When disaster strikes, it can shake us to our core.

The fires in Los Angeles have left devastation in their wake. Homes and lives are uprooted, individual stories tug at heartstrings, and the images of destruction might feel too much to process. It’s tragic, heartbreaking, and frightening to witness such loss.

I’m curious where you are at with it all…(I’ve been all over the place…).
Do you find yourself having all sorts of thoughts, emotions, and sensations…noticing you follow the news info constantly, noticing that you keep your distance….And it might cause lots of emotions, or numbness, or maybe a pull between the two…And/Or perhaps you find that it hasn’t affected you at all and you have lots of thoughts, feelings, sensations about that….And maybe there are things in your past that are being brought to your awareness through all of this….

Wherever you are it’s ok…there is space for the Ands/Or - the Both being true of your experiences…as well as the experiences of those around you.

And amid the ashes, I want to offer that there is also an option for light.

Humanity’s capacity for resilience and strength is incredible (and sometimes it’s not or doesn't feel like it). And in the face of destruction, often people show up for each other. Generosity blooms, courage emerges, and brave souls do their best to bring hope to the darkest moments.

It’s natural to feel the weight of grief and loss. When the world feels like too much, we may freeze, feel helpless, or wonder how to move forward. What do you notice you do? And even in this, there are ways to return to ourselves, to find grounding and healing in our bodies and tap into our senses.

If you’re feeling overwhelmed or in shock, I invite you to come back to the present through your senses. Here are some ideas:

• Look around and find one object that feels safe or grounding.
• Listen for a sound that softens your vigilance.
• Let the touch of something warm or familiar remind you: you are here, you are safe.

If your body feels burdened, I invite you to move to shake off the heaviness - This can be an aggressive moving, a gentle moving or something in between….whatever your body, heart and mind want and need…Here are some ideas:

• Wiggle your fingers and toes, then include your arms and legs.
• Stand up, squat, and rise several times.
• Run in place for a moment, let your heart race, and feel alive.
• Shake your whole body and then pause in stillness.

Animals instinctively move to release the stress of danger. We, also, hold the keys to healing in our body. When the world feels too heavy, I invite us to let movement and presence guide us back to ourselves.

The poet Ellen Bass shares these wise words:

The Thing Is
​by Ellen Bass

to love life, to love it even
when you have no stomach for it
and everything you’ve held dear
crumbles like burnt paper in your hands,
your throat filled with the silt of it.
When grief sits with you, its tropical heat
thickening the air, heavy as water
more fit for gills than lungs;
when grief weights you like your own flesh
only more of it, an obesity of grief,
you think, How can a body withstand this?
Then you hold life like a face
between your palms, a plain face,
no charming smile, no violet eyes,
and you say, yes, I will take you
I will love you, again.

In the face of loss, we do have choices. We can choose to hold life, to say yes to its beauty and complexity. We can choose to explore if the choice to hold life, seems out of reach or close enough to touch but not believe….We can choose how close to another choice we get.

I invite us to notice grief and pause to allow it, and also notice and remember there is also light somewhere that we can possibly also allow and let in. The beauty is there, even now.

Remember, ❤️

You Matter. Your Healing Matters. You Are Worth It!

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