This past week has challenged me to stay grounded, find my calm in the chaos, and allow the river to flow around me instead of being swept up in it.
It is so easy now days for me to fall into overwhelm, what if, why… especially when my life feels uncertain, demanding, and emotionally heavy. In these moments, my mind grows restless, loud, racing ahead instead of staying present. I have to stand my ground and sometimes hang on to the rocks in the river to keep from being tossed in the rapids, caught in that river of anxiety, worry, stress and overthinking.
We had to let two of the cottonwoods on our property go this week, they were raising the patio and headed for the foundation. There was no alternative but I did ceremony and thanked them for the beauty they have shown us over the years and apologized for them having been planted, many years before we arrived, too close to the house.
When the constant noise in my world pushes me away from myself, when I lose touch with the quiet beauty, clarity, and grounded strength of the present moment, I have turned to these trees to anchor me. I am grateful to still have the one outside my office, though time will tell if it has enough space. Its presence brings me back into the flow, both feet securely planted in the riverbed, able to more fully inhabit myself and the moments that unfold around me.
I am sitting in a hotel in AZ as I write this week, the house here being painted, finally, after 11 years on the to-do list. It was stressful to leave CA this time. It is the first time I have left hubby in nearly two years and to top it all off, he had to take his driver’s test. That’s always a crazy day for him but hip hip hooray, for me and for him. He can still do the grocery shopping. 😊
Finding that still place in the river when it begins to rise and challenge the banks, move rocks out of its way, and pummel anyone or anything in its path, can be hard, exasperating, and frustrating all at once. Let me find a branch to cling to, or a rock to climb on. Just give me a minute, a break, a chance to find my footing again and I will stand in the flow once again.
The cottonwood outside my office is my anchor when the river rises. She holds me energetically and I know I am safe. She loans me her strength to find my roots again and hold steady in the flow.
What do you do when the river of your life rises? Where do you find sanctuary, strength, an anchor ‘til the storm passes?
May you find the still, calm in your river and your feet firmly anchored in the flow.
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Vicki Dobbs is a bold and adventurous warrior walking a path of heart to manifest spirituality in everyday lives. She opens existential gateways for individuals to face their challenges and embrace these tests as the great teachers that they are.
Her goal is to see everyone walk in beauty and balance every day of their lives empowered by the voice of their own authentic truth.
Through Wisdom Evolution and Sacred Wisdom Workshops, Vicki creates opportunities for others to make deep personal changes through experiential classes, ceremony, sacred art and story. She endeavors to inspire others to create their lives intentionally. Vicki is an Inspirator of everyday awareness, an Instigator of spontaneous stories and a Connoisseur of Creativity. Gratitude and grace sprinkled with humility and humor are the medicine she brings to the world.
As an Elder, Teacher and Entrepreneur, Spiritual Coach, Ordained Minister and Crafter of Sacred Art and Tools, Vicki perceives life’s journey as an ever-upward spiraling ascension of the human spirit leading her to wisdom, wholeness and authenticity.
Her experience includes being trained in the Harner Method of Shamanic Counseling and the Pachakuti Mesa Tradition of Cross Cultural Shamanism. She is a Graduate Teacher and Mentor with the Lynn Andrews Center For Sacred Arts and Training and has been the Administrator and Writers Guide for Writing Spirit, the School.
Vicki is also an Artist of the Spirit Certified Spiritual and Energetic Life Coach, a Graduate Mentor in the AoS program and a founding member of HeatherAsh Amara’s Warrior Goddess Leadership Team and Facilitator of the Warrior Heart Practice.
Connect with Vicki here on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vickildobbsauthor