YOU ARE PRACTICING LETTING GO. YOU ARE PRACTICING COURAGE.
As you prepare for whatever lies ahead, there might be moments where you find yourself holding your breath. You find yourself wanting to exhale and let go and just "be" in the moment, but you can't help but worry about what lies beyond the bend.
In that space, I hope you know that as hard as it can be to move through that space, the mere fact that you have even noticed means that you have taken a step in being aware. And while being aware that this is happening certainly doesn't fix the fact that you don't know what's ahead, it is a reminder that you are, in fact, alive, and that means that there is still room to practice the next exhale. And even though there might be these moments, days, weeks, and even longer where that exhale takes much longer than we ever thought it would, that small act of release becomes something we can look forward to—a place where we can land, even if it's only for a few seconds before we prepare to inhale and exhale again.
In the larger picture, this may feel incredibly small to the point of insignificance. After all, it won't be an exhale that fixes or changes the real problems faced ahead. However, in the same way, a bookmark holds a place in a book or a footprint in the sand shows the path of someone who's traveled a path before you, so can an exhale be a small reminder of what kind of letting go and release might become more possible with time.
The hardest part here, for many, might be time. For instance, whenever we are waiting to see how something is going to come together, the waiting is often attached to time. And whether the time we are waiting for to pass is months or years or even decades, time often feels like this mighty force that we cannot overcome.
May you know it's okay if having to wrestle with this doesn't come easy. May you know it doesn't make you weak if you find yourself holding your breath. And may you also know that when you find yourself able to exhale—even if it's not a deep exhale, but a subtle one—it matters more than you know. You are practicing letting go. You are practicing courage. You are practicing breathing deep and learning how to pace yourself and find peace right where you are.
More in this week's series called "Keep Making Room for Courage", only with a subscription in the Storyteller App.
More tomorrow…
Sincerely,
Morgan Harper Nichols
@thestorytellerco
@morganharpernichols
