022 | The Art of the Sway: Leaning In & Leaning Away
10:27 AM, Sunday
My Back Porch
Dear Beautiful Humans,
I woke with a mighty start this morning to a calm, yet forceful voice of a woman above my head saying, “FIRE. FIRE.” Accompanied with it, an impressive, piercing beeping noise. In walking to the bottom stairwell, just after the sounds ceased, I heard voices talking upstairs and caught the unmistakable scent of bacon. :)
How glorious it would have been to be woken instead by a soothing voice above me whispering, “Sheeeeeel. Baaaaaacon.” One can dream!
I actually didn’t eat any bacon. I was not ready to engage with humans yet. I had something else on my mind. COFFEE.
I’ve been drinking tea in the mornings to reduce anxiety, but after two nights of driving for LYFT until 1 AM, coffee felt justified and “needed”. That first sip was glory. Isn’t it marvelous how little things can bring us moments of home?
I sit now, starting a later morning on the back patio, drinking said cup of coffee, reading a bit, until just now, I was sparked by what I wanted to write you this morning.
I’ve been taking a lot of intentional steps to simplify my life lately. Some of it, I hope, will be long lasting in building better habits and modus operandi. Some of it is just for a time, like being off social media.
What I realized I’ve been doing in simplifying, is reducing the noise.
This has led to turning down the volume of voices that are currently not helpful, including some of my own voices in my head. Alternatively, it’s created space, breathing room, and quiet to hear the voices that matter. It’s also meant I have the capacity to pause and better decide which voices to let into my space, my mind, and my heart.
I was reading an excerpt this morning from an interview in which Oprah was talking with Michael Singer (who I’m actually not super familiar with, but learned he’s written a few New York Times Bestsellers).
In the interview, he talks about the notion of leaning away. I’m constantly using the language of “leaning in”, and so I was quite intrigued to read how he used the language of “leaning away”.
When asked, “What are we supposed to do when problems show up?”, this is how he responded.
“The moment it starts with that chitter-chatter, my first reaction inside is to relax and lean away. I lean away from the noise the mind is making. Because you’re going to do one of two things once it starts: You’re either going to lean into it and get involved, and let it pull you in, or relax and lean away. And once you lean away and get some space, you will learn over time that that’s the smartest thing you ever did. Why? Because you gave the noise room to pass through and it does. It passes right through.”
I imagine being grounded, while moving my body ... in a dance or sway ... moving back and forth from leaning in to leaning away.
Simplifying and creating space has been giving me room to move, to lean in and lean away, as opposed to being bombarded at every turn with voices yelling “FIRE! FIRE!” while standing shoulder to shoulder in a crowd, unable to move at all.
With room to move, I can practice. Practice ...
Leaning in to voices that speak to my soul.
Leaning away from voices that bring me down.
Leaning in to discomfort that spurs my becoming.
Leaning away from thoughts that make me spiral.
Leaning in to relationships that energize me.
Leaning away from relationships that drain me.
Leaning in and leaning away ... learning the art of the sway.
Eager and hopeful to practice leaning in and leaning away now that there is more room to move, room to breathe, room to be.
Hoping you all find some room this week to sway,
Shel
