Numb or on fire?
Does it feel like people are either numbed out or actively contributing to the communal dumpster fire?
Yesterday felt like Groundhog Day—same ol’ same ol’. I was functioning like a robot—efficient but decidedly un-human. And let’s be real, my work and my people don’t need a robot (unless they want someone to repeat, “Have you tried turning it off and back on again?”). They need a person—tender, present, and not stuck on autopilot or, at the other end of the spectrum, spiraling into existential dread.
Fortunately, I work in a space where I (or, let’s be honest, my sweetheart) ask myself the kind of questions that call me back to center. So, if you also feel like you’re glitching through the day, maybe these will help:
How are you?
Not how is the world—we know that answer (🙏🙃). But how are you? What’s it like to be you right now? The world needs you to be well in your soul, a regulating presence in times full of heartbreak, anxiety, and egos the size of small planets. Howard Thurman reminds us: “Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do that. “Because what the world really needs is people who aren’t just dragging themselves through the day like emotionally exhausted zombies or passing the latest worst news around to keep the communal dumpster fire blazing.
Check in. This temple not made with human hands is sending you messages.
The body remembers. The body speaks. Sometimes it whispers, “You need rest,” and sometimes it shouts, “STOP DRINKING COFFEE AT 9 PM” or “NO, YOU DON’T NEED ANOTHER GLASS OF WINE TONIGHT.” Are you listening? What does your body need—more sleep, movement, nourishment, stillness, hydration (yes, water, not ______ fill in the blank)?
Who/what makes your heart race?
And no, I’m not talking about that third espresso shot or an unexpected email with “per my last email” or doomscroll energy. What is the driving force behind your movement? Is it love, fear, ego, divine calling? Are you fueled by grace, or just running on fumes?
What is anxiety trying to tell you?
Anxiety isn’t just noise—it’s got a message. (Admittedly, sometimes the message is just unhelpful screaming, but other times it’s nudging us toward something deeper.) Is it warning you? Is it revealing a longing or a disconnection? What truth are you trying to bypass?
Who/what breaks your heart?
Not just in the tearjerker movie, cue the tissues way, but in the holy discontent way. What injustice, suffering, or longing shakes you awake at night? What makes you say, “This is not how things should be”?
How can you help?
Not “How can you fix it all?” (you know you can’t), but how can you participate in healing and hope? What is yours to do, and what is God’s to hold? Because trying to hold everything yourself is a one-way ticket to burnout city.
Who/what makes your heart beat strong with hope?
What fills your cup (besides caffeine)? What aligns with the Spirit’s movement in you? How can you do more of that—leaning into what renews you rather than what drains you?
If these questions feel like an invitation, that’s because they are. Consider this your divine permission slip to step out of survival mode and back into the fullness of being human.
Which of these questions is calling your name today?
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You can join us in June for 4-days of –
“how are you, really?” with the Enneagram Harmony Model.
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Love God, Neighbor and Self . Sharpen personal and professional skills with the Enneagram here.
