September 2026Newsletter

Stories shape us - sharing reflections and practices to help you compassionately discover where the sacred is already alive in you.

Reflections: Capacity: The Terrain Within

 

When we hear the word capacity, we might think about a container and how much it can hold. We might also think about our own capacity: how much we can accomplish, carry, give, or handle.

But capacity isn't always about holding more.

Think about walking through a landscape. Some trails are wide and level, inviting us to wander and explore. Others are steep, rocky, or narrow, requiring more attention with every step. The landscape itself hasn't failed because it is difficult to cross. It simply asks something different from us.

Our lives have terrain, too.

A mentor of our uses the phrase "terrain of freedom" to describe our internal or heart space and our awareness of the freedom available there. Sometimes we have room go move, choose, create, rest, adn respond. As well, sometimes this terain feels constrianed by responsibilties, relationships, expectations, circumstances, or simply the season of life we are in.

 Our capacity is shaped by this terrain.

Sometimes we try to increase our capacity by pushing harder, squeezing one more thing into an already-full container. But perhaps another way to build capacity is to pause and look around. What terrain are we actually standing in?

Where is there room to move?Where does the path feel steep?What are we carrying that is makes our journey harder?Where do we have more freedom than we realized?

Noticing our terrain doesn't necessarily change it. But awareness can give us something important: choice. We may not be able to change the mountain, but we can sometimes choose our pace, our direction, what we carry, where we rest, and whether we continue on the same path.

Perhaps capacity isn't simply about how much we can hold.

Perhaps it is also about knowing the landscape well enough to recognize where we have room to breathe and where we are being asked to move differently.

This September, we invite you to pause and notice your own terrain of freedom.

 How open do you feel? Where do you feel constrained? And what becomes possible when you recognize the freedom that is already there?

Practice: Fill Your Cup

 

 Before reaching for your phone or rushing into the day, pause with a glass of water.

How full am I today?

Notice without judgment.What do I need?

Name one small thing that might support you today.Fill your cup.

Drink your water and begin your day from the place you are, not the place you wish you were.

At the end of the day, ask: What gave me capacity today? What used it?

Try it for 30 days and see what you learn about your own internal terrain.

I actually think that last question, “What gave me capacity today? What used it?”, could be the heart of the 30-day practice. Over a month, you're not just tracking whether you're “full.” You're learning the landscape of your own capacity. 🌿