Being held by each other . . . what does it mean . . . and how do we know holding is happening? Especially in the current conditions of CoVid, where physical embrace and extended snuggles may be perceived as potentially threatening. In the absence of tender touch and gentle squeezes, perhaps we can adapt and learn to hold each other with our attention, our gazes, our hearts? Perhaps we might notice that our presence is enough, that our very grounded, calm and accepting existence creates the atmosphere and conditions of holding, even though our arms remain by our sides.
As tender human beings our systems are created to rest within a relational matrix. To enter into this presence and space with another is one of the great gifts of being embodied. In the moments when we are soft and open we are in sync with the loving energetic field that holds and supports us all. It is in this matrix, or field that we can connect, reflect and reassure one another . . . smile, gaze, nod.
When we are being held, our nervous systems down-regulate, our minds soften, our hearts open, and we come into an ancient sort of rest. It's that rest that we've been longing for that always seems just out of reach. The rest from perpetual becoming . . . and the rest from unbecoming. Held by another, held within by our own hearts, or held by a star, a galaxy or a universe - despite the pain and confusion and hopelessness and doubt – still, we are already held. It's not something we must earn or deserve or for which we must frantically search. Held by the moonlight as it comes into a room, by the songs of birds, the howling coyote, by the vast imaginal world. Right now, held. Already held.
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