This line, attributed to Persian Sufi poetry, gave me pause. How would you answer it? I love the impermanence of it, in this breath. It’s mindful and present. It suggests we don’t have to know the whole answer, just the thought for this moment.
There is so much noise in the world right now. So much urgency and fear. The state of our heart seems like a trite or indulgent thing to attend to when there are “real” problems to be anxious about.
For those who have been shaped by faith spaces that centred end times, Armageddon, or apocalyptic pressure, and I see so many in the counselling room, this can feel especially overwhelming.
Despite having moved on from cognitive belief, the fear can remain and become restless at times like this. The old urgency. The deep sense that we must fix it all, know it all, save it all and now. What if we’re wrong is a common musing.
But the state of our heart determines our capacity to be with it all without needing to fix it.
We only have the next breath.
And the one after that.
Everything else is unknown.
Everything else is impermanent.
This may sound terrifying, and perhaps a but flaky, but it’s what we have. Right now. And many of you have heard my go-to mantra with my hand on my chest, right now, in this moment, I’m ok. I’m safe.
How is the state of your heart?
What do you need next?
What can you do today to come back to yourself, your breath, feet on the ground, present to your surroundings?
We can’t control what is happening in the world. But can acknowledge the ways we were taught to think about times like this and how they’ve impacted our bodies and our thoughts.
We can focus on this moment, this breath, our surroundings and the people in front of us.
Right now, in this moment, you’re ok. You’re safe.
And oh my goodness, it’s been a week! Our first Religious Trauma Collective event exceeded our expectations (we didn’t really know what to expect). 376 people registered (what!?) and we’ve had so much feedback from people about feeling seen and how good it was to be able to hear from voices from our part of the world.
We loved it, we feel like people have connected in new ways and we’re thrilled to be part of community building around the huge experience that is religious trauma. This connection is what we needed back in the day when things were imploding for us and we hope it can continue to provide a soft place to land for others too.
You can watch the replays with the All-Access pass until December.
And if you’d like to connect with me in counselling, you can get in touch here.
Warmly,
Jane
You can find me on Instagram, Substack and at The Religious Trauma Collective.
