How are you doing?
Things are still very much up in the air with some businesses and public spaces opening, while others remain closed. Summer isn’t looking like we may have planned, and I think for a lot of us, the closures and restrictions are lasting longer than we may have first thought they would.
It can feel like a challenge to keep readjusting our expectations and plans but it is an opportunity to practice going with the flow; to be present with our thoughts, feelings and whatever arises.
This past weekend I received a text from a friend who has a lot of challenges right now and as I read it my eyes welled up with tears.
Right after that I walked into Canadian Tire and again out of the blue my eyes welled up with tears.
What were the tears about? I didn’t try to analyze it.
Instead, I gently created space and let the feelings be there. Me and my feelings strolled down the aisles together. It felt like I was holding a child gently and guiding them, taking our time.
I wasn't judging or trying to fix anything, and as a result it shifted to feeling peaceful, calm and whole.
Thoughts and feelings are natural and normal. It’s part of being human.
It’s what we do with them that either gives us freedom or keeps us prisoner.
Right now, your mind might be more focused on the future than usual.
A lot of minds may be busy, confused, fearful, unsure, wondering what our future holds.
Left to its own, our monkey mind can go on rampages, jumping all over the place from thought to thought to thought.
As convincing as our mind sounds at times, our mind is not a fortune teller.
Our mind can not predict the future.
So, if we are spending lots of time in our head, worried about the future, we are giving our mind a lot of power as we get caught up in scenarios that haven’t happened and most likely never will.
When you become aware you are thinking a negative thought try S-O-S
S-top Mentally think to yourself ‘Stop’.
O-bserve Notice what you are saying to yourself and how it is making you feel.
S-hift Don’t push the thought away, instead shift your focus to your breath. Observe the inhale and the exhale as it flows through your body.
You can also choose to replace the negative thought with a positive affirmation…
I am here.
I am enough.
I am safe.
I am grateful for…
When we spend a lot of time in our head thinking and little time bringing awareness to the present moment, we are not grounded. We are reactive and we are disconnected to what is real - this moment and our true nature.
Life as we knew it has changed. There will be a new normal and we have no way of knowing what this will look like or be like.
Instead, we can bring our focus to what we can do - including bringing our focus to this moment.
This moment is real.
Everything about the future is merely a fabrication of our mind.
For me, the most important thing is to be gentle with ourselves. Can we meet ourselves wherever we’re at with compassion?
Remember, this isn’t easy stuff! We’re all navigating this new terrain and doing the best we can.
Some days we’ll feel in the flow, find compassion, and be present with the moment.
Other days these things will feel hard, maybe even impossible. On those days, give the “SOS” exercise a try and practice bringing your focus back to the breath. Little steps, one foot in front of the other.
Wishing you a wonderful, sun-filled week ahead.
Diane