Observation

This weekend I had the opportunity to return to the ayahuasca space after stepping away for the past couple of years.

This time, I was invited to help facilitate a retreat for veterans living with PTSD and trauma, along with law enforcement and other first responders.

It felt good to be back in the space, and I'm grateful for the invitation.

I watched conversations unfold. I watched people trying to find words for what they had experienced. Some experiences can be described, but they can't be fully understood unless you've lived them yourself.

As I listened, I caught myself doing something I've done many times before.

Taking what I observed and immediately assigning it meaning.

Someone is quiet.

Someone looks uncomfortable.

Someone seems distant.

The observation ends there.

Everything after that is my interpretation.

I realized how quickly we create stories, not only about other people, but about ourselves. Then we speak from those stories as if they were facts.

That often creates resistance before the conversation even begins.

Observation creates space.

Space for questions.

Space for understanding.

Space for collaboration.

See clearly.

Listen carefully.

Allow the conversation to unfold.

Meaning reveals itself.