Have you noticed a lot of us are out on the edge lately?
In my conversations with women they want to know if this precipice they’re peering down from is a breakthrough or a breakdown.
They hesitate to even talk about it.
What if things get really unhinged?
I assure them, from the view I see, that it’s a breakthrough
… although it may feel temporarily like a breakdown.
They express worry about feeling out of control in their lives. The confusion. The crying. The sleepless nights. The days they can’t get out of bed.
I tell them, “You are birthing something; a new you.”
I suggest patience. Kindness. Self-care. Lots of naps. Time in nature.
Or a few episodes of “Hoarders.” That always makes me feel better. Puts things in perspective.
As we drop deeper into the conversation, I sense the tightness in their chest, the shallow breathing, the darting mind, trying to grab hold of something known, familiar, a landmark they can recognize on the horizon.
I do what I can to give them space to find their clarity, their inner knowing.
Sometimes we take a moment to breathe. Or I invite them to connect with the ground beneath their feet. I try and coax them out of their over-active analytical mind on an adventure down to the wild territory of the heart, where it’s often tender, protected.
As always, I encourage letting go. Surrendering.
Sometimes a few tears are shed.
And then they share about moments of giddy unbridled joy and a deep inner knowing that life is truly a gift.
And that they are on to something BIG. (This is often said in a conspiratorial whisper, so as not to tempt the Fates).
We’re in the Wild West folks. Unprecedented changes are occurring daily. Miracles, really. I know you see it all around you. Some people make it look easy. But I bet if you peek below the surface of the water, you’ll see their little duck feet paddling like crazy.
We are women on the verge.
I looked it up –verge, “The limit or point beyond which something begins or occurs; brink.”
We’re on the brink.
Let’s hold hands and jump off together, ready?
It’s time to dig down deep.
Dig Down Deep
Adapted song lyrics by Marc Cohn
Baby let’s go below the surface
See what we can find
There’s no reason to be nervous
‘Cause it happens all the time
I don’t want to go up to the mountain
I don’t need to go down to the sea
I’m gonna sit right here ‘till we unravel the mystery
And I don’t want to wait until tomorrow
‘Cause the fortune said ‘The time is now”
It’s time to find out what we’re doing
What we’re doing anyhow
It’s an open invitation
Baby don’t you cry
It’s a life-long celebration
I think we’re right on time
It’s a feeling in your heart
A lump in the throat
It’s a strange and lovely ride
Want to dig down deep inside
While everyone else is just walking around
In their sleep
Baby let’s dig down deep
I love Marc Cohn’s music, to purchase the best of on iTunes, go here.
If you’re feeling in the need of a little hand-holding at the verge, hop on over to sign up for my free 15-minute Soul Infusion.
I loved this post, Laura. I have been doing a lot of surrendering this week while those little feet paddle below me trying to keep me afloat in uncharted waters. I love the way you describe this as women on the verge. It gives me a sense of glee. “On the verge of what?” I ask. I like being in a position to burst forth. Like spring in my beloved home, lush and luscious Virgina. One minutes it’s winter and the next minute I am sitting in the blossoms of a great big cherry tree.
“It’s a life-long celebration. I think we’re right on time.”
Thank you, Laura. Thank you, Marc.
Sue Ann Gleason recently posted..Marlow & Sons
Thank you Sue Ann. You are definitely a woman on the verge!
Laura – Such a wonderful post. Sums up so much of what I’ve been feeling and I couldn’t quite tell if I’m at breakthrough or on the other side of things. I’ve been craving outdoor time and reading time. Spent much of last week in the garden. Finding the patience with myself the hardest aspect.
Christie Halmick | Jewels Branch Creative recently posted..Women Branching Out: Kimberly Riggins
Yes, gardening is so powerful as we connect with the earth Christie, and it is such a great metaphor for the creative process, but you would know that given the name of your business!
Oh, I know this feeling! On the verge of something BIG! I love how you put it… that is how we talk about it, all quiet-like, as if something might happen if we own it too much.
In the mean time, let’s surrender, breathe, nap, and take it easy. Right-on, Laura. You can’t force that BIG thing to come when you’re on the verge.
Jenny Shih recently posted..How to Get Your Assistant to Run Your Business for You
Yes, I am feeling the need for more naps lately Jenny. Maybe we can reframe that in our culture as a sign for something big on the horizon and not that we are lazy!
Love this! So often I have found myself far from shore with no land in sight – thinking – maybe there is no land! Am I going to sink, should I swim like crazy to get to the other side even if I can’t see it? Your post reminds me to float a bit! To let myself be supported by that great mystery; the flow if life that is always, always moving beneath us….the deeper current….
