this insight emerge? I listened to my guilt with curiosity, and with time, further unraveled my worth from my output. I opened to the support of all my loved ones near and far, in this community and beyond. A paradox was revealed: when we surrender and open to receiving, we grow stronger in our capacity to give.

 

 

Community is under every footstep,

Rising and falling beneath the surface.

Feel the ground beneath you,

Soften into gravity,

And breathe with the trees.

We are holding each other up.

 

 

It leaves me wondering….what does it take for you to surrender to support?

 

What if we allowed it in before we were injured, burned out, or overwhelmed?

 

I am sending you a swell of loving energy and an invitation to soften into your surrounding support. Thank you for walking alongside me in reciprocal connection.

 

 

Join me in Portugal