Embracing Small Steps

In a time of great change, it’s important to embrace small steps. Taking baby steps can help us take action in the midst of overwhelm and give us ways to recognize and honor our own progress. Sometimes our very notion of what constitutes achievement is often in direct opposition to supporting the very big work of our own healing and health. Many of us are trained to view baby steps, and ourselves, as ‘not enough’ and even be blind to how major they are in our personal work. As a result, we may end up sabotaging our own growth and well-being along the way.

This pattern is driven not only by our own belief system and programming, but also by the external world of consensual reality, our families, and our societies. We may feel pressed to achieve, to do the “big” things that are expected, recognized and rewarded, not realizing that the baby steps are what will get us to where our heart needs to be.

Even if we feel on top of that awareness, everything feels so big right now at the Collective. The stakes feel so high and the loss is so great. Our experience of time itself has shifted. How many of you have felt the time warp this year? March was both yesterday and a lifetime ago.

Be Good Medicine

Embracing small steps may seem completely inadequate as we navigate this time of chaos, heartbreak and collective dismantling taking place in our world. You may have heard this time period referred to as The Great Unraveling. In Tarot, it certainly feels like The Tower, a necessary coming apart during the healing process so we can emerge transformed.

We are seeing the impact of deep imbalances created by systems and decisions begun long ago and continued today: a global pandemic; climate change-driven fires, hurricanes and species extinction; racial injustice; abuse of power, greed and corruption; gender and economic inequity. Below, Q’ero shaman talk about their prophecy and "this time of great imbalance” with Alberto Villoldo, posted in April. Don Francisco says that “this is the time of the good medicine, of the strong medicine,” and that “medicine men and women are rising to a call to help the Earth and each other.” I come back to this so often. Small steps support good medicine because it helps us stay conscious, do our work and be of service.

We want to be good medicine, for ourselves, our communities and for the Earth (Pachamama). When we bring ourselves into balance, then everything changes around us. As we heal unhealthy habits and old patterns, we also need to remember that it’s really not about an endgame. We can choose to be present in the day-to-day practice, arriving at mileposts every day, every week and sometimes every minute while we stay aware of our our bigger Mythic picture. Whether it’s in our personal lives or in relation to what’s happening in our broader world, embracing small steps gives us a way forward.

Identifying Small Steps

Small steps are not always clear, especially when we feel pressure to ‘do better.’ When we let go of that idea, it often clarifies what we need to do or even not do. If it doesn’t, then how do we identify and take small steps?

One of my small steps this week was to write this blog post. I recognized that the feelings I had around not having done one in a long while were just self-bullying and kept me from doing it. I knew the theme of baby steps coming up lately were a mirror for me too. Remember, what you do and the small steps you take are not about being perfect. In fact it’s the opposite! Perfection is just a form of intense self-sabotage especially for creative people.

I’m also fortunate that a few of my clients shared their small steps and how these steps helped them move forward lately. I’m glad I get to share their experiences here with you. Their names have been changed to respect their privacy.

Felicia shared that she took “baby steps” on recognizing when she was in Victim and made choices that didn’t enable it. She also acknowledged that totally changed the outcome in these various situations and that she consciously gave herself permission to celebrate these small steps forward. My client Summer said that “no joke,” she started doing the dishes every night before she goes to bed. She said she used to leave them after dinner and then do them in the morning, but realized that this “small gesture creates an infinitely better start to the day.” Matthew shared that he was dealing with despair related to racial and social injustice. He felt really stuck, but then made a list of three small steps he could take: make a donation, disseminate information about organized events, and read a book from The Great Unlearn curated by Rachel Cargyle.

Another client Elena was shut down by fear and had put off several important things including requesting an extension on a course she purchased but hadn’t yet finished and connecting with a friend she had avoided due to her own feelings of embarrassment. She took two small steps and requested the extension (and got it), and she also called her friend.And, Callie shared that she was in “over do” mode and was dealing with anxiety. One of the small steps she made was to take time out every morning to sit quietly with her tea, no phone, no computer. This new ritual has helped her feel better overall and be more present with herself and others.

Small steps are personal to you. If you find yourself in a state of overwhelm, let the “big” things go for a moment and look at what small steps can support you.

We are living in a turbulent time and anything we can do to be the calm waters is good medicine. Practice staying out of self-judgment and explore how small steps can help change the energy and move you forward. I’d love to hear about what small steps, or baby steps, you take in the comments below!