Also, love that quote!
Janice
I love this image of floating… like in the ocean, letting the waves carry us instead of struggling to get somewhere.
Oh, Laura what a timely post! I so can relate to that feeling that you are 3 feet from gold, but disguised as a breakdown and not a breakthrough. Its so true you can’t force the issue. The trick IS to surrender, take it with stride and let the good thing happen when its suppose to. Naps & lots of pampering – right on!!
Yes Yvette, I know you know what I am talking about here!
LOVE this phrase… Women on the Verge. YES! yes we are, Laura! you… and your work, with guiding women to seeing and feeling/being it. And… truly the whole collective. I too see them in my work, the breakthroughs happening are astounding. The old giving way almost effortlessly to the power of the true self. So much being healed and released. We are stepping into the new world.
This is my power words from your piece which I am writing out today….
I try and coax them out of their over-active analytical mind on an adventure down to the wild territory of the heart, where it’s often tender, protected.
LOVE it! the wild territory of the heart. I know this place. And I am tender and protected there.
Thank you for your deep work Laura, and your wise woman intelligence operating IN the world.
Thank you Kathleen, another woman leading us into the soft underbelly of the soul…
Surrendering…honestly NEVER occurred to me. My approach is to overfill my plate until stress kicks in but there is only so much you can put out until you start to let things back in. Many thanks for this timely article. I will try it…and let you know how it goes….
I love that Anastasia. Surrender can be powerful, that is the key! And yes, please let me know how it goes!
Laura – I LOVE this. It is so fitting for so many conversations I have had with friends and other business owners. It is almost a tangible energy, a ripple running through us – a shift into something new. The challenge for so many of us is that surrendering…we want resolution! And yet in our haste to get there (wherever that may be), we miss the opportunities that being on the verge itself presents. This post is inspiring us to do just that though. (Oh, and I gotta say I laughed out loud at the “Hoarders” reference…I totally use reality TV that way some times.)
Jennifer Peek
Find Your New Groove
Left-Brained Strategy for Right-Brained Businesses
Jennifer Peek | Creative Business Strategist recently posted..Weekly Q+A: No More Wishing
Yes, this shift, is powerful Jennifer. Glad I am not the only one who finds that show therapeutic (until I need to get up and scrub the house top to bottom!)
Laura: This is such great reminder. I’ve been more and more conscious of “surrendering” rather than “doing, working, trying.” It’s so freeing. I’v been feeling some of the emotions you spoke about and feel that I am entering a new phase, and thus I can relate to being a woman on the verge, a phrase I just love! Thank you for for a stirring post.
Tracey it is so hard to break these “doing” habits and shift to “being” especially when we are immersed in such a doing culture as ours! But that’s why we travel, right? to remind ourselves there are different realities elsewhere!
That’s so true, Laura…traveling and entering new realities is a great reminder to “be.” Perhaps that’s why I’m so drawn to it.
Tracey Ceurvels recently posted..What do birthday cakes + the Statue of Liberty have in common?
I love the title of this post, “Women on the Verge” so witty, I just attended a wonderful art gallery event for ART Dubai that was entitled the same thing, so this is very much on my mind. I love how you have woven together the idea of being SO close to what you’re calling is, what is happening deep in your soul. I am ready to jump into that unknown calling as well. Enjoy the ride!
nasrine recently posted..Intellect Event Guide This Week
Nasrine, so nice to have you journey here all the way from Dubai! Yes to jumping off into the unknown! THe more I let go, the easier it seems to be getting!
Oh, I love this post. I needed to hear this. I’ve been resisting the overwhelm thinking that it is a sign that everything is falling apart rather then that perhaps things are picking up speed in order to come together.
Thanks for the perspective.
And I loved this: “Some people make it look easy. But I bet if you peek below the surface of the water, you’ll see their little duck feet paddling like crazy.”
Cris:Gladly recently posted..I Slept With Hope
Thanks Cris, nice to hear from you my dear. And yes, being gentle on the journey seems to be the call right now.
Laura, isn’t it funny how we put something off subconsciously, not realizing that it was destined to be revealed at a given moment? I’ve been wanting to read your post for awhile now, but it wasn’t meant to be until this evening. Per the lyrics of the song you used to illustrate this post, “I think we’re right on time.” Thank you for “gentling” me past the verge.
Well, I guess it’s a relief to know I’m not teetering on the edge alone. To me it feels like my world is falling apart. Counselors and astrologers tell me it’s part of a plan, that something much better is on the other side. It better be DAMN good.
Whoa! This blog looks exactly like my old one!
It’s on a totally different subject but it has pretty much the same layout and design. Excellent choice of colors!
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