Moving Forward
How walking can be a supportive practice in times of great transformation.
We're currently hanging out in the Human Design Gate of Following - Opinions. Gate 17 has us questioning ourselves and others’ behaviours, as well as our ways of showing up in the world. Are you leading, or are you following? Or something else entirely?
Added to this, we are currently in one of the greatest times of transformation, with Pluto moving into Aquarius the entire energy is changing. There are some massive shifts currently beginning and this will continue for the next 20 years.
With massive transformation, sometimes we find ourselves cast into spaces or circumstances that really feel like suffering. At times like this it's challenging to remember that life is initiating us. Rather than thinking that these things are happening TO us, they are actually happening FOR us.
Yes, I know it can be very hard to see that. Or even to try to accept it, when we are hurting. However in time we move forward from our pain our perspective starts to shift, and we can begin to see the benefits in the change point that we have navigated. In time, we often find at the most uncomfortable, catalytic times in our lives were indeed some of the most important for our development, and even our happiness.
However because I'm currently navigating one of these earth-shattering moments, I thought I’d share with you my humble opinion about some ideas I have for you in supporting and empowering yourself to move forward through this because the grief that comes with change is so challenging to navigate unless we actually have some strategies and we tend to want to rush away from it, to numb it, to purge it, or to dive into new projects to distract ourselves in order to feel as though the healing is done and we are ok now and don't have to continue enduring the grief process that we go through when something dies, so something else can be born. In these times, although it is purposeful to keep moving forward, it would be easier to just stop and give up. And don't worry, I get it! There have been a number of moments throughout this current journey that I'm navigating when I would have dearly loved to just crawl into bed and not get out again for quite some time.
What I did instead was to walk.
Yes, I know it sounds simple and free and time-consuming (do you have opinions about all those things coming up?) but it is also the perfect vehicle for moving forwards.
Walking has a huge number of benefits, many of them scientifically proven. Here however, I’d like to focus on the benefits of walking when you're in a period of challenging transition.
Walking is firstly the best metaphor for moving forward. It acknowledges that movement and shift and change can often feel painful. Yet as we walk, the emotions currently surfacing in our body can rise up, be felt and so, can be shifted.
“Emotions” are literally ‘feeling in motion’, so if we move, they move. Walking also gets us out of our space and out into the fresh air and nature. Spending time outside provides us with the perfect opportunity to be more present in our lives, which can help tremendously when we are feeling overwhelming sensations of grief.
As you walk, identify things that look interesting or beautiful to you. Pay attention to the route you choose to walk, and try to deviate from your normal pattern. Doing this opens you up to new experiences and sights, but it also helps you to see that change and variation can open space for new things, which is particularly helpful at times of transition. Watching the changing seasons can help you to feel that in time the way you feel is shifting, and the seasons can even help us to understand how nature’s rhythms can support and guide us. For example, my catalysing moment occurred during autumn here in New Zealand, and while out walking amongst the first falling leaves I felt encouraged to engage in a process of surrender and release, even though initially I resisted those ideas.
As we walk, we drop into our body. We feel our muscles working, feel and hear our breath, and notice the way that our body and mind respond to this moment. When we are in a fear state, which often accompanies the shock we experience in the first few days of big changes, our body recognises walking or running as an ancient prehistoric method for us to discharge the fear and stress hormones that are surging through our body at this time. If you wake swimming in anxiety, one of the best ways to move forward from this is actually to get out and move your body. The anxious feelings will dissipate.
During this process of walking (trial month of it and be curious about how many kilometres you clock up by the end) your body and mind will change. Even across the course of your walk you'll notice that the quality of your thoughts change. There's so much conversation in spiritual circles about raising our frequency, which can feel an utterly impossible task amidst the chaos, but walking does appear to support us to release the lower vibrations we are carrying and without them dragging us down, we can sit in our personal transformation at a higher frequency, or at least be willing to consider it.
Everyone has an opinion, even us. Gate 17: The Gate of Following (Opinions) in the shadow expression or lower frequency is all about being either self-critical or opinionated. When you’re in a period of transition, do you notice your mind hijacking you and ruminating on blame or opinions or catastophizing? Much of this comes from a dualistic way of thinking. We believe we must be either in one camp, or the other. In ancient cultures, not siding with the beliefs of the tribe saw us cast out into the danger of the open spaces away from the village. But we are not in ancient culture now. Black or white thinking polarises so many of us and creates an even more opinionated society, as we seek to identify with either one side or the other, usually in an attempt to “belong”.
We have opinions about politics and parenting, relationships and career, and how we spend our time and money. We have opinions about EVERYTHING! And so many of them are borrowed! When we can take a step back from our opinions, we can often use the gift of far-sightedness to see that perspective is everything and even opinions are open to interpretation.
During these transformational times our opinions and the opinions of others can create a space where a difficult process is made even more difficult for us to navigate through, rather than allowing us the time and space to process how we are feeling, in our own way.
As we walk, many of these opinions we have been privy to come to the surface, and can be experienced - walking “in the feeling’s shoes”, so to speak, which then allows us to be able to walk it out and release it.
Where can you walk today as you contemplate the opinions that you’re releasing, right now?