Hi,
This is Pahd Mcgordon and today I want to speak to you about something that I've been contemplating a lot lately,
Which is radical inclusivity,
The radical possibility of including everything that shows up.
The radical possibility of leaning in when we feel like running away.
I will say that this practice includes a lot of breathing and a healthy dose of discernment in my own experience.
It's really important in this practice of radical inclusivity to tend to ourselves,
To stay deeply connected through our breath to our body because our bodies will give us a signal.
They will let us know if and when we are veering too far afield.
Because if we want to grow,
If we want to evolve,
Which if you're listening to this recording right now,
I'm imagining that you are in that camp of wanting to grow and evolve and being committed to showing up for yourself and the people around you,
Which definitely includes opening to things that might feel uncomfortable while staying connected to ourselves to be able to discern when it's too much.
So I can give you an example.
Recently someone was talking to me about sharing a meal with two really important people in their life.
One was an ex-partner and one was the current partner.
The practice of bridging these two worlds that this person felt like,
Oh,
These people are so important to me.
I would like them to know each other and I would like to create connection between the past and the present and have a more unified sphere of life.
And as you might imagine,
It had edges.
It had edges of discomfort for someone who was the ex and then the person who was the present partner.
So the possibility is to bring this spirit of radical inclusivity,
Which includes big breaths of generosity,
Of generosity of caring about the larger context of life.
Radical inclusivity is welcoming or including things or people that we might not have a natural inclination to welcome or embrace.
Stretching radical inclusivity means stretching outside of our comfort zone.
So that's what I want to say about this.
Radical inclusivity is an opportunity to be generous with yourself and the people in your life and to stretch outside your comfort zone,
Which means that there's an opportunity to lean in,
To lean in and explore uncharted territory.
Be one of the explorers of a new frontier in your life,
A new relational frontier,
A new gastronomic frontier,
Whatever it might be for you.
The question is how to do this.
I'm going to suggest begin by breathing.
If you've listened to any of my other meditations,
You know that I am a huge fan of or proponent for breathing and breathing deeply.
Breath creates space.
If we want to expand,
We need to create space.
We need to create space to feel what's here,
To peer into dark corners inside ourselves as well as in our relationships and in our lives.
Because in my experience,
The best way to expand my capacity to be with others,
To support others,
To love others is to offer my own warm attention to myself.
