A Snow Globe in Springtime
Rob Bell reminds us, “When we take ourselves too seriously it gets in the way of the thing that we’re so seriously trying to do.”
Admittedly, I’ve been taking things quite seriously lately. It’s easy to do with the current state of the world. Everything seems to have an undertone of urgency and scale.
In these seasons, I tend to overthink and second guess. I compare, judge, and distrust my own voice. It’s like someone has shaken the sh*t out of the snow globe I’ve been living in. Everything feels cloudy and upside down.
Thankfully, my Wayfinder training has taught me to recognize that this is exactly how Square One of The Change Cycle feels: disorienting, malleable, ungrounded, paradoxically ripe with meaning and - at the same time - completely meaningless.
Square One occurs when you’ve come to the end of something. In my case, an old way of thinking is dissolving, much like the caterpillar dissolves in its process of becoming a butterfly. Such shifts can be profoundly disorienting.
Martha Beck taught us that the best thing you can “do” in Square One is to wait and watch the dust settle. She says, “If you think this sounds frustratingly passive, you’re right. … The closest thing you’ll come to controlling it is relaxing and trusting the process.”
Waiting and watching are wildly uncomfortable, especially for high-achievers. These two verbs aren’t often considered actions, and certainly don’t “count” as “work” because all of the work is happening on the inside.
Two questions to ask yourself (moment by moment) as you wait and watch your way through Square One are: “What do I need right now?” and “What am I noticing?”
The practice of listening and allowing clarity to arrive organically takes an immense amount of wisdom, discernment, and discipline. But for those willing to relax and trust the process, clarity does come.
You’ll start to notice nudges, signs, and synchronicities, often with an air of playfulness about them. The energy on the other side of Square One is creative and full of possibilities with simple, obvious next steps.
I’m grateful that I have the Change Cycle methodology to lean on in moments such as this. It’s truly a tool of resiliency. It allows me to step outside of the snow globe, look at things from a different perspective, and respond in a constructive way.
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Whether you’re in a Square One season right now or not, I wonder…
How could you infuse a bit more playfulness into this week?
