Lessons in Cocooning
Ways to use self care to move through tough times.
Much like the moth that emerged from this beautiful cocoon on our farm, we can create protected spaces during tough times to rejuvenate as needed for intense action, times of growth, and periods of overwhelm.
While the moth only uses its cocoon one time, we can create space, routines, and rituals that offer what we need to rest, renew, and ponder, cocoons we can return to over and over again.
Finding this cocoon was a moment of wonder for me, it took me away from the news of the day and reminded me of the persistence and beauty of our natural world.
Wrapping myself in a blanket with a mug of mint tea and seed catalog offered another cocoon of self care.
Making a plan to do some needed deep cleaning in small increments in my house has given me the satisfaction of knowing a task, doing it in very manageable pieces, and then taking time to enjoy the results. Knowing that when I complete the entire plan, the results will be even more noticeable, with a deep sense of satisfaction in having done the entire thing.
Right now, the actions many of us are taking do not have final results. New assaults on our democracy are hurled at us every single day. It’s easy to be overwhelmed. Use the make a plan model to figure out what you want to do each day and then do it.
I read carefully curated news once a day. I make calls 1-2x per day to Senators, Representatives, and any other people I determine need to hear from me about the most current pressing issues. It doesn’t take a long time to do, it is a thing I CAN do every day, and I believe it to be effective in the big picture.
There will also be community meetings, protests, general strikes to join. Do it.
A group, small or large, local or national, can be a cocoon. Each one of us needs to feel the “we’re in this together” sensation in order to get through this. That feeling is why so many people love going to concerts, large sporting events, and parades. A few of us, introverts by nature, don’t enjoy those ways of connecting as much, but I do know that for me, an introvert, being in the midst of many voices raised in the same song feels magical. Watching a play unfold on the stage with other people around me, knowing I cannot replay the moment, brings a sense of wonder that lasts for years.
We each have to create the cocoon(s) that work for us, every day. A long walk, a quick work-out, a few minutes standing outside in bare feet on the grass looking up at the stars and planets.
Feeding apples to horses, sitting with a sleeping cat perched on a thigh, looking for portals through the branches of many-years-old oak trees. Signing up for continuing education classes, or classes of any kind.
These are all little ways of moving forward through this time. All week I’ve sat with clients reporting overwhelm, breakdowns over things they normally wouldn’t, wanting to curl up in a cocoon to get away from all that is happening. I say - do it. Curl up, do what feels comforting, let the tears slide, let the heart ache. Find a stopping place and emerge. Do some things. Notice how it feels during and after doing the things. Then go back in the cocoon. Rest. Escape. Feel your body gradually calm. Then come back and out and do the actions again.
This is how we move through. This is how we keep going. With private things, and also with this very public thing we’re experiencing, all of us together.