Sometimes the puzzle pieces of our lives fall into place with unusual clarity. In my own experience, this phenomenon is preceded by some sort of shake-up.
I stepped off the grid for a while, just following my intuition. For reasons not clear to me at the time, the turn of the new year brought a deep need for rebooting my systems, shaking up my routines, and trusting ever more deeply in the process.
For starters, this manifested in:
- Letting go of “shoulds” that were connected to others’ expectations rather than my own sense of purpose;
- Clearing and reorganizing my office closets, book shelves, and personal papers to make room for new growth;
- Allowing myself to keep my work calendar spacious and non-committal the first few months of the year to protect time for family priorities (a bit of travel with my now semi-retired husband and lots of spaciousness around our son’s wedding in April).
Opening every file and storage box in my office closets amounted to touching base with every chapter of my life. I savored the beautiful perspective that comes with being (almost) 58, and sensed into the tapestry of not only my own life, but the lives of those who got me here.
After the major purge of all that no longer serves me on my professional path, I developed a weirdly intense pull to refresh and expand my family photo wall. I couldn’t put my finger on why, but my gut told me that another important component of my fresh start process was to honor the multigenerational village of family members who have supported our collective journey.
Why Now?
The last time I did such a major space clearing was shortly before my book came out in 2016. I sensed that I was on the cusp of a new chapter and wanted to be organized, ready, and have room to grow into whatever opportunities life dropped in my path.
With my kids now successfully launched into their adult lives and my teaching and photography work in clear alignment with my sense of purpose, I am once again infused with the joyful anticipation of yet another new chapter.
The intensity of the photo wall instinct (which came up frequently when I’d ask myself, “What’s most important right now?”) was more confusing to me than the call to declutter my work spaces. But I kept chipping away at the task, one intentional photo choice after another, trusting the joyful feeling that accompanied the project.
New Wisdom
An “ah ha” moment came when some new-to-me teachings dropped into my lap, providing another wisdom lens to add to my toolbox. This ah ha is related to 2022.
According to the ancient teachings of the Dagara tribe of Burkina Faso, the number 2 symbolizes the element of fire and is connected to our ancestors. Dagara cosmology and numerology call us to honor and pay special attention to our ancestors this year because it ends with the number 2.
Now, I know nothing about numerology. I have friends who have shared incredible (and yes, magical!) numerology stories. But I only have so many hours in the day, and I used to think numerology was off brand for me anyway, so I have left that passion and teaching to others.
But when I learned that we’re all supposed to be paying attention to our ancestors in 2022, what I have been calling “my ancestor wall project” clicked into place. This wall is not an alter, but a blending of generations and family ties into one big beautiful team of supporters. It’s like a quilt made up of our families across the ages, little pieces of all of us a babies, as children, as adults, at weddings, at play, at work, in relationship with each other.
The Broader Power of Our Ancestral Village
As my photo wall has evolved piece by piece over the past several weeks, I have felt increasingly supported by my ancestors. This is particularly palpable in my work with a team of family and friends who are co-sponsoring the resettlement of two related Afghan refugee families.
Without our ancestors, we wouldn’t be here to support the parents and eleven children (including a new American citizen born five days after we met the families three weeks ago, and another one on the way). Our family’s village has become our Afghan friends’ village. We are all connected.
I’ll be sharing more about all that we are learning during this intense journey. (Spoiler alert – as Team Lead, mindfulness is my secret sauce!)
The bottom line is that I experienced a very real and increasing sense of being supported as I continued to build the photo wall. This palpable feeling in my body is what I trust. I have learned I don’t need to understand why.
