It’s the 21st century.
It’s the year 2020.
It’s December 19th.
It’s right here.
Right now.
This moment.
breaths
We’re entering the middle of this solstice ceremony. We’re passing from the past, into the present. from light, into darkness. You might take a moment, now, to look at your surroundings and think about any last things you need to settle into the evening. You might want to dim down your main lights. You might want to light candles if you haven’t already. You might want to grab a glass of water or some hot cocoa. If you need to go get anything, you can go now. We’ll be here in another minute. You won’t miss much.
While some of you are doing that, I’d like to take a moment to just… be. Here. Together.
It’s a little tricky, to really be together, here in this moment. We don’t even know where “here” is for each other. You could be listening from a few blocks or a few timezones away. But we’re trying to be together, trying out a different kind of ritual than you might be used to. We’re staring into little glowing rectangles. It might be a little hard to remember that the teeny people on the screen are real.
You might notice that you have a set of habits regarding little glowing rectangles. If things get uncomfortable, or if there’s a little logistical hiccup… instead of staying in the moment, you might just… find yourself twitching your fingers and….your muscles remember, and…
…suddenly you’re on facebook, instead of having to process difficult truths about reality.
Now, you should place your attention where you want it. But it’s easy, on these rectangles, to have our attention pulled away from the moment that we want to be in.
So a thing you might try, when you notice that something feels slightly uncomfortable, or there’s a logistical hiccup or you otherwise aren’t getting dopamine quite fast enough and you’re feeling SO MUCH AFFORDANCE to go to a separate tab…
…maybe, instead, just…
…breath.
breathes
Just… take a deep breath…
breathes
And during that breath, maybe you just draw your attention to your own body.
What’s it like to be you right now?
Breathes
Maybe, let your attention go to the people on the screen here. Spend a few moments thinking, “man, that teeny rectangular video window is connected to a person who is alive, right now, n thinking thoughts and feeling feelings”. Some of them might be people you know,. Some may be strangers – but they’re the sort of strangers who chose to spend their evening at this event, with these people tonight.
As you breathe, you might direct your attention to, “what’s it like to be them right now?”
Breathes
And before we begin the descent into darkness, I like us to take seven deep breaths together.
breathes audibly seven times
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
Thank you.
…
If you need to go get anything, you can go now. We’ll be here in another minute.
…
If you already have what you need for the rest of the evening, then maybe this is a moment where we can try to really settle into our bodies.
Breathing in, let’s just gently reach across and cup the side of our heads, and pulling down until we feel a little stretch. We’ll hold that there for a few breaths. In… out… In… out… In… out. Now letting your head come back to centre, and reaching over with your other arm to do the stretch on the other side, pulling down just until you feel a gentle stretch, and holding here for a few breaths. In… out… In… out… In… out.
I hope you’ve now had the chance to make this present moment, and your present surroundings, into what you’ll need for the rest of the night. I hope you’re looking into these little boxes, and thinking about how the tiny person on the other side is someone, and they’re here, too.
If you’re not quite here, if you’re hearing my voice through your headphones, but your attention is somewhere else, that’s okay. But the present seemed like the right time for a nudge about this very modern problem: it’s okay to close those other tabs, for now. You can come back to this moment. You’re invited. It’s December 19th, 2020, and you can be here with us.
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