From Shame Piñata,
I'm Colleen Thomas.
This is Everyday Magic for Ukraine.
Today,
We reaffirm our commitment to Ukraine.
Welcome to the Circle.
So,
Welcome!
Welcome to Everyday Magic for Ukraine,
Where we honor Ukraine and also practice some self-care to stay strong as allies.
If you're new here,
I'm really glad you've joined us.
The only item we need today is something that brings Ukraine to mind for you.
This might be a flag you have around,
It might be a vishwavanka you wear,
It might be the image in your mind of a good friend who happens to be Ukrainian.
So,
Today we're going to reaffirm our commitment to Ukraine.
And this is not something public,
Any kind of big declaration,
Unless you want it to be.
This is meant to be something we can do at a personal level.
So,
While you're finding your object,
Whatever object feels right for you,
I want to take a minute and just acknowledge,
As of the date I'm recording this podcast,
It's been 853 days since the full-scale invasion began,
And I don't think there's been a day in that time where there hasn't been an atrocity,
A tragedy,
A horrible,
Horrible event happen.
And it can be discouraging,
And it can knock us down,
And it can make it very difficult to want to stay engaged and to find the resources to carve out time from our lives to continue to focus on Ukraine,
Especially with other things coming up in the world that are competing for our attention.
And so,
The point of getting together today is to acknowledge that it's been every day more,
Every day more,
Every day more things coming at us,
And we have to kind of clear our minds and our hearts out now and then,
At least that helps me to do that so that I can stay engaged and return,
I don't know,
Refreshed is not the right word,
But return with a more open,
Complete,
Present heart.
So,
When you have your object that reminds you of Ukraine,
I invite you to just find a calm place inside yourself.
Maybe take a deep breath if that feels good to you.
Maybe notice if your body is holding any tension,
If you might like to do a little movement or shaking,
Just something simple,
Just something to release a little visceral tension and to say,
Hello,
I'm here.
I'm here in a body.
I'm here in circle,
In this ethereal circle,
But I'm also here in a physical body.
And perhaps today we can bring our circle to the shores of a really beautiful river.
And let's all go to the banks of this river and maybe say hello,
Greet the water,
Greet the spirit of this river.
This is a river who is willing to carry away things we don't need anymore.
Who is willing to carry away things we don't need anymore.
So,
I invite you to piece by piece,
Bit by bit,
Bring to mind or bring to awareness in your heart moments that have perhaps broken your heart that you've seen on television or closer than that,
In the past 853 days.
So,
Notice what comes to mind when you think of things that have broken your heart related to Ukraine.
And there may be so many,
You don't know where to start,
But see if you can first find one and let it sit in a beautiful little boat on this river and allow it to go on down the river.
And now another one,
Just gently and lovingly setting it inside a little boat and allowing it to go down the river.
And just slowly continuing this process.
If you don't want to remember things in great detail,
You don't have to.
Just honoring each one and letting it go.
And letting it go.
There are things in life that are so important to witness.
You have most likely been on a journey of being a sacred witness for quite a while.
And unfortunately,
You probably need to continue being on this journey.
And you are also allowed to release visions,
Memories,
Heartbreak.
If there are tears,
Welcome the tears.
Tears are a sacred thing that we can offer the world as humans.
Just take your time.
Keep releasing things that you don't need to carry anymore.
The river will carry them for you.
We're releasing these things again with the deepest respect,
Allowing them to be carried by the river.
We're releasing these things again with the deepest respect,
Allowing them to be carried and supported by something greater than us.
And when you feel like the balance has shifted between the weight of the things that you were carrying and maybe a bit of lightness inside of yourself,
This is the time to maybe stop putting boats in the river and maybe instead begin to notice that openness that I hope you might start to feel inside of you now,
An openness,
A clarity.
And since we are sitting on the banks of the river,
You can release down into the ground anything else that you'd like to let go.
Let go of anything that might be weighing you down.
Grounding down into that earth.
Releasing anything else that might be heavy in your world today.
Anything you might have been carrying for quite some time.
And now if you are feeling a bit of openness,
Maybe a bit of hope,
A bit of lightness,
Notice it.
Notice that there's light and there's hope and there's maybe a little more room to breathe.
And see if you would like to bring some of that newfound energy forward.
And this is when I would love for you to see if it feels right for you to reaffirm your commitment to Ukraine,
To the cause of Ukraine,
To the people of Ukraine,
Making a new Ukrainian friend,
Maybe studying the language or delving into the music or learning more of the history or maybe even traveling to Ukraine if you feel like visiting or you want to go volunteer.
There are a multitude of ways to get involved and to help.
There of course is a lot of different ways to get involved.
There are a multitude of ways to get involved and to help.
There of course is our creative ways to support Ukraine list on our website for some ideas,
But there are a gazillion ideas out there.
There's so many things that we can do when we have a little bit more room and hope and light.
What's something that you've not done that you'd like to do that would reaffirm your commitment to Ukraine?
What would that look like?
I'm so grateful to you for any of our circles that you come to,
And especially this one,
Because it is so important to release anything weighing us down and to find again our hope.
Our hope.
May we always remember that there is more hope.
There can be more hope.
May it be so.
Thank you so much for being with us today.
Your presence,
Your energy,
And your heart make all the difference in healing our world.
Remember to breathe today.
Breathe and expand.
And I hope you join us again next time.
Please consider inviting a friend.
