The Antidote to Exhaustion is Not Necessarily Rest...

David Whyte, the poet writes describes being exhausted and without energy and asking his good friend, Brother David to tell him about exhaustion. Crossing the Unknown Sea lets us into this poignant conversation.

Brother David's response "The antidote to exhaustion is not necessarily rest .... The antidote to exhaustion is wholeheartedness."

This phrase speaks so strongly to anyone on a healing journey. The exhaustion can be immense. It can feel like you absolutely have no life left in you to give. The thought of being wholeheartedly in anything seems ridiculous. Impossible.

And yet, it's true. When we listen to what ever calls us we are on the path to more fulfillment, more satisfaction.

Most of us live semi frustrated within our limitations, unsure of how to change. We feel stuck. Our patterns seem insurmountable. It's easier to give in to what's known instead of listening deeply to what calls us.

You can count on it-- whatever calls you will open the door to you being wholeheartedly engaged. There's nothing better.

Take a moment today to ask yourself, especially if you're fatigued. What calls to me? Listen. Listen to how the answer arrives. It might come through a phone call, through something you read, through a billboard, through a song.

Let us know. Take a moment and post a comment, a thought, an insight. Include us in your world.

Michelle Obama follows me on Twitter?

You can not imagine my surprise when I just looked at my email and saw that Michelle Obama is now following me on Twitter. Yes, it's true.

Here's the craziness of it all. I had read an editorial in The Boston Globe by Robert Brown about his wife getting onto Facebook and Twitter. He's a beautiful writer and the editorial was delightful to read. I especially loved how their cats have 5000 unique views. LOL.

So in a moment of my own piddling around this social media stuff I signed up for Twitter. Just to see what it is all about.

Every morning I take a scroll through different blogs. One of my favorites is The White House blog. I love reading what's going on and I love that Obama is as visible as he is. And I love the videos and photos they post.

The other favorite blog is put out by the State Department which sends me daily posts from different foreign service people. One of my recent favorites was posted by Preeti Shah (serving as Vice Consul at the U.S. Consulate General in Istanbul, Turkey) who wrote, "Watching the faces of the Turkish students as they had the chance to talk with the President, my President, I was in awe..."

Another post is by Douglas Silliman who serves as the Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Ankara. He writes this wonderful story of being told by his boss to get in the car and wait for the President - and then give Obama a briefing.

Silliman shares how Obama asked about himself, his family and then the two of them had an informative discussion about the event ahead. At the end, Silliman writes, "In the Foreign Service, I have met every U.S. president since Ronald Reagan. But I had never even dreamed of sharing 10 minutes one-on-one with a president. There are very few careers that offer you such opportunities. Today I was very glad that I had joined the Foreign Service." I love getting such a fresh and open communique about our country.

Anyway, I'm digressing a bit. When I signed up for Twitter I thought, hmmm, who would I want to follow. Michelle Obama came up. I searched. There she was, so I clicked on "follower."

Never in my wildest dreams would I ever have thought that Michelle's organization would be clever enough to return the favor. I have no fantasy that it's really Michelle -- but come on, let's admit it, even if you're a non-believer, this is a real kick.

Gary's Poem: My Blue Shirt

The greatest gift of my ezine is getting notes like this one, from Gary Whited, inspiring me, and reminding me of the community in which we live. We may all be scattered around the nation and the Globe (like Candace Atwood recently back to Montana from her visit to New Zealand) or close at home (like Mike Ward who LOL when he read his name in the latest ezine...). Where ever we are, though, we are sending out energy of love, consciousness, kindness. Knowing you are all other --and all those I don't know yet (but look forward to meeting) -- remind me of all the wonderful reasons to be here - with you.

Here's Gary's note and poem:

Hi Deirdre,
I was just reading your piece on "Having Some Kind of Practice," and it reminded me of something I heard the poet, Mary Oliver, say once at a reading. When asked after reading some of her poems whether it was important to her as a poet to write every day, she paused for what seemed like a long time, then said, "What I find important is to make appointments with your unconscious and keep them." That has stayed with me. As a poet, it was particularly powerful for me. I thought you might like that little story.

As for my poems, there is one that comes to mind just now. It was published a couple years ago in a magazine called Bellowing Ark. I'll attach it here.

Nice to receive your thoughts and your words.
Warmest regards,
Gary

(photo from teresabanter.wordpress.org

My Blue Shirt

hangs in the closet
of this small room, collar open,
sleeves empty, tail wrinkled.

Nothing fills the shirt but air
and my faint scent. It waits,
all seven buttons undone,

button holes slack,
the soft fabric with its square white pattern,
all of it waiting for a body.

It would take any body, though it knows,
in its shirt way of knowing, only mine,
has my shape in its wrinkles,

my bend in the elbows.
Outside this room birds hunt for food,
young leaves drink in morning sunlight,

people pass on their way to breakfast.
Yet here, in this closet,
the blue shirt needs nothing,

expects nothing, knows only its shirt knowledge,
that I am now learning––
how to be private and patient,

how to be unbuttoned,
how to carry the scent of what has worn me,
and to know myself by the wrinkles.


Gary Whited

Comments?

I'm curious. I hear from different ones of you about various blogs, but most of you don't comment here. I find it interesting and wonder about that. I'm always glad to hear, whether it is by email or other forms, but I wonder why that hesitation is about posting a comment here. Drop a comment. Post a remark. Let me know! I'd love to hear.

Hearing and Living Your Own Music

Yesterday I gave a presentation to the regional National Association of Social Workers. It’s certainly been an honor to be with my fellow social workers and to share what I have learned through working with my clients and groups.

Over the years I’ve been lucky enough to give many presentations, whether at conferences, workshops about my own work or trainings through Sensorimotor Psychotherapy Institute. In the past year I’ve been wondering about something that I repeatedly notice. As I write I realize I am puzzling over my experience of it.

There was a time when it fed my narcissism to be in front of people putting on a show. Over the past 3-5 years though that hasn’t been as fulfilling. I’ve realized I don’t want to be a talking head. What appeals to me is to support others to know their own knowing. To share what I know but only in the service of the other(s) deepening into their own wisdom.

My body is really leading the charge with this learning. WhenI am not present to myself, even if only in a tiny way separated, my body goes into an internal shudder which only gets louder and louder until I pay attention. I’m learning to listen! As I listen the cringe stops. This has taught me something important about myself personally and about the kind of support I want to offer others. And I think there’s something that we can all learn about being present.

People have been telling me they want to “train” with me, learn from me. Sure, there are things I know and I’m glad to share them. What I am beginning to realize is that what people want is not what I “know” in my head, it’s not data, factual information or even the experience I have working with trauma, attachment and dissociation – what people want is the experience of being connected to themselves. How to live in their body-heart-mind and stay centered in that. That’s what people want more than anything. The intellectual information when conjoined with the experience of staying true to yourself is vital.

We’re so used to looking outside ourselves for the answer that when we see “it” in another, we reach for it. We think “it” out there is where it is. We forget that whatever “it” is, “it” is a reflection of what’s inside – otherwise we would never know it or want it.

The feedback I get from people is they are moved by my authentic speaking, by my honesty about the journey. What I know is they are looking for their own inner connection, their alignment, their authentic expression.

My task is to steer you back to your own knowing. To help you to learn how to sing your own song, to hear the music that arises inside you and have the joyous freedom to be able to express it.