Catching Glimpses

It would be easy to shut down. Or at least go on autopilot.

Did you? After the outrage, disbelief, and fear subsided? 

I did.

Shutdown works. It’s there for us when we feel unsafe or overwhelmed or just done. 

There’s nothing wrong with it. 

It’s there as a brief reprieve from a relentless world.

It was there for me this weekend, as I pressed pause after days of making space for feelings - my clients’ and my own.

But autopilot is not a place to stay. 

It’s only ever helpful for a little while. 

That’s where the glimpses come in, as a client reminded me.

Glimpses? The word alone made me light up. I knew exactly what she meant.

It’s those sparks of recognition, little flickers that make us feel like ourselves again.

Like the way the light hits the tree and casts a shadow of a giant watching over you, reaching out to keep you safe.

Or the way raindrops sit atop a leaf like tiny domes of stillness - or are they holding on for dear life? 

These are the moments.

We can let them slip by.

Or we can choose to catch them.

And maybe when we do we’ll remember another world. A world that can move beyond old stories - the ones that served us in the past but are no longer true or useful. 

The squeaky merry go round of judgment, blame, and shame. Judgment, blame, and shame.  

It’s old. It’s ready for retirement. 

Let’s move beyond mere survival already. Beyond Right or Wrong. Good or Bad. Left or Right. 

I'm ready for a world that invites us to risk openness, vulnerability, honesty. One we trust to be welcoming, loving, and kind.

A world where there’s room for feeling. 

Where we’re willing to be impacted by life happening around us, knowing it might hurt, but believing it can also move us deeply in ways we don’t expect.

Can we please breathe life into this world? 

Oh, I know it’s a lot to ask. 

But I know you’re there with me. 

So, let’s double down, you and I.  

Double down on caring. On feeling, connecting, engaging.

Double down on staying open when everything tells us to shut down. 

Open enough to catch the glimpses. The ones that remind us who we are at our core, free of fear. 

Those are the glimpses that spark art. 

Let’s double down on making art! 

Are you with me?