Being

I aim to be just as disciplined about rest as I am about action.

When I'm home watching trees in the hammock, it is in my schedule. I call it “watching trees time”.

These times are not “breaks” from my creativity, they are phases in the creative cycle, and are just as essential as the times of activity.

When I stop throwing my energy in all directions into mindless activity, and instead wait for the wave of energy to come first, then when I eventually do act, I am riding a momentum that is already happening.

I am resourced and supported.

~ Chameli Gad Ardagh

We naturally want to act to improve our own lives and our world. We might want to protest against the current laws or vote for a more balanced government in place.

We want to go into therapy, meditate, heal ourselves, and become more compassionate and generous.

These are all important intentions.

But so much of our drive toward self-improvement or problem-solving is fueled by collective habits "doing something" — or worse, anxiety, panic, and a fear of losing control.

There is something more important than solving problems, and it has to do with the deep feminine quality of being, not doing.

The Tao Te Ching asks:

Can you remain unmoving till the right action arises itself?

The instinctual nature of the feminine wisdom in all of us knows that maintaining an inner vulnerability and openness is crucial at times of great change.

Action is not always the best solution.

When women give birth, they wait until just the right moment to push. They wait nine months! But when the time comes, they do what is needed, and new life emerges.

This kind of waiting requires intense focus and endurance. But have we learned to listen to the mothers?

Feminine wisdom and power will not become manifest through our warrior nature, our drive to succeed, or through our quest for knowledge.

Rather, it needs a fertile space of receptivity and vulnerability.

It needs our ability to allow for weakness (this is not passive) ... and our longing.

It needs an attitude of awe, marvel, and gratitude and our desire for true communion.

To awaken and play their part, feminine wisdom and power need to feed themselves within us.

i have been in the active art of being to the best of my ability over the last few months (and why you have not heard from me in a while) ...and here is what I know for sure: WE CAN FIND OUR GREATEST POWER IN THE ART OF BEING.

LOVE to you.