What a Week! Chaos, Ceilings, and the Catastrophic Beauty of Being Alive
A reflection on permacrisis, mindfulness, and the messy grace of motherhood
GRATITUDE IN THE GRIT
This week left me drenched—literally and metaphorically—but above all, grateful. This blog isn’t about extracting tidy lessons; it’s about honoring the raw, unfiltered richness of moment-to-moment living. When the heart and mind stay open, even chaos becomes a canvas for love.
WHAT
At The TLC Solution, we’re committed to “co-creating one world, well and whole.” This work happens incrementally—in conversations, crises, and quiet realizations—amid what scholars now call “permacrisis”: the era of sustained instability where geopolitical, ecological, and social systems churn in relentless flux. (Permacrisis = permanent + crisis; a state of cascading disruptions where adapting is no longer optional but existential.)
No one is immune. Yet our promise remains: to help those willing to dig deeper, to see themselves and others with recognition, not judgment. The universe “is” impermanent (that Sanskrit term “Anicca”) yet paradoxically whole—a dance of chaos and cohesion. And in that dance, we’re inherently enough.
This week tested that truth. Between back-to-back coaching calls, workshops, and team syncs, life hurled a literal curveball: a café ceiling collapsed on me during a heavy rainfall, drenching me mid-session. Cue an ER trip, CT scans, and my son Amico (and his girlfriend, Jorene) playing parent to me for once. Bruised but unbroken, I returned to work within days—awed by how the mind and body self-organize amid upheaval.
Mindfulness takeaway : When we cultivate the “observer within” (through meditation, yoga, or simply pausing), even disasters become stories laced with grace.
SO WHAT
Jon Kabat-Zinn’s “Full Catastrophe Living” - a title borrowed from “Zorba the Greek”—captures this perfectly. Zorba’s “full catastrophe” (marriage, kids, bills) wasn’t a lament but a celebration of life’s totality. Here’s the unpacked wisdom:
1. Embrace the spectrum: Joy and suffering are intertwined. To numb one is to dull the other.
2. Mindfulness as an anchor: Practices like meditation, qigong, or journaling ground us when systems fail (including our own bodies).
3. The alchemy of acceptance: Pain + resistance = suffering. Pain + acceptance = transformation.
4. Ancient + modern: Well-being thrives where science and spirit converge.
This week, the “catastrophe” was a ceiling. Tomorrow, it might be a market crash or a migraine. But as Kabat-Zinn reminds us, “to be alive is to be in the arena” - drenched, bruised, but never defeated.
NOW WHAT
Time is a construct. Our rush for “more” obscures the truth: everything we seek is already here. So let’s:
- Pause. Take a 3-breath journey: Inhale (notice tension), exhale (release), repeat.
- Listen. Your body’s whispers (aches, joy, fatigue) are data. Honor them.
- Humble inquiry. When crisis hits, ask: What’s this here to teach me?
We’re not the universe’s center—we’re its collaborators. What happens to you ripples to me. And in that interdependence, there’s an intelligent stillness that unconditionally loves and whispers : We are one. All is well.
Where’s your ‘full catastrophe’ moment this week? Share in the comments.
- Susan Grace Rivera
Posted: May 11, 2025
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