Dear readers,
It’s been a while since I last took the time to write to you. I recently took a much needed step back in my life, and I wanted to shed some light on it all in this new article.
I wanted to share with you a very valuable lesson I’ve learned recently ; give yourself the time to heal. It’s OK to go through difficult times and experience different types of emotions, including negative ones. Instead of forcing yourself to move on, allow things to be just as they are, it will help you better bounce back.
It can be very hard to do this in a world of ‘hyper-positivism’, where ‘be positive!’ and ‘keep smiling!’ seem to have become ‘must dos’. It is only human and normal to get through hard times. Embrace them as they can give you a clearer perspective on yourself and your social interactions.
Remember to respect your body and emotions rather than burry all the negative life can bring.
I recently got to practice what I preach. Over the summer I made the decision to slow down and take the time to heal. Life at work and at home was becoming overwhelming and I started to feel early symptoms of burnout. As I’ve learned to listen to my body and emotions, I’ve managed to embrace my feelings early enough instead of disregarding them, and I can say today that it turned out salutary.
Through this time of refocusing I gave myself time to explore the depths of long-burried emotions and learn to respect and understand them.
Meditation, conscious breathing and mindfulness are wonderful resources which greatly helped me get through my healing process. I advice anyone who’s going through a rough time to give them a go.
Gratitude is another good exercise ; every morning, you can place a hand on your heart and say outloud or in your head all the things you are grateful for in your life. It can be something or someone in your life that brings you happiness. Feel this wellbeing fill you up and be grateful to receive it.
Gratitude avoids frustration and expectations as when you are grateful, you are thankful for what you have and wait nothing in return.
This whole introspection process helped me bounce back and be ready to tackle new exciting projects from September, and I am looking forward to sharing them with you soon !
Let’s finish on a hopeful note with this lovely poem I recently came accross, ‘For a New Beginning’ by John O’Donohue.
« For a New Beginning », par John O’Donohue
In out-of-the-way places of the heart,
Where your thoughts never think to wander,
This beginning has been quietly forming,
Waiting until you were ready to emerge.
For a long time it has watched your desire,
Feeling the emptiness growing inside you,
Noticing how you willed yourself on,
Still unable to leave what you had outgrown.
It watched you play with the seduction of safety
And the gray promises that sameness whispered,
Heard the waves of turmoil rise and relent,
Wondered would you always live like this.
Then the delight, when your courage kindled,
And out you stepped onto new ground,
Your eyes young again with energy and dream,
A path of plenitude opening before you.
Though your destination is not yet clear
You can trust the promise of this opening;
Unfurl yourself into the grace of beginning
That is at one with your life’s desire.
Awaken your spirit to adventure;
Hold nothing back, learn to find ease in risk;
Soon you will be home in a new rhythm,
For your soul senses the world that awaits you.
