This moment could be simplified. It will never be easy.
Our work can be simple. It isn't easy.
My work is simple. It isn't easy.
If you watched me from above, you’d think my job is just questions:
I ask one. I reflect one back. I ask another.
Tactically? True. The real work isn't in the tactics though, it's in the spaces between - the moments of alchemy that occur between stimulus and response.
I'm using "response" here because that is where the magic is happening - taking a beat to intentionally reply, not react.
At it's core, I am a holder of space - a space that enables less reactivity. Because when we don’t snap into lizard-brain reactivity, we can access options we literally couldn’t see a moment before—unseen, unnamed, unsensed. A breath. A pause. A moment to look at the question before offering an answer. A beat to drop in and think with our guts, our hearts and our minds.
That beat is what I’m actually “holding.” And here’s the good news: you can hold it too. Warning: It’s simple. Not easy.
Holding space asks us to:
listen to the meaning beneath the words
let someone finish their thought before we offer ours
ask the next question—acknowledging when we don’t fully get it yet
tolerate silence long enough for something truer to emerge
Two weeks ago, I worked with a team trying to build the roles and systems they need to meet this moment. We didn’t “force” clarity. We made room for it. I asked questions, held the thread, and let what they put into that space shape the next step.
The team generously thanked me. I did my best to receive it. But the truth is, what I did was simple, albeit a bit revolutionary: I held space for them to be.
Through their being they discovered their natural states of creativity, courage, and wisdom. I didn’t give them anything they didn’t already have.
I held space for their creativity, courage, and wisdom to come back online—things the hyperstimulating world constantly crowds out.
Next week, I’m holding space for myself: A 10 day silent meditation retreat. No WiFi. No reading. No writing. Just me, a cushon, a handful of other psychonauts, two sattvic meals a day, my active mind, and my fidgety body.
Simple? Yes.
Easy? I'll let you know...but I think not!
This is one way I am choosing to respond to being overstimulated so I can come back more resourced.
More resources to hold deeper space for the people I’m privledged to serve and be present with.
Let me know how you hold space for you and others during these chaotic times. And whether you respond or not, keep finding ways to hold space for you and yours.
Simply put, we need your creativity and courage for the long haul, because this building a brighter future thing ain't easy.