Shifting from Storm to Calm
Geeta

As I reflected on the year 2021, I was grateful for several blessings in my life. I also discovered that I was feeling anxious and restless, as I had not achieved some of the goals that I had set for myself.  I was hard on myself for not being focused in my life, jumping from one project to another.

To ease my feelings of uneasiness and restlessness, I started listening to motivational talks and music. After a couple of days of listening to talks, I began asking myself, “How long will I look outside to generate positive energy?”

The answer came the next morning when I was suddenly reminded of Marshall’s work, which is to ask the question, “What is alive in me?” As I connected more deeply to my feelings of uneasiness and restlessness, I observed that I try to accommodate everyone else’s needs before mine, which is part of the reason I am unable to complete the tasks. When I realized this, I felt quiet and calm and saw that I had a need to matter to myself.

In naming my feelings and needs, I was released from the grip of self blame. The condemnation (the self-blame) that I had directed at myself shifted into compassion for myself. Suddenly,  I experienced peace from within, the very peace that I had been looking for outside me through motivational talks and music. In being present to my feelings and needs, I had found peace within me and it empowered me.

Language of Compassion has equipped me with tools—especially the tools of observing without evaluation, sharing feelings, stating needs, and requesting a specific response.

By using these tools I have had glimpses of the field where Rumi invites us to meet: Out beyond wrong doing and right doing, I will meet you there. When the soul lies down in that grass, the world is too full to talk about.

Celebrations: