Floundering in Groundedness
Poetry Friday
Friends,
This sounds like an oxymoron doesn’t it? Groundedness; the state of being centered, anchored in the present, and steady. Floundering; struggling, distracted, and unsure. It’s easy to be grounded when you are insulated or things are going well. However, sometimes a situation occurs when something you deeply believe in, something you thought was for the best purpose, or hey - maybe your ego got wrapped up in it causing feelings of disappointment or hurt. All of a sudden you are in a rodeo riding a bronco that wants to take you for the wildest ride! You can feel your footing slipping and your legs bouncing up in the air as this situation bounces your calmness all over the place. You are floundering as you look to find that secure knowing place to center your being. How desperately you long for that sure-footed secure knowing that grounds you. Sometimes it can be the smallest thing to rock your foundation. Once you get moved off center, then what? How do you get back to an equilibrium of being grounded?
There can be place of centerness, a groundedness, even in the midst of situations or events around you. I’ve seen the way gymnasts begin practice. Gymnasts envision their routine in meditation. In meditation you can envision how you want this routine to go. It’s like envisioning how you want to walk in this world day to day. And, we know that routines don’t always go as envisioned. Doing the work and walking the talk is hard. It feels like you are floundering when plans go awry. Imagine what it feels like for a gymnast at the end of a routine. When you finish the day, can you still feel your weight pinning your feet to the floor? Can you “stick” the landing? The feeling that no matter what happened before, you may sway, situations may pull you, you may steady yourself by waving your arms and you are still planted, centered in knowing. A solid knowing is that inside groundedness that all will be well no matter what. It’s the feeling of being held by something bigger than anything we can fully understand. Know that when you flounder in uncertainty or the dark night of the soul, in your soul you can stick the landing. You can weather the storm, whatever that may be, by finding that center of groundedness and a knowing that plants your soul in stillness.
So when you feel yourself floundering, practice sticking the landing. Feel your feet landing solidly in the care of the Divine. Envision, practice, and breathe. Envision, practice, and breathe.
peace,
Jace
Grounded by Maatian Heart
Root Chakra
With earth
I ground
my feet
in soil
rooted in life
secure with branches
intertwined in the ecosystem
foundation is my purpose
in this level
nourishment
truth
health
family
boundaries
prosperity
home
keep me afloat or in despair
find me at the base of the spine
I highlight all things physical
my orientation is to self-preserve
my right is to be
here on earth
to have
fear feeds this demon
it disrupts all above when ungrounded
I say to myself
I stand tall
and grow my roots
deep into the earth
I am safe here
Mazzy Ram Mar 2021 From hello poetry.comStruggle with the Divine *
Tonight, the storm is not here, but I see it
in the distance. Lightning unzippers the air, white shock
of illumination. The sky doesn’t hide its bruises.
Dark tents of rain settle over the flats.
And the thunder, no matter how distant, grabs me
with its enormous hands, shakes me by the shoulders,
and tells me to hush. If the angel came to me tonight
and said it were my turn to wrestle, would I tussle with him
until daybreak? Would I try to shutter him out? If he pushed me
to the earth, would I leap up and run? Or lie there and let
him take me the way the rain would if it were here?
I hush. Must we fight for our blessings? Must we steal
for our birthright? The wind dances the leaves,
ravages my hair. Angel, please do not come tonight.
I am tired. Uncertain. Oh, you are already here.
Rosemerry Wohola Trommer
*Floundering also means struggling. I could not find a poem that I liked about floundering and this one really spoke to me. I hope it does to you also. Grounded: A Visual Poem
❤️