{Echo Returns} Being led to peace
“The uncertainty is overwhelming,
and it leaves you with more questions than answers.
It makes you wonder if you are headed in the right direction.
It makes you wonder if you should be trying
to push forward a little more,
or if you should learn to be a little more still.
There’s all this back and forth,
to and fro, like waves tossing over one another
in a tireless sea.But for all that has changed,
and all that has stayed the same,
for every mixed feeling,
and all the words that went unsaid,
you are still being led into the arms of boundless peace..
allowing you to rest, breathe deep, take heart, and keep going.”Morgan Harper Nichols - Newsletter
As I prepared to come back from taking a couple of weeks off from writing these reflections, Morgan Harper Nichols’ weekly newsletter seemed to speak directly to my feelings about writing, and work, and honestly… life.
Everything is still uncertain. I say still with the pandemic in mind—we are beginning to see light at the end of the tunnel and things are slowly moving in the general direction of the before times—but it’s worth noting that life has never really been all that certain. Yes, the pandemic upended everything we knew, bringing an entirely new level of uncertainty, but I’m acting as if the ending of the pandemic will somehow make everything bright and shiny when not everything was like that previously.
So much has changed, yet so much has stayed the same. I don’t know if I’m headed in the right direction. I don’t know if I should push harder or be more still. I don’t know if there has ever been a time in my life when I could confidently answer those questions. Why should I expect that will be any different once I’m able to fully engage in the world the way I did in the past?
I want to lean into Nichols’ words that I am “still being led into the arms of boundless peace” but it’s hard to imagine that being the case. With a business and a newsletter and a partner and house and fur babies and plants and all the other things I want to do and see and be in life, what would peace even look like? Would I know it if it showed up at my front door?
These reflections are one place where I sort through some of those questions and feelings. Like everything else, I’m not sure where to take it—if I should push harder or slow down. Should I work to grow it? Should I post less (or more)? Should I rethink the whole thing? I continue to write because it fuels me and I learn so much about myself in the process, but I also write for you, dear reader, and it needs to work for us both.
So I would love to know: What would you like to see in these reflections? What do you want more of? What would make you excited to read each one? Make you want to share it with everyone you know? What do you want less of? What can I do differently or better? Any and all feedback is welcome.
Add your Echo:
What would you like to see in these reflections? What do you want more of? What would make you excited to read each one? Make you want to share it with everyone you know? What do you want less of? What can I do differently or better?
(Reply or tap the heart to share your thoughts)