Tell Me How You Stay Grounded

when all the shit hits all the fans all at once

There are so many grounding exercises, so much advice about meditation and breath work, but what really holds you strong when your world becomes unstable?

A few years back, I had a labyrinth built into a hillside in the woods above my house. I thought I would walk it daily, that it would be my go-to meditation. It hasn’t been. Instead its a place I go with friends and folks who come up to my house on retreat, something we use in community.

But 6 weeks ago, when my partner, Andrew, needed emergency surgery for a strangulated hernia while away from home on a trip, my feet unerringly headed for the labyrinth. I walked while the surgeons operated, my feet tracing the paths in and the paths back out.

Two days later my father ended up in a different ER, also a thousand miles away. Again, I found myself on the labyrinth, winding up the hillside to come to the still place at its center.

This week mirrors that one: today, my Dad is having a surgery that will, hopefully, prevent future ER visits. On Wednesday, Andrew has a surgery to complete the hernia repair.

And I’ll be on the labyrinth… walking into the center and out, into the center and out.

Tell me: what do you do when all the shit hits all the fans all at once? What really works to keep you sane, centered, and grounded?

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