04/06/2020
I’ve found for myself that I’m having more ups and downs at this time. I’m meeting these with a mixture of reactions from seeking the creature comforts of childhood to joyful and dynamic self-care. This means recognizing when I am treating my emotions, thoughts, or behaviors as something to tame or fix, and instead tending to these parts with unconditional kindness and respect. I tend to take my cues around self-care from the brightest aspects of both childhood and adulthood. What you need and when you need it is of course ultimately up to you. In other words, us tracking with ourselves closely enough to know, in any given moment, what we need. My counseling practice is dedicated to supporting you in discovering this.
These are some things that I’m finding personally helpful:
-Stay in the present! There is not a single person on the planet that knows for sure what it going to happen next. So, I consider it my job right now to live with the mystery of this rather than filling in that blank with negative imagination and scary stories.
-Trying to control and/or get rid of ordinary thoughts, (unintentional mind activity), is not helpful. Instead understand that your thoughts neither know, or define you, or the world. They are just thoughts, an intellectual habit much like the way grass grows. To give yourself room around them, focus on unconditional awareness, the container in which the thoughts are taking place. This awareness is the truth of who you are.
-Practice healing touch on yourself. Hug and massage yourself, consciously hold your own hand, take long baths with bubbles, salt and essential oils, wear clothes that are comfortable and soft, treat your body as tenderly as you would your dearest loved ones.
-Sense your body and breath through what sings to you; dance, meditation, yoga, exercise, nature etc.
Stay in connection with one another. Don’t wait until you are all put together. Reach out by phone or video call, un-showered and scared, and laugh, play games, invent, create. ‘Make game of that which makes as much of thee.” Omar Khayyam
We have heard several times, “We’ll get through this.” What occurs to me, in this idea, is not just physical survival, for there are worse things than dying. So,I search my heart and ask myself, what in me is most worthy of supporting and preserving at this time?
Know that I am here for you, and that this event is part of a cycle, feel free to reach out in whatever way is helpful to you.
Be kind, listen within, trust yourself
