"business as usual" isn't real...how to meet what is

My heart has been in a knot all week from witnessing the devastation from the fires in LA. 

Countless dear friends' and clients' lives have been dramatically impacted by the total loss of their homes, schools, temples/churches, businesses and more.

Many, many others have been living with evacuation orders requiring them to live in limbo wondering if they will ever go back home (hello fight or flight response). 

I know I am not alone in feeling the grief, worry and despair/deep care remix that comes with witnessing other humans experience unspeakable hardship. 

And I am certain that if you're reading this, you are feeling it too.

I want you to know that "business as usual" isn't real.

We are not the same on the other side of devastating events.

And when we live in relationship to one another and to LIFE, itself...we are going to be fundamentally impacted by world events.

Make no mistake, I never want to get to a place where any of this feels "normal."

And at the same time, we have to navigate how to keep doing the things we're doing while also dealing with the reality of what is with all that comes with it.

If you're feeling the freeze and are not sure how to show up in your business right now, here are some things that might help:

1. Give yourself permission to be with whatever is coming through for you. The truth of what you feel is relevant and deserves a witness. 

Me: I've been feeling frozen, paralyzed and terrified. I have felt lost and confused and bewildered. I have wept and messaged friends and been obsessively checking Instagram in moments to see if they are ok. I have felt the familiar terror pang that came through for me during the floods in North Carolina and the hurricane that came next. I have been asking existential questions and feeling moments of complete spin out. I've also felt heartened and hopeful and moved deeply. It's been an emotional soup of just about every, single thing you could imagine.

2. Understand that everyone - and I mean everyone - is dealing with their own complexities right now. We all navigate crisis in our own way. It would be wise to refrain from judgment and focus on what's relevant and real for you. 

Me: See above. I have had moments of thinking, "Why are they just acting like nothing is happening?!" and moments of "Everyone is doing their best!" and everything in between. I have also been witnessing what's alive in me and what I want to DO with that aliveness.

3. Decide what feels most important for you to focus on/create/share/do right now and be with it. If this feels challenging, repeat #1. 

Me: I am writing this email. I am making donations to specific friends/colleagues I know and loved ones they are sharing about. I am sharing what I can on social media. I am revising my January Masterclass topic and leaning in with my IYB community to support specific support needs in real time.

4. Keep it real. This is a moment for real humans having real human experiences. What's real for you right now? Share it.

Me: I am sharing my truth. I am doing my best work to refrain from judging MYSELF for this truth - specifically as someone who is not being *personally* impacted by the fires. I am creating space for the complexity of the and/both/all of what's here. I am pointing myself and my business in the direction of continued deep care, strategic breakthrough work for those who NEED IT MOST right now and the current state of business to benefit our members and community at-large in the most relevant ways possible. 

This is the kind of "strategy" I will forever make my life and business about.

Read: The opposite of trying to "say the right thing."

There is no such thing as a right thing right now except LOVE, kindness, compassion and helping.

Here's the plan:

Live. Breathe. Listen. Share. 

When you build your business on the foundation of deep care and relationship...it will endure whatever life brings. 

I can promise you this.

Sending you love, courage and the reminder that you and your work are so needed in times like these.

With Gratitude, Heart and Hope, 

xo

Amber