Do you ever have days when the weight of the world seems a bit extra heavy? Today was a day like that for me. There is sadness and remembering, anxiety and worry all related to my personal life. There is sadness and loss as a global community as the Notre Dame Cathedral is literally burning to the ground. It seems like too much.
My first reaction when days are like this is to retreat! I may grab a decadent lunch, or indulge in my favorite adult beverage, or I may just put on my comfy sweatshirt and camp out on my couch. Truth is there is time for all of these things. And yet, today I am challenged to SHOW UP. What will that look like? How can we do it when we hurt a little more than normal? Well, here’s my personal plan, perhaps it’ll help you too.
Show up in THIS moment. As I write this the sun, which has been missing for a few days, is streaming through my office window. I am heading out in a moment to go and walk in it. I’ll ground myself in my 5 senses: What can I see? What do I hear? What do I feel? Smell? Taste? This moment is a beautiful moment. I can show up in it!
I’ll show up for those around me. I’ll be there for those difficult phone calls. I’ll mourn along with those mourning. I’ll literally choose to go and connect when I’d like to run away. I will go even if I’m raw, even if I feel weak or a bit out of control.
I’ll show up by letting others show up for me. When the weight got too heavy today, I made a few texts/calls and said, “It’s tough!” And dear friends reached out to carry a bit of the weight for a moment. They couldn’t make the events different than they are, they can’t make the pain magically disappear, but having them walk alongside me makes it just that much more bearable. And reminds me I can show up.
As I think about the chapel half-way across the world, I am reminded of all that’s being lost artwork that has lasted centuries, architecture that speaks of faith and a people who walked this earth so long ago, relics, memories. AND in this moment, I’m reminded that the reason we all mourn collectively today is that it was there! It showed up! Artists bared their souls, priests and musicians spoke of their faith, and four hundreds of years we have made the pilgrimage either in person or in our minds to celebrate it. All because over the years people chose to show up. To show up on the good days, to show up on the difficult ones, to pursue the beauty even when it was hard.
I won’t ever know if my showing up today makes a difference for someone else. And I know that showing up is the only way a difference is ever made. So, I’m choosing to show up. I hope to see you out there feeling the sun on your skin and showing up. You are the bravest people I know!!! Continue to show up. Greatness awaits even when the world is a bit too heavy to hold.