Happy Full Moon! 🌕
This one is extremely intense. A metaphor I used a few times to describe how I feel during various check-ins in this period goes something like this:
I'm surfing on a gigantic wave. The momentum is pulling me and there is no turning back. It's very demanding, emotionally and physically to maintain balance on the board and keep going without falling, and there's surely some fear there, but the overall feeling is of being alive, awake, present, and powerful.
A wonderful time to face all the delightful madness that has been unfolding in my life. Here are three headlines that I'd like to explore with you in this review:
Uncoupling
Embracing Fear of Rejection and Healing with Physical Touch
Creating Experiences & Stories of the Beautiful World where all Beings can Thrive
Each of them carries a lot of depth and could provide enough material for a long essay. I won't go that deep here, of course. You can think of these ideas as possible conversation starters.
💜
Uncoupling
After 8 years of Being together, Silvia and I decided to part ways. It feels like this is what is needed, and it also feels painful, difficult and scary. I won't go into details of the why, and instead share about something we decided to give to each other to end our relationship well: an uncoupling ceremony.
We got this idea from a couple of dear friends who recently decided to part ways. It felt like it's a very beautiful and healing way to separate by celebrating the relationship and acknowledging this moment of transition, so we decided to create our own ceremony in the next days. After all, we do love each other very much, and we feel so grateful for our shared journey so far. It just wouldn't feel right to say "bye" and that's it.
So, we booked a few dates to go through this process together, and funny enough it already brought us very close. It reminds me of the time when I decided to leave Edinburgh - a city that plays a foundational role in my life and was my home for seven years. I remember that the last months, and especially weeks and days before departure, have been so ridiculously abundant in all sorts of joys that my intellectual brain keep telling me: WTF are you doing, Michał? Why are you leaving in the best time ever? My heart knew better though. In order to grow I had to let go.
It was scary to let go of the city of my dreams and it is scary to let go of my dream partner. In the same time, deep down in my heart it feels that it's precisely the right thing for me to do right now (as I know it does for her), and I finally summoned the courage to face the Fear, look it deep into the eye to see what it reflects, and then embrace it and begin a beautiful dance. Where will it take me? No idea. I trust Agent Cooper, though.
(This is completely unrelated, but I can feel that the time to revisit Twin Peaks is approaching.)
(Also: Thank you to all the friends who held (/are holding) space for me while going through this process.)
Embracing Fear of Rejection and Healing with Physical Touch
There are some deeply fucked up patterns rooted in my subconscious connected to fear of rejection and physical touch. It's inconvenient (to say the least) because physical touch is my primary love language, and it's a deep need that I have.
In the last months my patterns kept surfacing to my awareness and I finally decided to embrace them. I don't have much clarity on this yet - it feels like I've just noticed that a little thingy sticking above the water is actually a massive iceberg, and after a long moment of hesitation I have put on my wetsuit and began flapping towards the ice cold water ready to dive. There's some scary shit down there, under the surface of my consciousness. And I know this kind of Fear very well - it's an indicator pointing me towards something I need to do. It doesn't make it easier, but at least I have experienced it before and I know that what I find on the other side is worth all the terror I might feel in the process.
An important person who appeared in my life recently taught me:
One never regrets a swim.
So, I dive. Gradually, and with care, which is something I'm also learning from her:
We are strangely attracted to what scares us. It's similar to facing a deep pool of water. It attracts, but it's dangerous to dive head on. One should taste the water first.
Thank you for Healing ♥️.
(One of this beautiful swims in Pico, when you can watch the snow-covered volcano from the water.)
🐠
Speaking of swimming, I'm writing another story to add into the collection of "Moments of Connection". For now, here's a tiny snippet:
...and also, a poem: Touched.
Creating Experiences & Stories of the Beautiful World where all Beings can Thrive
Here's another massive shift - it seems that I'm finally stepping into my professional Ikigai.
This is again a deeper topic, so I'll just give you the main points.
I found my tribe in the Traditional Dream Factory and got involved in co-creating a magical regenerative playground - the first land-based DAO in Europe and the first prototype within the OASA Network, aiming to acquire A LOT of land worldwide to regenerate. I'll be in TDF, stepping into the role of a Steward, from June to end of September. Come visit?
This means that I'll be leaving Pico for the summer, which I feel sad about, but I can't be in two places at once. It's time to step up my professional life, and after a recent conversation in Enspiral Europe Connection Call, a friend suggested that perhaps I'm not putting myself in the right context. TDF seems like the ideal context, so here I go. Hopefully by sailboat, starting from Faial in mid May (if you have a connection for me - get in touch) ⛵️.
Intermission: scouting for lands with a friend and an epic cloud. I'll miss the epicness of this island.
But before I go, I'll be co-hosting our Pico Spring Gathering and hopefully create a performance for the Full Moon Festival in Faial in May. I want to leave this magical archipelago with the feeling of having created something special. After seeing the involvement of my Pico Family into co-creating our Gathering, and meeting the amazing team of organisers from Faial, I have no doubts there's magic waiting to happen. I feel so grateful and blessed to be here and be surrounded by awe-inspiring nature and such beautiful humans.
Here's two wonderful kids who decided to add a drawing of a playground on the list of tasks. Naturally, we followed their instructions.
Interestingly, some possibilities are already emerging for when I return (hopefully with a sailboat in October): a potential stewardship in a beautiful project in Faial, as well as the dream of raising funds to purchase the magical land where I live now (which is likely to be up for sale this autumn) - so we can keep it as our community playground and a regeneration centre (with cabins like the one where I live now). I somehow managed to raise €50k for this purpose, which is mabe a quarter of what I need for the land and project development. If you can help make this dream possible, let me know.
☀️
Okay, more experiences coming up!
I'll be co-hosting Enspiral Summer Gathering (in TDF) which feels absolutely wonderful - I can't wait to meet in person and dream together what Enspiral Europe wants to become.
There's also Merging - a participatory experience I developed with Austeja, and I wish to take it further this summer. It feels very aligned with the topic of healing through physical touch.
And plenty more experiences to host this summer.
Which brings me to my point:
I kept gravitating further and closer towards it, but the truth is that bringing people together and co-creating magic is what I want and need to be doing in this world. And it's time to cut the bullshit and step into this wholeheartedly. It's the biggest contribution I can make, and it’s fully aligned with my mission of co-creating a beautiful world where all Beings can thrive.
🌳
Together with telling stories, I have a perfect professional offer which allows me to work with amazing humans, and share their journeys (and mine) through heartfelt letters, articles, and open-source documentation.
What a beautiful way to send ripples into the world.
💧
I'm now in the process of developing my actual offer. It's still work in progress, but I invite you have a look and reach out if you'd like me to work with you.
https://michalkorzonek.com/focus
(feedback more than welcomed. And a big thanks to my Enspiral Work Pod, Silvia and Max for helping out!)
Alternatively, if you want to support me on my journey with a small recurring donation, Patreon is an amazing place to do so. This month I was blessed to see one of my teachers contributing to my path in this way which felt incredibly encouraging. You can also support me by giving me a deep, wholehearted hug next time we meet, so we can charge each other with energy and courage to face our Fears. Together, and with a big smile on our faces.
Let's not be careful what we wish for.
Instead, let's make Big Dreams come true.
Thank you for Being ☀️
Michał
Your new projects sound amazing Michal! Really looking forward to seeing how they develop. And I love the uncoupling ceremony. What a beautiful celebration of what you have meant to each other up until this point. And a recognition that, although this is changing, it can still be a meaningful relationship going forward.