Congratulations on surviving the black hole of the past two years. As the world engages in the classic phenomena of denial and the world pretends that Covid never existed, I am brought back to the lessons learned from millennial ex “situationship” where we pretend the experiences of a finite time period are convinced to be non existent. Despite the effortless denial we have seen in society, the cacophony has been building and with it the forced ignorance of the natural cognitive processing needed for the human mind and spirit needs to adapt to a new environment.

As the world doubles down on lost productivity, I find myself in slow motion like a teenager sneaking cigarettes on a NYC street whilst sitting on a curb. In my work with the human psyche, this constant drive to hustle following uncertainty has continued to cause the greatest duress for many citizens of this fine country.

What is so terrifying that we constantly seek mindless movement over intentional action? When will we realize the only way around is through? Accepting there is no black and white. No finite answers. The life we live never had guarantees. Why do we fear it now and cause more pain for ourselves instead of accepting uncertainty and opening ourselves to the fact that our connection to those closest to us is the beacon from which we find answers. The constant convincing ourselves that everything is “fine” breaks our heart and has become a self mutiliating phenomena that provides instant pleasure like a shot of whiskey in the dark while avoiding the impending life hangover the following morning promises.

We continue to submit to the cognitive dialogue which tells us to seek perfection, yet this same premise leads to emptiness and loneliness on a core level. When we accept the truth in front of us, we are not seeking sympathy, we are acknowledging the reality in front of us. Once we do this, stillness becomes an intoxicating state where the answers find us and we no longer need to stand and deliver. The louder the cacophony becomes the more stillness is not a luxury but a necessity.

One of the hardest yet fulfilling experiences I have experienced these past months has been to thank the enemies and obstacles that have been shown to me in recent years. Now, nothing about this is easy but necessary. In life we have to show up for things we do not like, but this is mandatory if we want grow and seek change. It is only in stillness that we rise to our highest potential. If the world only knew the amount of energy expended in fear and avoidance, we would find the power in stillness. Even if only in a moment of stillness….