Here is the thing...I see you.
This time of year is hell for those of us who battle constant anxiety and depression to no fault of our own. Don't forget to pause. Remind yourself to breathe. Have your self-care tools in place before you walk into the difficult spaces and rooms. And most importantly remember that there is at least one if not many more people in that same room who are feeling the same way. You've got this!
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Words that couldn't be truer as we enter into this holiday week. Here's the thing...family isn't defined by blood.
Family are the people around you who show up. Family are the people around you who don't give up on you when you choose to be who you are. Family are the people around you who accept you without explanation. Family are the people around you who say, 'I love you' without conditions. Family is the definition you write for yourself. And if you do choose to be in difficult rooms this season by choice, I don't judge you. I see that you are doing what you feel you need to do that is best for you and your journey. But, do me a favor and remember to love yourself enough... Just because you are making one choice, doesn't give anyone the right to harm you with words, emotions or actions for the journey you are walking. Love yourself enough to find your VOICE. Love yourself enough to believe in your LIGHT. Love yourself enough to stand in your STORY. I see you. I hear you. I get you. I will be walking with you in spirit. Love yourself enough.... Are you living in survival mode? I believe most people function day to day in survival mode. Life is so full-on countless levels that remembering to breathe is all we can do each day. These words hit me hard every time I read them, survival mode. I imagine I am not alone. I have lived most of my life in survival mode with brief moments of trusting the present moment. It has been a tiresome balancing act. Do you know what it is like to live in survival mode? Survival mode is a short-term mode of thinking that one will choose when their fight or flight response is triggered. This defining mentality can lead one to either attacking or retreating during stressful times rather than finding the positive communication and the ability to embrace the situation at hand. When we find ourselves resting in survival mode, we can spend more time focusing on the fears that we miss out on the opportunities. Imagine what would happen if we were able to take it in stride. It is easier to point out the struggles, the pain or the conflict that occurred than to take in the lessons that can be learned from those traumas. The lessons often carry arduous work and introspection to heal. It is a cliché, but the truth lies deep in that there is something to come from every situation that we enter into or experience. I firmly believe that anything and everything happens with reason and lessons for the journey forward. When we find ourselves resting in survival mode, we turn off a part of human story that chooses to take risks, embraces imagination, goes with the flow and instead fights this reality by staying in a safe zone. In this zone we hold on to regrets, resentment and control. Can you imagine living in this state most of your hours within a day? Your mind, body and spirit will suffer so deeply over time that you will suffocate into your pain, rather than breathe into your natural rhythms of life. When we live in survival mode we can find ourselves comparing our pain to others. We can go down the hole of thinking we are less than someone else for how we to choose to walk through our struggles. Our sense of identity is often defined by others. We live and die by fear of the unknown from what others think of us to what could be possible for our futures if we were to risk living outside the box that we built ourselves into. If we are not residing solely inside this box then we are spinning in circles of a downward spiral questioning and second guessing our lives at every turn. We are not living, we are merely surviving I read recently about a new phenomenon, thrival mode. Thrival mode is exactly what it sounds like. Embracing thriving in your life and on the journey forward. It is visioning intention and what you want for your life. It is finding ways to implement simple changes to guide you out of the darker times that you may face. It is seeing the light and color in your life before the negative can take over. My challenge for you today is to thrive in one thing. You choose. Whatever trauma, emotion, pain or struggle is holding you, I challenge you to release it and commit to thriving just for today. Let in the possibility that life could be lived beyond just surviving. "The pains you feel are messengers. Listen to them." -Rumi We hear so much about suffering often. It is a complicated topic with many avenues, bumps and hills. How we navigate our way through it is different for each person. Each person's definition of suffering is different to start. Some had quite serious traumas that aren't as simple as the usual forgiveness and letting go. Others perhaps are walking through physical suffering that can be even more difficult to relate to. I do believe the pain within the suffering can meet in the middle. When pain enters our life, it is not for nothing, it is not to be dismissed. It is speaking to you. If you take a moment to listen, healing can come. It is often hard to be gentle on ourselves. We are caregivers by nature. But when will we care for ourselves? If we wait until the pain overcomes us, it could be too late. How will you honor your pain today? How can you listen to your pain in a positive responding manner? How will you honor coming through your suffering? We are all guilty of reacting to situations hastily. We get caught up in our emotions, our thought process, and our defensiveness if we are being truly honest. There is a moment where we can pause, we must pause and we can choose to listen and remember what is true at our core. That is in itself our greatest power, for in that space we choose how to walk graciously forward. It is natural to want to be right, we are protecting our ego mostly of fear of being humiliated. The voices in our head defining our worth rather than what we know at our core. I challenge myself to embrace my power to value myself, and therefore responding honestly. I challenge myself to not be defined by others' opinions.
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Next Women's Beach Retreat!Follow USOur YouTube ChannelAuthorAndrea creates, builds, and offers her teachings and hands on life tools based on her journey healing her body image after a 14yr battle and life of trauma. Her vision always is to help others live a full life with the journey they are given. Featured ProductCategories
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