In this Moment

In the wake of the 2016 election Elizabeth Gilbert posted a version of this question on her Instagram account.  Returning to this question: “Who do I want to be in this moment?” has become a powerful tool for me in the years since then.

In moments of societal uncertainty as well as many private and family moments I have had occasion to put this question to myself again and again.

I have not always answered the moment with the facility that I wish for.  I have not always asked the question quickly enough.  

But, every time I return again to its safe harbors, I am able to recalibrate in order to head once again into unchartered waters.

It doesn’t demand that I know what will happen next.  It doesn’t insist that I like what’s happening.

Instead, this question points me back to the one thing I can control: myself.

It nudges me gently toward the seat of my own power—not derived from fear or efforts to bridle the uncontrollable.  

I come back to me.  My own choices.  

My actions.  
My attitudes.  
Words.  
Love.  
Faith.  

That is where my power dwells.