Holding tight to Dr. Estés' words

"... we were made for these times"

“Do not lose heart. We were made for these times.”

These words keep running through my head. I can’t say I know exactly what they are calling me into, and I can’t say I don’t feel exhausted at times by the idea of being “made for these times.” However, I went back to read more from this letter Dr. Clarissa Pinkola Estés wrote many years ago to see if there was some part of it that could flesh it out for me. And this is what met me today:

“I would like to take your hands for a moment and assure you that you are built well for these times. Despite your stints of doubt, your frustrations in arighting all that needs change right now, or even feeling you have lost the map entirely, you are not without resource, you are not alone.

Look out over the prow; there are millions of boats of righteous souls on the waters with you. In your deepest bones, you have always known this is so.

Even though your veneers may shiver from every wave in this stormy roil, I assure you that the long timbers composing your prow and rudder come from a forest greater. That long-grained lumber is known to withstand storms, to hold together, to hold its own, and to advance, regardless.”

(excerpt from Letter To A Young Activist During Troubled Times: with the subtitle, Do Not Lose Heart, We were Made for These Times; ©2001, 2016, by Clarissa Pinkola Estés, Ph.D.)

I don’t always have to feel like I am ready to meet these times. I can acknowledge the doubt and frustration and distress, but it doesn’t mean that I am alone. And it might even mean that somewhere inside of me is a compass pointing to what is important, meaningful and well-resourced. Imagining the long timbers from a greater forest eases my breath. I can sense into the trees and my ancestors, a wide-ranging root system within and without that can provide strength, and perhaps a sturdy place to lean back into when I need to rest.

I have been thinking about what has been helpful for me in these times and what I can do to make a small contribution to others navigating them as well. My nervous system can’t handle big engagements of activism right now, but what it can offer is poetry and music and movement and writing; it can offer a place for people to gather and connect into themselves without demand. It can offer time and a place for creative expression and holding ourselves gently. In that spirit, I am holding a monthly drop-in series over the next four months:

Soma and the Soul Drop-In Series

Monthly gathering for the body and soul

Sundays - March 2nd, April 6th, May 4th, June 1st

from 4-5pm EST on zoom

Amid uncertain and challenging times, take this hour to connect in with yourself and create space for what wants to emerge. Give yourself time to attune to, listen to, move with and express from your body, heart, mind and soul.

These drop-in Sundays offer a gentle container to anchor into yourself within a community of other people doing the same.

During each drop-in hour, I will start us off with a poem, lead us through a guided somatic or meditation practice, and end with a period of creative writing/drawing (whichever you are called to do) before we close our circle.

$25 per session
or
$80 for the package of 4

To register and for any questions reach out to me at jnevergole@hotmail.com or send me a message here.