Carry It Forward

2021-01-04 | Liz Walz, ASP, Executive Director

Category: Blog

Morning has broken

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 Last month as I composed my blog post, the hymn O Come, O Come Emanuel was ringing in my ears. Today, New Year’s Eve, it’s Morning Has Broken (the Cat Stevens version). By the time you read this, we will have entered 2021. On one hand, this flip of the calendar signifies the ushering in of a new year with new possibilities and new resolutions (for a few weeks anyway). On the other hand, we remain a world in waiting, a world incomplete, not yet fulfilled.

The pressures and challenges of 2020 changed and shaped us; for most of us loss first comes to mind, yet the year was not without its graces. Several key choices made in response to ceaseless unpredictability helped me cope with the pandemic, the loss of my dad, and the operational challenges we faced at Genesis which culminated in the resignation of beloved Program Manager Jean Risk at the end of December. Jean felt the call to new life and we wish her every abundance as she says, “Yes!” We know Providence will bless her as she has been blessing to all of us. And we’re thrilled that Jean will continue to be available to offer massage at Genesis!

Here are three of the graces of 2020 that I’m grateful to be carrying forward into 2021:

• Heart Centered Meditation continues to thrive, now in its 10^th month. This gift of Providence is far beyond my ability alone and I’m grateful beyond measure to the women and man who caught the spirit and lend their gifts to guarding the sacred circle of squares.

• A posture of humility and acceptance arose in response to each new variable and curve ball as week after week, month after month the universe seemed to be perpetually uttering the refrain, “You’re not in control, darling!”

Daily silent contemplative practice and feeling my feelings with tender acceptance, à la the BioSpiritual Focusing practice that is core to Genesis’ spiritual legacy, was both anchor and consolation as all we hold familiar appeared to unravel. The new is emerging, we are evolving; this is what it feels like…

• Although my litany of gratitude for the awakenings and gifts of 2020 is far from complete, I’ll round out this skimming of the surface with a nod to treadmills and to Christina Leano, whose coaching on “how to form a habit” helped me integrate regular walking with intermittent running into my weekly routine. It makes a difference; my heart is stronger! A paradox born of the pandemic, isn’t that a gift to cherish?

I invite you, dear friend of Genesis, to share if you would: What is there from 2020 that you would like to carry forward into 2021? What new capacity is emerging in you, forged in the crucible of 2020, that will serve you going forward (and by ripple effect, change the world for the better)?

If you email me with your responses, we will update this blog post every few days until in our next Lilies of the Field blog post we hear from Genesis chef Jen Moynihan later this month.

This Genesis community is a treasure, and I am grateful to be doing my part in carrying it forward. Happy New Year!

In Providence,

Liz Walz, ASP

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