Crisis Care
I initially wrote this as the fires began to rage along the West Coast, myself, my loved ones shrouded in dark plumes of smoke, gasping for breath, for hope, after multiple waves of crisis that have yet to make their way to shore. Unprecedented times do not seem to capture the truth of the moment we find ourselves in - it’s texture, the way it seeps into our sleep and sits with us at every turn. There are few corners it can’t find it’s way in to. In some places the fires continue to rage while others are still growing, and the fires within continue to roar. The most comforting salve I have found this year is the gift of curiosity.
I’m learning that curiosity and crisis go very well together even though it can be hard to reach for early on, especially when our basic survival is threatened. Yet it continues to be a powerful ally. When I was spinning out the other day I made myself ask my ancestors for a guiding question before going to bed. I woke up to this inquiry the following morning:
How do we build a supportive container around us during crisis?
I loved it. It reminded me we are re-learning that crisis happens, that we are students of crisis right now, and although we are in multiple moments of chaos, we still get to build a container of support around us to be inside these crises with more grace. Hold the question close to your heart and see what comes. Here's what came to me:
THE BASICS: These are suggestions to help your nervous system ground so your own intuition can kick in.
An important note before diving in: community is your biggest asset. who are the pod of folks who you are looking out for and you know are looking out for you. The conditions we are under at this time make us weary to our bones. Personal care is critical but can be difficult to follow through with in trying times. It’s equally crucial that we begin to engage in our personal care strategies with our community to keep apathy and coping cycles regulated while inviting in curiosity and possibility. The strategies below can be done on your own but if that gets difficult do them with your loved ones. We will need to begin to normalize processing through pain, emotions, reaching for joy and love together. Perhaps that was the way it was meant to be all along.
TAPPING AND SHAKING: Tap and shake the shit out of your body. It keeps the organs, muscles, and meridians flowing and keeps elevated cortisol from building. Watch this Qi-Gong video - the last 5 minutes have a great basic tapping routine. If you are able to do the entire routine even better.
MAKE NOISE: I'm serious - yell, scream, moan, sing (singing is great) do it with those around you. It's cathartic, keeps the upper chakra's flowing so your mind stays clear. It can also help with inviting in silliness and laughter.
BELLY BREATHING: hand on the belly as you walk around, when you sit down or lay down, breathe slow breaths into the belly and slow exhales out the mouth, make noise or sighs if you need to.
CALL FRIENDS YOU TRUST WHO AREN'T IN FIRES ZONES TO HOLD SPACE: another way to have cathartic release if space allows when you are not taking care of survival needs. Ask them to reach out to you from time to time.
ENCOURAGE EACH OTHER TO LAUGH AT LEAST ONCE A DAY/TAP/MAKE NOISE: if you are especially prone to anxiety and have a strong fight or flight response it will be hard to do anything on this list. Use your support pod to keep your energy and breath moving.
LIMIT SOCIAL MEDIA TIME: if this is a hard one for you, have folks in your support pod help with this. It's OK if social media scrolling is part of your coping mechanism. And it also feeds anxiety super fast while putting our body into a collapsed position creating pathways for helpless thoughts to come through over curiosity.
PRAYER/SET INTENTIONS: or something that connects you to forces bigger than us humxns. Set an intention or prayer with your loved ones throughout the day, remind yourself of it.
IF GRIEF IS COMING, LET IT OUT: I know you've seen this before, still stands true now. It's also OK if you aren't feeling grief just yet.
A REMINDER THAT YOU DO NOT HAVE TO BE TENDING TO “NORMAL” LIFE AT THIS TIME. Work, projects, etc. are not critical. Safety, tending to basic survival needs is enough and a beautiful aligned use of time.
EAT AND SLEEP: I put this at the end because I know how hard it is to eat and sleep during crisis. Once again, how can your pod and support people help with this?
EXTRAS: if you have space and time or are called to do so:
JOURNAL EXERCISE: In rough times I like to write down all of the hard feelings I'm struggling with. Once I get it all out I go back and underline the essential sentiments. Then I put on my curiosity lens and turn the sentiments into questions. Sometimes a larger meta-question presents itself that I treat as a guiding light.
READ: I loved this post from Mary Good. It beautifully holds the complexity of this moment - the despair and the possibility of something else coming our way. How could we allow our hearts to do the same?
PULL TAROT CARDS: I pulled cards from I-Ching deck for the question at the beginning of this newsletter, which then inspired new questions. This practice helps me connect to my spirit wisdom, a different perspective on what's happening, access creative tools for resiliency, and feel the support of ancestors and guides.
RESOURCE LIST:
This is a compiled list of resources that you may find helpful during this time. It includes sections on mutual aid, general evacuation and preparedness tips, important alerts, housing, self-care, and places to donate!
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A crisis is meant to break us down, as hard as that is to hear. And yet, we can still create a container around us that reminds us how to stay curious and pick ourselves back up. There is a way through this, it's buried in your muscle memory and likely whispering to you in your dreams. I am holding us and the land deeply in my heart, may enough of us remember we have agency even in experiences that are largely out of our hands.
Tenderly,
Kirin
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Thank you, from my heart to yours.
