Some months after I chose the name Inhabit Life to capture the essence of this new adventure, I proudly showed a good friend my (totally dazzling) new business cards. I watched as a furrow settled into his brow and a quizzical look came across his face. “Inhibit Life?” he tentatively asked… The whole time, I hadn’t thought about the power of a singular vowel to radically alter the meaning of the name I’d so wrestled over.
After a few moments of spinning out and questioning everything, I was able to take a breath and make it a thing. So… here we are. The first blog on my new website. Trying to claim and ordain this mistaken name. I shortly thereafter realized the poetic possibility of this mistake.
Making it work
I chose Inhabit Life as an invitation to myself and all those I accompany to be where our feet are. To boldly, compassionately, beautifully live life now. It’s the only moment we ever have, after all. And, to do so even when life is messy, our inner world is shutdown or in turmoil, and we feel… wait for it… inhibited!
Inhibited by that voice in our head saying “What do they think of me? Why did I say/do that? It’s too…. late/impossible/hopeless. It’s always gonna be this way. I’m not… good/smart/bold/strong/eloquent enough. I. Just. Can’t. Do. It.”
These voices of fear and shame so commonly haunt us and limit our ability to live life fully and well. In our bodies, they manifest through tight chests, racing hearts, sweaty palms, fidgeting legs, distracted minds, late-night ruminations. In our behaviors, they manifest through risk aversion, isolation, people-pleasing, addictions and compulsions, self-harm, passivity and aggressiveness.
For many of us, this is unfolding amidst larger inhibitory forces pressing down upon us. Our hypercapitalistic, stratified, exploitive economy too often rewards the few, while leaving far too many struggling to make ends meet. Our economic, political, and cultural institutions perpetuate racial bias and discrimination, privileging some over others. LGBTQIA+ persons endure heightened fear and oppression as political figures and decisions threaten their freedom and safety. Underfunded schools, privatized healthcare, food deserts, and more undermine health and well-being at every step. Institutional violence is unleashed against the vulnerable across the globe. And as we all fearfully navigate this minefield, we inevitably cause each other great harm.
No, this is not ultimately an internal inhibition. It is one borne from suffering. And, it is intended to protect us from this suffering – even when it, itself, causes us such pain.
What is one to do?
There’s a distinct look to a life inhabited, to a life chosen and well lived, to a self present to the ground walked on. That look is often filled with much more unpleasantness than we like to imagine. But, instead of running from or pushing down fear, shame, sadness, boredom, loneliness, we open ourselves to their message and prepare for the change they are calling us towards. This is the work of doing the work and discovering within ourselves that we are enough – that we can withstand the internal storm, glean what we need, and defiantly step into a life of pride and satisfaction. Inhabit Life invites us to lean-in to the possibility of transformation that can only come from within the disturbance. It finds meaning amidst mayhem and, after the storm passes, gets to work building a better world for us all.
