SUNDAY SLOWDOWN | Transitions as thresholds
“Attention is the rarest and purest form of generosity."
- Simone Weil
Last week we had a new moon, a celestial phase that represents fresh starts and new beginnings, a time for planting seeds, both real and metaphorical. And today, here we are. It's June 1st, and as we step into the emergence of the summer season, it's the almost half way point in the year. I love transitions that act as thresholds, that mark the start of something new. We can honor these moments in time to take a pause, to reflect back as a way to honor what's come before us and as ritual to realign with the path we are on. It's a thoughtful way to set deliberate intentions for what lies ahead.
Today may be a good day to ask ourselves a few questions, as I saw recently proposed by author and entrepreneur, Seth Godin:
What's the attainable, practical and generous thing you haven't done yet?
What will it take for it to become a priority?
What's fascinating and captivating for me about these questions are the words he chooses. Attainable. Practical. Generous.
So often, rightly and wonderfully so, we have bold ambitions, lofty aspirations, and out of our comfort zone changes we want to make. And while there's a beauty in that kind of visioning, it can often us leave us feeling inadequate and immobilized. We don't know where or how to begin. The end feels impossibly afar away. We can't imagine that the outcome is achievable from where we are in this moment. We feel like a failure unless we achieve those exact goals. What if the next step wasn't monumental, but simply meaningful? What if we began in smaller bites, or as the poet David Whyte suggests, what if we start closer in? What is right in front of you that feels doable? The thing that's practical, something that will enhance your life in some way for the better, even if it is one small act.
And then there is this question, which is perhaps my favorite, what is the generous thing you can do? When generosity is the mindset, we shift from me to thee, from something we have to do to something we want to do. This shifts the question from seriousness to curious inquiry, from weighty responsibility to delightful opportunity. It is an act of offering to another or out into the world.
How will you make this a priority for yourself? Don't make it another do-to on your already long list of things you must accomplish. Think of it as something that feels like effortless ease and embodied empowerment. Something that makes you come alive.
X Alisa
Photo : Kristoffer Albrecht, "Small Apples"