Natural Adaptation

"Am I arrogant?"

I was having a get-to-know-you-better call with a colleague who also works in the healing arts space. We'd just said our hellos when he offered up this unexpected question: "Do I come across as arrogant to you?"

I paused a beat to make sure he was serious --- "Well, yeah, actually you do," I replied, laughing. See, this colleague - like me - is also from the East Coast and maintains a very wry, sometimes dry & sarcastic sense of humor. For people unfamiliar with thick sarcasm, it can come across as meanness or arrogance... I only know this because I'd seen it before; at my studio we had a talented therapist originally from Harlem who inadvertently alienated a dozen clients before we figured out they just didn't 'get' her sarcastic sense of humor. Knowing where my colleague grew up allowed me to reflect back to him why he was coming across to clients and colleagues as unintentionally obnoxious.

In the natural world - in the plant & animal kingdoms - nature is always bending toward evolution and natural adaptation, changing and growing based on the shifting environment and atmosphere. We, too, as humans thrive and optimize our lives and practices by being attentive and attuned to the world around us... aware of both how we're receiving and filtering information as well as what we're broadcasting out. As we leave behind the rigid cookie-cutter, scale-at-all-costs, industrial models of business we can look to nature for lessons on how to adapt, serve, stay nimble to change and aligned with our practice.

This cannot happen in a vacuum or within an echo chamber of our own thoughts, upbringing & perspective - we grow, evolve and become more aware by gathering, reflecting and deepening our awareness of our energy, words and actions... and how they make people feel. This is SUPER important when you're in the healing arts and your work is directly held by the safe space you create and emanate. Compassionate self-inquiry and keeping a gentle pulse on how you come across is increasingly a necessity as we step into a new paradigm of embodied alignment and personal authenticity.