The Way of Wholecoming
- stacey2686
- Apr 21
- 5 min read
The last few years have dealt many of us an overflowing deck of cards from the dealer called life. A deck of cards which sometimes felt like it only included personal and collective cards of pain, fear, and grief. A deck of cards which felt like, on occasion, it breached our capacity. A deck of cards which leaned toward feeling like too much. And in those two small words, too much, there is an entire universe of healing. In this feeling (and at times spoken sentiment) of ‘life is too much’, if we put our ears to the ground, we can hear a stretching murmur which hums “this is the medicine”. Because when we deem, explicitly or otherwise, the mechanism of our humanity to be too much, are we not also deeming ourselves to be too much? And in this loop of too much, do we not employ tactics of a frantic chase (unworthiness), rather than dreams of a gentle journey (worthiness)?
And at first, it can be difficult, finding a way to see over the piles of pain, fear, and grief. To see over them and to the other side of the mountain, which is seemingly standing in the shadows of the shadow. But the piles of collective and personal joy, trust, and peace, they are there. Always.
It can take time, often coming after tiring ourselves out, after attempting to force-see our way through it. To remember these piles are not separate mountains. And to remember, in a surprise twist, that it isn’t even about seeing over the piles of the fear, the pain, the grief. It is about remembering, reclaiming, listening to the WHOLE. Imagining the piles not as two half circles, each super glued to the ground, immovable, but rather as a single floating circle (or a giant, overblown bubble). Where ‘the all’ is, of course, always accessible. Because it is part of the unbroken circle.
Because ‘the all’ is in always.
Yes, depending on the circle’s position, certain elements of life will be closer to us, touching us more deeply in any given moment. And yes, sometimes our inner expert level excavation team needs to be called in to unearth those elements of life which are further from us, touching us less deeply. But the circle is not static. The circle is constantly shifting, moving through time and space, doing graceful backflips and impressive pirouettes. Allowing the elements of life we are close to, to ebb and flow.
There is a push and pull which resembles that of an intimate dance. In the push, we are pulling closer. In the pull, we are pushing closer. Closer, not further. More in focus, not less. Like when we crawl into the examination throne at the eye doctor and they ask which is clearer, 1 or 2, 1 or 2, 2 or 1. We decide. We choose.
This is an act of meeting, not ignoring. That perhaps ignoring what we perceive as the harder elements of life when they are closer to us, or longing for what we perceive as the easier elements of life when they are further from us, perhaps this resistance creates a sort of Pinocchio’s nose situation? Where the harder elements of life grow exponentially, almost as if they were placed in a fertile petri dish. Creating an imbalance in the circle’s hemispheres, making it more difficult for the orb to move freely in its natural oscillation. That reconciling life as something which is merely in the act of being (just as we wish to be), is what ultimately echolocates our equilibrium, our balance. That the reconciliation of life within this connective tissue offers us solace, safety, and freedom.
This is wholecoming. Both a place and a path. Why both? Because escaping duality seems futile. Because two things are fully capable of existing as one. In fact, the complexity of this simplicity (or the simplicity of this complexity?) feels like it may be the ‘whole ball of wax’. If we carry the feeling of life as too much, can we live from a place other than overwhelm and depletion? And if we are living from a place of overwhelm and depletion, can we ever truly feel safe or free? Our bodies, the earth’s body, they are keenly aware of the difference between safe and unsafe, the difference between free and restricted. They oblige by keeping us in a state of fight or flight until there is resolution. And until resolution, access to our parasympathetic nervous system is filled with roadblocks. Not impassible, like the mountain roads cut off by the winter’s heavy snow, but not without distinct challenges.
We need unfettered access. For regeneration. For the embodiment of our multi-dimensional-ness. And for the embrace of expansiveness over the worship of limitation.
꩜ WHOLECOMING is this spiral ꩜
There is an activeness. But not active in the sense of control we are programmed to value. This is an activeness of presence. Wholecoming exists outside the tangled web of too much. It is void of self-punishment. Wholecoming has no desire to dimmish the fullness of you as a mechanism for illusory safety. Safety and freedom come from the highway of abundance, not scarcity. And abundance is in our DNA.
Our fire stick bundle was created from the highway of abundance. A physical prototype, gifted from nature, seemingly appeared out of nowhere. Quite literally a twig and a pinecone, placed on the ground in front of our feet, whispering, “pick us up, we are here to help”. And so, we did. Pick them up. Over the last year this pair told us a story, a story of love and freedom, and introduced us to wholecoming. The process from nature’s prototype to fire stick bundle has taken time. It is slow art. It is a functional piece of ritual art. And that kind of seems like the point.
So, when the roles are reversed, and the dealer called life has dealt us an overflowing deck of cards which includes primarily cards of personal and collective joy, trust, and peace – what do we do then? Do we look at the cards and say, “oh, this is not enough”. Because in those two small words, not enough, there is an entire universe of healing. In this feeling (and at times spoken sentiment) of “life is not enough”, if we put our ears to the ground, we can hear a stretching murmur which hums “there is medicine in this too”. Because when we deem, explicitly or otherwise, the mechanism of our humanity to be not enough, are we not also deeming ourselves to be not enough? And in this loop of not enough, do we not employ tactics of a frantic chase (unworthiness), rather than dreams of a gentle journey (worthiness)?
Stretching our listening - this is the way of WHOLECOMING
