Maslowe Musings

27/02/2024

20/09/2023

Beauties, you are emotional being. We can’t opt out of this no matter how hard we try. And sometimes, opting out is all we want to do.

We want reprieve.

We want peace, calm, joy, or any other emotion than the uncomfortable one we’re feeling.

We want to turn the volume down and some of us have developed amazingly creative ways to do just that.

Today I give you the invitation to pause and acknowledge what you’re feeling. Acknowledge it like a little child who needs a hug. Acknowledge its existence. No words are even needed, and you don’t have to do anything with the feelings. Remember to breathe. Emotions are truly like waves in the ocean. They come in (sometimes with tremendous force) and they recede. Our own acknowledgement is a salve for the pain.

13/09/2022

This little guy reminded me to leave space for the unexpected.

Despite being nervous and wanting to go back home, Blue had a day of BLISS at his first day of doggie day camp.

This photo of my silly sweet boy gave me a laugh and filled my heart. 🤍

21/08/2022

Trusting others is really about trusting self. If you’re able to deeply and wholly trust yourself there’s no need to be concerned with your ability to trust others because you’ll have a built-in barometer that will guide you.

This can be hard when we’ve experienced trauma. Trauma often teaches us to turn away from self in an effort to control others with the belief that this will offer safety. But the truth is, self trust creates the safety we seek with others. 🤍

27/07/2022

Pushing away, distancing, distracting, & denying are ways many of us learned to cope with difficult or painful emotions. But the parts of us that hold these emotions and experiences desire to be heard, acknowledged, and offered a seat at the table.

Amazingly, these parts will find subtle and some not-so-subtle ways to beckon us back home to ourselves. It is through this return home we can offer the love and space for these parts to heal. 🤍

09/07/2022

“Language is not neutral”

I’ve long stopped watching the news due to a strong awareness of the impact it has on my nervous system. This isn’t because there is something wrong with my nervous system, but rather our current media uses our fear system to keep us engaged.

While I’m not in the business of encouraging people not to watch the news I do encourage them to note the impact on their body, limit their viewing, and move their bodies to purge the neurochemicals released by their fear system activation. I call it metabolizing the fear.

I came across this article, unpacking language used in the beginning of the pandemic. Regardless of accuracy of the news, the use of fear language can be seen, and I would argue doesn’t help us navigate the situation.

Why doesn’t it help us you ask? Well, fear decreases our ability to think. We begin to respond to situations from the back portions of our brain where emotions and our security system are housed, not the thinking rational section of our brain.

We are coming off a week with a lot of jarring and heartbreaking news. How much are you consuming? Are you aware of the impact on your body? Are there other ways to find the information that isn’t filtered through a fear lens? – just a couple ideas to consider.

Enjoy the article. And here’s to metabolizing fear and consciously choosing our media consumption. 🤍

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Producing the Fear Culture in Media: An Examination on Coronavirus Discourse.
By Tetyana A. Chaiuk and Olha V. Dunaievska

02/06/2022

🤩 Free Parenting Conference (with some awesome speakers!) 🤩

Parenting can be hard ~ no manual given, pulling from how we were parented, navigating a shifting world, and lots of stressors. It can be a journey to find your rhythm in this role and a lot of parents I work with question themselves along the journey.

Check out this free conference that will chat about connection, attachment, communication, emotions, bullying, video games, anxiety, etc. ~~ so many topics you can tune into ~~

Free Conference - Mindful Parenting and Mental Wellness - October 14-18, 2021

25/05/2022

It is with such a heavy heart I come to this page knowing many of you are wondering how to talk with your kids tonight. It can be hard to know what to say after a tragedy happens.

My esteemed colleague has created a short video and some
helpful suggestions for navigating these conversations with your kids. May it help you open conversations and hold space for their emotions and thoughts. 🤍

How do you discuss tragedies with your child? A clinical psychologist shares age-appropriate ways to discuss tragic events and help your child cope.

20/05/2022

🤍🤍🤍

TO THE WOMAN WHO THINKS SHE ISN’T GOOD ENOUGH

To the woman who looks around and wonders why everyone else is so much more capable, so much stronger, so much more ambitious than her.

To the woman who thinks everyone else is blazing a fiery path through this thing we call life, while she limps behind, barely getting through the days.

Somewhere, another woman is looking at you thinking exactly the same.

You see, we all look like we’re kinda nailing it, from the outside in.

We all look ‘together’ sometimes.
Catch us on the right day and hey, we look like we have it all.
Because guess what, we learned to look that way a long time ago.
We learned to hide our struggles behind a smile and whack on that mask every day.

And actually, we are doing each other a favour when we show up,
just as we are,
warts and all,
late,
flustered,
human.

What we really need to see is that we are all the same.
We all struggle.
We all fall apart.

Some days we nail it, other days we get nailed.

By hiding our own weaknesses, fears, worries, we give them more power.
If you let it out, shine a light on it all, it becomes so much less scary, funny even…
And goodness only knows we need to laugh.

So, to the woman who wonders if she is good enough…

If this is you.
Yes you are.
You always were.

You don’t have to live up to everyone’s expectation of how you should be coping.
You are human, flawed, wonderful, miraculous, loveable, loved.

I see you,

Now do me a favour and go see all the others too.
Spread the word, we are good enough, just as we are.

Donna Ashworth
From the poetry collection ‘to the women’ : https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08LRGWY74/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_fabt1_OYLVFbX4YR91V

Art by Ramona Pintea Artist