Mindful Moment #06 - On The Journey to Better

ON THE JOURNEY TO BETTER

I started writing this piece to work my way into stress relief as a means of crucial
self-care. I was going to write about the solar plexus chakra and how stress can
affect it, and you, if it’s just sitting there, stuck and stagnating. I was going to
challenge you to think about improving your self-care to incorporate “new” things
since we are all probably looking forward to spring.

But then I got sidetracked by it being my mom’s birthday. She would have been 73.
She passed away in 2020, and it seems I am still grieving. Simultaneously, my child
is rather traumatized by her first loose tooth, swinging between panic and
excitement. And it was 83 degrees yesterday where I live. Today, a cold front blew
through and now it is 32 degrees again. My Christmas tree is still up. My floors need
to be swept. My dogs are on a hunger strike, sick of their kibble. And all I want to do
is make some comfort food, snuggle up on the couch, and binge an old detective
series until I feel like I’m not too overwhelmed to go back to writing and unsticking
my stuck solar plexus chakra.

I’d like to think that I’m not alone in feeling stuck. I hope other people experience
this, too, because I need to have permission to feel like this sometimes. But I also
need someone to give me a pep talk every now and then, and that used to be my
mom.

I had the realization not long ago that I am my own mom now, and I am going to
have to pep talk myself from here on out. But I’ve felt like the pep talks aren’t really
effective coming from me. I just feel like that old Saturday Night Live character who
reassured himself in the mirror each week that he was “good enough, smart
enough, and gosh darn-it, people like me.”

It seems like this is where I need to stop giving into the lull of cozied up couch life. I
can acknowledge that this grief journey has given me a strange inner space where
new tools are being forged and gathered as I mentally right myself. One way I have
done that is periodically setting aside the external worries and responsibilities of the
day-to-day, and turning off the noise and distractions I have plied myself with to
numb the loss. I sit with myself and breathe and allow myself to feel whatever it is I
need to feel.

My well-intentioned, self-caring, committed-to-growth soul still has to quiet the
pedantic back talk of ego in order to just take those few minutes for concentrating
on feeling better…or at least better than this.

In doing that this week, I did manage a mom pep talk for myself. And I want to
extend it to you:

Come sit down.

Relax your shoulders, your jaw, your eyes, and breathe. Listen.

You are a miracle. Everything that has brought you to here and now was its own
unique magic. You have the ability and potential to accomplish your dreams and
achieve the unknown. You are starlight and sunshine. You are morning’s awakening

and nighttime’s solace. You are precious and needed and wanted by the Universe
that brought you to this time and space.

Your mission is yours to weave into existence from all you have lived through and
all that you have yet to become. You are beautiful and bright and perfect. If you
don’t feel that way right now, know that it is waiting for you, whenever you are
ready to accept it. You are a marvel and I love you.

And you can still have comfort food every now and then, but try to go for a good
head-clearing walk occasionally.

Namaste

-Amy

INSPIRATIONS THIS WEEK

We’re feeling inspired by these incredible and thought provoking pieces:

Do pets have a positive effect on your brain health? – Study shows long-term pet ownership linked to slower decline in cognition over time.
Founder Of The Wellness Foundry Shares His Tips For Cleansing The Home – From decluttering to setting up an Alter, Fiongal shares his expertise in resetting and reenergizing your space.
Do You Need a Mental Health Day Off? Here’s How to Rest and Reset – Your mental health is everything. Sadly, not everyone takes mental health days as seriously as they should. Are you in need of one?

That’s all for today, y’all – remember, taking time to focus on you is an act of love.

We hope you found this helpful – don’t hesitate to reply with any feedback on how we can improve future Mindful Moments! We can’t wait to hear from you.