“After The Storm.” This is the name of a beautiful song by the band Mumford and Sons. The title is fitting… it was a long, hard winter. We all had our moments. Yet we find ways to survive the climate and endure. How did you manage your internal climate? I sought refuge. Refuge is a beautiful concept: “resting in, finding solace in, unloading your mental burden to…”
I offer a small sampling of my own refuge from this past season:
~ The in and out breath. Lengthening the exhalation, holding empty. The stillness before initiating the next inhale.
~ Connecting to the language of the body: sensations.
~ An embrace – a real hug, not the dainty kind.
~ Surrendering, because “you can’t rewind to yesterday when you were innocent.”
~ Choosing self-care over numbing.
~ Asking for help, knowing it came from inner wisdom.
~ Home, a sanctuary with everything in its place.
~ Language – words and phrases that resonate, such as the elegance in the language of Eastern philosophy.
~ Running fast to the beats of the band Phoenix.
~ Running slow to the lyrics of my main man, Mason Jennings.
~ Running in the rain. Being so wet that another drop doesn’t matter.
~ Eye contact – the all-knowing kind. Being truly seen.
~ The voice of an adored one.
~ Loving Kindness (“Metta”) meditation.
~ Staying present, even when it’s painful.
~ A furry animal. Almost any one will do.
~ Belly laughs, especially when they catch you by surprise.
~ The dessert with its stark heat, red rocks, wide open spaces; the solitude of the trail.
~ The potential of the months ahead on the Summer Solstice, my favorite day of the year.
Discover what refuge means to you. Because the forecast is unpredictable, folks. Find your own source of refuge and return to it again and again. We all know another storm is around the bend.
There will come a time you’ll see
With no more tears.
And love will not break your heart
But dismiss your fears.
Get over your hill
And see
What you find there
With grace in your heart
And flowers in your hair.
- Mumford and Sons, “After the Storm”
