One Year in the Bardo
Reflections on our One-Year Anniversary
About two years ago, Holly and I were sitting on a plane talking about our work. We mainly discussed the stress and the burnout of it all– and a dream that we both shared. The idea of sitting with families in crisis without feeling constrained by the "mold" we had to fit. We wanted to do more. We both felt the pull of serving families in a more significant way.
We talked with some nostalgia about our years in the "trenches" of various treatment settings and our desire to breathe life into a space where we walked with people through hard things. But then the plane landed, and the dream was shelved.
As time went on, Holly and I kept coming back to this longing– this calling to walk with families through their suffering.
Life rolled along, and we found ourselves raising babies and managing private practices. We were happy and fulfilled. Still, we kept talking about that plane ride and whether we could make the dream come alive. We were slugging through 2020 like the rest of the world – hopeful that this "Covid thing" would go away soon but quickly realizing that it was here for a duration, scary, and life-altering.
Holly and I have spent most of our five-year friendship half a country apart from each other. So, staying connected virtually was not new for us. However, the pandemic changed the quality of our connection. We decided that it wasn't enough to talk about our dream. It was time to give it wings.
On December 1, 2020, Bardo Consulting was born.
Bardo is a Tibetan term meaning "intermediate state." It refers to an ungrounded space or an interruption in continuity. It's a term that holds great significance to us for several reasons. We knew on the plane that day two years ago that the ground beneath us didn't feel solid anymore. We also didn't know what was next. We were headed for a Bardo.
This is also where we meet most of the individuals who reach out to us. They are in their own Bardo in one form or another. The reality they once knew is now fading, and a new one is taking shape. Either by choice or chance, they are coming face to face with their own vulnerability. There may be an illusion of control within the shifting conditions of their family or their ways of being.
The Bardo can be a scary place. But, it can also be transformative.
Over this past year, we have had the honor of walking with many families through disruption and crisis. We have witnessed tears, laughter, and heartache.
We have felt loved and embraced by so many of you as we birth this company into existence. Nurturing its growth feels like nurturing the essence of who we are. Cheryl Strayed once wrote, "Whatever happens to you belongs to you. Make it yours. Feed it to yourself even if it feels impossible to swallow. Let it nurture you, because it will."
Thank you for supporting us through our first year. It feels good to have solid ground beneath us and to be looking at the year ahead. As we look back, we have learned this much– showing up in the Bardo is the work we love to do, and we are grateful we get to do it with and for you.
Kacy Silverstein and Holly Ryan, Bardo Founders