A Conscious Shift from an Overstimulated Mind - Part I
It felt comforting hearing feedback from readers about my first blog post. Connecting with individuals on an introspective level makes me feel more alive. For some, writing makes it easier to communicate verbally, it does for me. It’s like a gateway leading me to a safe space to have an open and honest discussion. The more we communicate, contribute our thoughts, and share our enlightenments, the better we will become. Believe it or not, right now a home is being built. BreatheThrough’s foundation is being created now, and with one post at a time, one reader at a time, and one comment at a time, our home will continue to grow. This excites me.
Compassion for myself? That sounds foreign! Is often the expression on their faces when I respond with, “stop being so hard on yourself, give yourself some compassion!” But it’s the “huh,” scratching my head look that makes me chuckle because I can tell they have no idea what I mean, or they think I’m crazy. Maybe they’re partially right about the latter 😜. But I get it; many of us are wrapped up in the day-to-day responsibilities. It leaves us burnt out and tired with little desire to tend to our own personal needs. But the “go hard or go home” attitude is no longer serving us, so let’s just go home. Let’s slow down and pay more attention to our needs.
“Giving yourself compassion is the best gift you can give to yourself.”
Giving yourself compassion is not about sorrow; it’s how you respond to your needs. But how do you respond to your needs if you don’t even know what they are? This echoes some of the feedback from readers, “if I barely have time for myself, how do I give myself compassion?” Giving yourself compassion is the best gift you can give to yourself. Yet, many of us struggle with doing so.
Here’s a way to start, ask yourself, “how do I feel?” For example, when you wake up in the morning, lay there for a bit, don’t get up in a haste or reach for your phone. Instead ask yourself, “How do I feel this morning?” Are you still tired, excited for the day, or dragging yourself out of bed because you’re already dreading what comes next? Take a moment to think about it. This is the starting point to giving yourself compassion. It starts with slowing down.
THE CONSTANT NEED TO FILL UP EVERY MOMENT
What do you typically do when you have a brief moment to yourself? While you’re waiting for something or someone, how do you spend that moment? I used to grab my phone and start scrolling. My finger would dance left, right, up and down to find something on my phone to occupy my mind while I sat. I would find myself scrolling aimlessly on Facebook, then Pinterest, and oh, don’t forget about Instagram. I had no reason to be on it except that I had idle time, and I didn’t want to feel like I was just sitting there. So, let me act like I’m doing something. When in actuality, I’m not doing much except filling my mind with more clutter.
“That behavior becomes a habit and then a lifestyle.”
I forgot how it felt to just sit in a waiting room and look at the other faces around me and maybe shine a smile or two while waiting for my name to be called. Many of us, young and old, are hunched over and lost in our phones now. When we do that, we eat up that time for ourselves. We give precious time, that we could use to breathe and recollect ourselves, to our phone. Then, we are dashing off to the next thing on our to do list. That behavior becomes a habit and then a lifestyle.
SLOWING DOWN
Now, let’s go back to that waiting room. You are sitting there, but this time, you make a choice not to reach for your phone. You leave it alone and look at what’s around you. You start to notice the wall decor, the smell of a sweet fragrance of someone sitting nearby, and you also catch someone glancing up at you from time-to-time😉. In that instance, you allow yourself to feel and be in the moment. It may feel uncomfortable at first because you’re not hiding or distracting yourself, but as you continue to do it, it will become your new-normal.
❤ Note to You ❤
Busyness can take you over. Juggling multiple jobs, parenting, relationships, friendships or chasing after the next endeavor all requires time, but so do YOU! Give yourself time to just be and you will begin to feel what you truly need.
