For over a year now we’ve been collectively experiencing uncertainty. We’ve all been in the same boat, in the middle of a roaring ocean, during a storm. The waves have been high, the water's strength unwavering, and its force destabilising. Our resilience and ability to adapt, to take on the next wave, has been tested and it has been challenging. We are at the will of so much we can’t control at the moment. Our emotions are dependent upon what happens day-to-day. The amount of hope we have goes up and down with the worlds’ changing circumstances. The only thing certain in this uncertain time is that we have to learn how to ride the waves.
The waves on the surface of the ocean are chaotic because they are at the will of outside forces. The water moves with the tides, created by the gravitational pull of the moon, and the weather decides the water’s temperament. Despite how unpredictable the ocean may seem, there is order to it. The tides move through cycles of low and high and are at the highest point every fortnight with the new moon and full moon. No matter what life may throw at us, we can expect to be in constant motion, moving through cycles of high and low, expansion and contraction, growth and rest. These tidal forces are inevitable and unavoidable so the water must move with them. Water doesn’t resist where it is led, it goes with the undulating, meandering nature of a river without knowing it’s course. Water tells us that we must flow with whatever our circumstances are despite the unknown. There is no way to resist the flow of life so we must move with it the best we can.
Below the surface of the raging water, out of reach of the storm, the water is more peaceful. The water never becomes completely still but it moves steadily with the guiding force of the tidal currents. To become resilient and flow with our circumstances as much as possible we must trust the deeper currents. We need to cultivate our own guiding force from within. Our guiding force keeps us moving forward steadily in hopeful direction. This could a phrase, a reason, or image that keeps us grounded, on track with our goals, and reminds us why we need to get through this hard time. It could be a vision we have of how much stronger, wiser, or more resilient we become each time we are challenged and how prepared we are becoming for when the storm inevitably comes again. No matter what our deeper current may be, it must fill us with resilience and fuel us to move forward with courage, knowing everything will be okay.
Our intuition is our own personal current and guiding force which we must learn to trust. Trusting our intuition is a practice since we are taught to disregard our own instincts, thoughts and feelings in favour of what how we think we should react or feel. Our intuition is our own inner compass which knows the way we need to go. It’s vital to connect to and exercise our intuition to build inner trust which allows us to guide ourselves when we feel most disorientated and lost in the world. We can notice our intuition and cultivate it by practicing being quiet and acting upon each of our instincts, no matter how small. Our intuition becomes louder as we practice listening to it, as we take it as seriously as logic, and begin to prioritise it as our guiding force.
To hear our intuition and find peace from the chaos of the world we need find a place where we can have a moment of quiet. To do this only 10 minutes each day is transformative. Just some of the ways we can do this is through meditating, journalling, or going for a walk in nature. Having a busy life can make this seem impossible so it can be helpful to start with the small things. A mundane task like washing up can be transformed into a mindful activity by fully tuning in to the sensations we feel and listening to the sounds in our space. The main thing is to give ourselves much-needed time away from the noise of the world where we can make some space in our busy minds and gradually build a consistently calm place we can ground into amongst uncertainty. This is vital when the state of the world induces anxiety and stress within us. In times like this we need to actively reduce anxiety by increasing relaxation and in turn encouraging a hopeful inner dialogue to arise rather than one which perpetuates stress and fear. When we trust the deeper currents we can sink into a peaceful state and summon the resilience to carry on, empowered by trust in our own inner guidance.