Grounded. We often do grounding exercises at Sari Bari Leadership School once a month. We breathe deep palms flat on the ground, legs extended, holding our bodies up and yet being pulled down to the earth. People who have victimized or traumatized often have a hard time staying grounded. The exercise brings us out of our thoughts and into the real space of the present moment. We stop floating alone in our pain and find safety as we hold the earth together, breathing, listening to our breath letting go of the past in exchange for the present moment.

Being in the moment, letting it blossom and/or decay as things fall apart, that is always the hard part. And even harder is discovering in the moment where God might be at work. To notice or even think that noticing matters what is happening in the moment is an intention that I have set for myself recently. The recent season of aptly named fertile chaos has me wanting to “see” as it unfolds, to be grounded in the moment not hiding in what my thoughts, fears or discolored perceptions might be telling me. To live out the moment whether it is painful or not, fully present recognizing all the moving parts. Attempting this “grounded moments” way of life means that I can leave behind the past and forget my fears about what could happen in the future. And honestly for me “what might or could happen” is where I really go wrong in my head…my feet leave the solid ground and anxiety sets in, leaving me exhausted and on edge. So being intentional about being “grounded” in the moment has actually become a way toward freedom in my life. Beginning to let go of my “worst case scenario” tendency has allowed me to move in the fertile chaos not completely unharmed. But better than in the past. I press in, instead of floating away and missing all the beginnings that are happening in the fertile spaces this chaos has created, I witness some of them. And I ask God, with expectation, where are you at work in this moment? Show me, remind me that I am not alone here, that we are not alone here.

I have seen women step into more meaningful leadership without being asked, I have seen what could have been a fight, a nasty one, become a moment for embrace and the open sharing of disappointments. I have seen laughter and welcomed joy on some of the hardest days of the last month simply by pausing to be in the moment. I have taken space and rest when I needed it because just a little faster than usual I noticed myself getting ready to fall apart. Patience came just a little easier and so did smiling. So where was God at work? In all the moments I acknowledged and the moments I did not. Some work in and or through us began.

Thankful for this moment, sitting on an airplane on the way to see dear friends in Mumbai and the mental space to be present here and now. Still carrying the warmth from my embraces at Sari Bari, from women I love deeply who lead me in so many ways and with whom I walk the freedom road. Grounded together in these many moments that we share.