EXHALE.
We must know the shadow to know the light.
If we’ve been steeped in the dark gloom, the moment we catch a glimpse of light, our entire system reaches for it. This is our built-in response. In order to survive, we need the warmth and life-giving energy of the light.
There are times when we don’t even realize we’ve been holding our breath, tensing our shoulders, gripping our jaws with a big lump in our throat until that moment when we feel the tension release. Suddenly we feel the fullest exhale, the shoulders soften and we experience the nervous system relax.
E X H A L E
We want to know we are good, kind, honest, and thoughtful beings striving for collective human dignity. We need to have hope, to feel as if we belong to a species that values compassion and can step toward the face of hate and fear with strength, love, and kindness as our anchor.
We don’t know what happens next, but for this moment, we allow the deep exhale, shake off trauma held in the nervous system and maybe even dance, throw our arms up, cry, laugh, sigh, sleep, or whatever allows our being to feel all the feels.
E X H A L E
