Episode 30: A Next Step

This episode is a reflection on taking steps, and on the capacity to be with what is as we do (or don’t). Celebrating the courage to be in the present moment and to trust one’s next step. Celebrating the uniqueness of each of us as human beings and practitioners. 

It’s also an invitation to reflect on all the steps that you have been taking on your path of becoming. To take time to be with where they have taken you to, what you have experienced along the way, and what may be next for you. 

I’d love to hear from you. Reach out at irina@irinapashina.com, on LinkedIn, or visit irinapashina.com to learn more about my work as a coach, mentor, supervisor, facilitator, and speaker.

Thank you for joining me on this journey of reflection and connection. 

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:01

Hello and welcome. Welcome to Begin Anywhere. My name is Irina Paschina. And I'm here to hold space. To hold space for all of us where we can begin anywhere. With less script and more presence. Thank you for joining me. Hello and welcome to episode 30 of Begin Anywhere. I have a big, big smile on my face as I say the number. And I can almost picture my own face. Also realizing that there have been so many steps into a direction. So many steps into growth and evolution for me. And I would like to reflect on this here today. To shine a light on the significance of the steps we take and how important it is to appreciate them. To not take them for granted, to make space for understanding them, for acknowledging who we are becoming as we take a step and a step and a step. And the steps are not necessarily forward or only forward. They create a path that could be steps to the side, backwards. Maybe creating different shapes and forms. And in the sum totality of all of these steps, it's our way of becoming, and our way of creating impact in the world. And not that millions of people would listen to it, but the potential access of so many people to my recorded voice and to what I was going to say, it felt really daunting. And I knew it would, and that was the point, part of the point of why I started a podcast and why it revolves around beginning anywhere. Part of it was looking at my own tendency to plan, prepare, think ahead of time, and to simply let this go for however many minutes I speak, hear, and record my voice, as if to witness the spirit of creation and as if to prove that all preparation may not be needed in some instances. And now looking back at twenty-nine episodes, it hasn't been a straightforward path. And there is one thing that I can say for sure. It became easier. The practice of being here, being present, creating in the moment with all the imperfections it brings, it gets easier. And I would like to believe that it also is a parallel process to parts of my life where letting go was and is important. And I am the forever perpetual student of this practice of letting go. Maybe, maybe many of us are. I'm talking about the internal part of this process, of how this becomes, and even I was surprised how challenging it was. And part of this episode is the wish to normalize the processes that we undergo as we take steps, as we take steps in our becoming. Just so happens to be, for me to be a step into bigger visibility. But any step in life can be connected to internal processes. I would even argue every step is connected. And by sharing my own process, part of it with you, I hope that it may help you. Gain a better understanding, deeper understanding of your own, and potentially support whatever steps are ahead ahead of you. Now the process with video is very different for me now, and it took a while. It took a while to be with myself, to reflect on why it was important to me, to create space, to be present, also to do the homework of how do I create a video, to share space with other people and professionals of learning in a course, and the most important step of it all to dare to dare to step into a space of me and a camera and to trust. To trust that the following sixty or ninety seconds would create meaning, not only for me, but for others. That's been the most crucial step in the process. And I I'm connecting with a sense of appreciation now. I think we we all have very different experiences and personalities, and I know part of mine is to go. To go and what's next, and what's next, and what's next, and maybe part of my own becoming as a human being has been to slow down. So today I'm slowing down to truly see some of the steps into visibility. Recording podcast episodes, launching a newsletter, sharing video content, sharing my writing with more people, starting to write a book and trusting a long-term process of what it may become. All of this is a product of many years, many years of becoming. So if anything, um bringing this spirit and energy of appreciating the differences and appreciating the uniqueness of each one of us, of our own process, and celebrating courage, celebrating the courage to take a next step, to be with it, to be with what it brings up, to be present to ourselves, to appreciate, to take in what's created and then potentially to take another step. Well the first one was steps. And I wanted to say a ladder, but not a ladder that goes up, just one literally on the ground, where we step out of the ladder, into the ladder, take step a step forward, backward, and then we create a pattern, a pattern of our life, and with every step, with every single step, we come across other people, other connections. It's like a tapestry, like a very intricate pattern that's unique to us. I'm celebrating this today. And I would like to invite you to reflect on all the steps you have been taking on your path of becoming. Perhaps just take a minute or ten, or however long you choose to be with where they have taken you to, what you have experienced along the way, and what may be next for you. As always, I'm curious to read, to hear from you. I would love that. And thank you for being here and sharing this space with me. See you next time.