Disappointment
A break up
Sickness
Loss
Not getting the
job
Financial setback
Criticism
Betrayal
“I shouldn’t be
letting this bother me,” you may say.
“I should be over
this,” you proclaim.
But you’re not
over it, and it IS bothering you.
And fighting it
only makes the suffering last longer.
Because arguing
with reality is a no-win situation.
Surrender. It’s
time to surrender.
This does NOT
mean you give up.
It means that you
stop the struggle and just feel your feelings about what is happening.
No judging, no
denial, no nastiness.
Stop. Fighting.
It.
Put down your
shield. Put down your sword.
Surrender.
“But if I allow
myself to feel, I may start crying and never freaking stop.”
Yes, you will.
You absolutely will stop crying.
It may take 5 days, but you will stop.
This is where self-compassion comes in.
When you stop
putting a band-aid on your discomfort.
When you allow
yourself to actually feel the uncomfortable emotions you are trying to mask.
And you don’t try
to shame it away, blame it away, drink it away, eat it away,
smoke it away,
shop it away, or “I’m so busy” it away.
All these
feelings need is to be acknowledged and witnessed.
Not fixed, or
cheered up, or told tomorrow will be better.
Just be with
those feelings.
Notice what they
bring up.
And then be kind
to yourself for having the courage to be human.
Treat yourself
like you would a small child who has been hurt.
Wrap her in a
blanket and put on her favorite movie.
Make sure she has
plenty of soup or ice cream, 7Up or ginger tea.
Give her a bath
with delicious scents and fluffy towels.
Allow her to
heal, to rest, to restore.
And then when you
feel like it, brave a new day with your heart wide open.
Because it takes
courage to thrust yourself back into life after disappointment or loss.
It takes courage
to live life unguarded.
You cannot
inoculate yourself from pain unless you inoculate yourself from joy.
They go hand in
hand.
Be kind to
yourself, life wild and free.
Because when your
heart is broken, it’s open.
It means you are
alive.
“Courage is fear that has said its prayers and decided
to go forward anyway.” ~Joyce Meyer
