Intention Check-In

We’re a couple weeks in now, three weeks since I closed down in-person services… Everyone I have talked to this week is starting to feel it. Feel what the rest of the world has been living with, as reality, for months. And I’ve learned some things I wish I could unlearn, been confronted with things I wish I could ignore. I can’t though, I have never been able to brush these things under the rug.

Checking in with my 2020 intentions

I set my intentions for this year knowing I would be challenged, knowing full well that this was not going to be easy. I aligned my intentions with my values and was purposeful about them. What is happening in the world around me is an opportunity to lean into my intentions. Because of this, there’s some things I need to say to y’all, with all the love I’ve got.

Folx, it is going to get a lot worse, things are going to get a lot tougher. In order to get through this, we’re going to have to do some really hard things.

We’re going to have to stretch ourselves, probably beyond our breaking points. We’re going to have to face the demons we’ve made and tap into our strength, collectively. We’re going to have to make some people accountable for their actions and decisions, including ourselves, even though it will be scary and uncomfortable. We’re going to have to take a long hard look at how we’ve been doing things and commit to doing things differently starting now.

We’re going to have to get even more creative and trust our guts and each other more than we ever have. We’re going to have to give more grace than we receive and concern ourselves with everyone. We’re going to have to buckle up and take it one day at a time.

We’re going to have stop pretending we’re only in this chaos for a few days or weeks, and open be honest with ourselves that some things have been changed forever. We’re going to have to walk into it with courage, knowing that we can get through this together.

And we’re going to have to grieve and release what was so we can see clearly what is. We will have to give ourselves grace and space to grieve, both now and when we reach a new normal.

Its heavy, I know.

And it’s going to be heavy for quite some time, it is time to accept that and stop pretending we’re not impacted or just ignoring all the heavy and hard things. Yes, we know there’s hope and good things are happening, and we can’t ignore that it’s also really heavy and painful.

Take some time to grieve and let reality sink in.

Take pause on purpose.

Take a deep breath. Cry when you need to.

Together we can do those things that are impossible alone. We are in this together, and we must leave no one behind. Not the elderly, not the poor or ill, not the system impacted or incarcerated, not the immigrant or refugee, not the young or reckless, not those of other faiths or those we may despise or fear. We must get through this together, or we won’t get through it at all.

Pause with that heaviness and truth.

Then gear up and grab your grit.

Until next time, Take good care friends.

-Rachel-

#EveryoneOrNoOne #TogetherWeWill #NeverQuit