Did you know the word “crisis” derives from the Greek words “krisis” and “krino” which mean “a separating”? The very root of the word implies that our “crises” are times of detaching from old ways and states of being. Well, that sounds more benign than the way we generally throw around the word crisis!
We need to ask ourselves what are we being asked to separate from. What needs to be left behind?
Kidd identifies three sources of crises that shift us into liminal space:
- Developmental transitions – Recall the momentous memories of your life – all of us human beings experience these transitions, simply by growing up and growing older. Moving, new schools, graduations, careers, marriage, becoming a parent, new achievements and responsibilities, our children’s new stages, empty nest, aging. Each new phase of life represents a change/loss and new beginning. But the transition doesn’t happen overnight.
- Intrusive events – These can be difficult at best and excruciating at their worst. Think of a health scare, divorce, job lay off, a loved one’s health challenge, death of a loved one, a natural disaster, abuse, a betrayal, even a pandemic! These types of events we may find ourselves experiencing a kind of trauma and as a result, navigating the stages of grief while we muddle through liminal space.
- Internal uprising – This is trickier and requires us to truly listen to our heart and be in a reflective and receptive space to identify what exactly is going on inside us. This may feel like a vague sense of restlessness, discontent, oppression, chronic stress, exhaustion, burnout, an eruption or a mere bubbling of fear and/or doubt.
While it’s helpful to understand the roots of our own crises, we must recognize that no matter the source, they all have one thing in common: a threshold.
Just by living as a human being, we will experience any of one (or more) these types of crises, finding ourselves in liminal space over and over throughout the arc of our lives. The question we can ask ourselves is:
How can we handle liminal space and make it an opportunity for growth and transformation, instead of frustration and despair?
I leave you with a quote from one of my favorite podcasts:
HOPE IS A SPACIOUSNESS FOR THE FUTURE ABOUT WHAT COULD BE. – Another Name for Everything