Remembering our Own Healing and Belonging during these Tumultuous Times
I am the pain in your head, the knot in your stomach, the unspoken grief in your smile.
I have only your best interests at heart as I seek health and wholeness by simply announcing myself.
So I implore you, I am a messenger with good news, as disturbing as I can be at times.
I am wanting to guide you back to those tender places in yourself,
the place where you can hold yourself with compassion and honesty.
I might have you laugh more, spend more time in nature, eat when you are hungry and less when pained or bored, spend time every day, if only for a few minutes, being still.
I desire for you to allow me to speak to you in a way that enlivens your higher instincts for self-care.
My charge is to energize you to listen to me with the sensitive ear and heart of a mother attending to her precious baby.
You are a being so vast, so complex, with amazing capacities for self-regulation and healing.
Let me be one of the harbingers that lead you to the mysterious core of your being where insight and wisdom are naturally available when called upon with a sincere heart.
– Excerpt from The Felt Sense Prayer – Author Unknown. Read by Tara Brach
How are You?
Take a moment to pause and check in with yourself.
Some days can feel like driving through thick fog and you can’t see the road signs in front of you, your self-confidence is eroded and you are just plain tired by the world around you and stuff just hurts.
It’s okay, I’ve travelled these roads too.
I’ve struggled with some mobility and pain issues over the past few years that have been really challenging and I share this because I’ve found hope and joy through it all and I’m excited to be showing up in a new and better way for myself as a result… and I think its because I’ve kept promises to myself and continued to face & challenge that inner dialogue of ‘not being enough’ and ‘not belonging’ as well, especially with my family of origin so far away. Creating this newsletter and gatherings where people can have fun & connect to themselves & with each other is part of my rebellion against this old & tainted narrative.
As I’ve encouraged myself to change and grow, I’ve also had to face and love all those parts of myself that were once orphaned. And as I’ve paused and rested and stood there in the proverbial wilderness through this often lonely time, I’ve found abit more self-compassion and a sense of safety within myself that is underpinned by relating to my body in a kinder way. Treating the pain and signals of discomfort as ‘messengers’ like the prayer suggests.
Less of an internal ‘war’ & more kind words to myself = healing.
For me, it is also about daily practices that help me feel grounded and connected to a power greater than myself, a power that is of my own understanding and that is the most essential, unconditional love I can imagine… (mind you, a good osteopath and physio helps with the healing journey toog!!)
Slowly the pain and mobility issues have shifted and after continuing to choose to feel good along the way, my health has returned and I am now running again… running when I couldn’t walk more than a few hundred metres! Oh, the delight!! Running and swimming and enjoying life with a new level of appreciation for it all.
So as you navigate your life and figure out a way forward with any challenges you might be facing, here are some invitational prompts:
- When I tune into my body, what is it telling me today?
- How might I show myself some more compassion?
- What places, experiences or people help nourish my belonging?
And I share this to encourage you to keep being honest with yourself and what you need and to keep choosing the practices that help you stay present in your heart and in your body… even when it is hard.
The invitation is to keep loving yourself through the dark days, as well as the lovely ones and keep finding the next right thing to do for you.
Todays affirmation: I can remember to feel good before the journey is done.
Know that when we show up for ourselves in this way, we can choose to feel good even when it’s tough and with a little bit of self-compassion, we can then show up for the people and the causes (and the communities) that we care about as well.
I don’t have it all figured out by any stretch, but perhaps this kindness towards ourselves also makes the world a better place.
Let’s keep being soft and strong, let’s keep holding the grief and the pain as well as the joy.
& remember – you belong & you’ve got this.
Love Sally
PS Please drop me a note and let me know how you are going on your journey and if this message resonated.
Upcoming Events
Free 1-hour Online event – Embodiment Pause hosted by the Center for Courage & Renewal on August 14th at 1pm Atlantic
Authentic Leadership–Connecting, Engaging & Sustaining Ourselves & Our Partners – Event for those working in Climate Change & Land Conservation at Milford House, September 24-25, 2024.
This event is co-facilitated with Brian Braganza of Tandem Truths Consulting in partnership with Mersey Tobeatic Research Institute, Environment & Climate Change Canada & the Joan Feynman Climate Action Grant (ALMOST FULL)
