Finding your ground after the rug has been pulled…
To be grounded is the practice of presence, to be aware and conscious of here and now.
There are many references and stories and ideas in the Biblical text, and in Christian language, about being grounded and centred… feet on the rock, planted in the house, solid foundations, roots set down deep, not being tossed to and fro by distraction and sabotage. The problem with it, however, is that a lot of these stories and verses and language have been used in such a way to get you to believe that grounded-ness is something that happens outside of your body and life. “The Rock” has been used as a metaphor for the actual words of the biblical text, and its correct interpretation (but according to who?); the house of the Lord is the church on your street corner; a solid foundation is whatever your pastor says and sanctions it to be; roots set down deep are often linked to volunteering, going to meetings and events, tithing… lots and lots of doing.
As happens in a lot of traditions, the orginial meanings have been hi-jacked, and what used to be wisdom is now used as a mechanism of control.
Being grounded, that feeling of centred-ness, being anchored, held, safe - it's something that happens in you, not outside of you. You can't really ground yourself in anything other than what's in you, what's beneath you, what's a part of you. The matter with which you ground yourself in is already a part of you - you can only work with what you've got.
Solid rock, foundations, being planted… all of those things are experiences that happen in you with your life before they are things you do in other places with other people at events with organisations doing other things. It's your sense of grounded-ness, your centre, your gravitational force, that will help you know which things, ideas, people, and places will reinforce your balance and which things will serve to uproot you.
Paul wrote to his friends in Galatia and said:
"The only thing that matters is faith expressing itself in love."*
To be grounded is the practice of presence, so start by being present to the love that you are already grounded in. It's the only thing that matters, which is to say that all those other things about having solid foundations, being planted, standing on the rock, and having deep roots are nothing if they're not grounded in love.
Love is your point of reference. And then everything that happens to you, everything that you do, everything you experience, engage, survive, endure, enjoy, and are just 'meh' - they bring you to presence, to here and now, to peace. And it's helpful to note that by 'peace' I mean the capacity to be present, to be here, in whatever is happening. That's what Paul really meant when he said that there was a peace that surpasses all understanding that we have access to.
You? Your life? Your body? Your Spirit and heart and voice and hands and feet? You are the faithful expression of Divine love upon the earth. So it makes sense, doesn't it, that to find your centre, your sense of being grounded, you go inward, you find the love, and sink yourself into it.
This week here in the App, we will reclaim what it is to be grounded, and it is my hope that you are able to shake of the feeligns and ideas of groundedness being something you earn, and can find your own ground, your own centre, and plant yourself in it without guilt or shame. Because like the title of this series suggests, your ground is yours. It’s not your religions, it’s not your successes, it’s not the aqccolades or the reputation or the validation you get from people and things beyond yourself. You are made of ground; you will return to it, it is yours now and always.
JOURNAL PROMPT: What does being grounded mean to you? What things make you feel grounded? How does it feel? If this is new to you, or you need to find your centre again, start with love. Start by finding that warm place of love within you, the love that you are, the love you are held within - it will ground you and bring you to peace.
I’d love to see you in the App, xo
Liz Milani
Instagram: @thepracticeco
From this week’s series titled "Finding Your Ground," with a subscription in the App. Hope to see you there.
