I haven’t written a blog in several months. Earlier this summer, I suffered the loss of my mother and for several months both before and following her death I had difficulty sorting my feelings out. I’ve been using self-compassionate practices at every step along the way and I believe that these helped to sustain me.
A few weeks ago I went to a silent meditation retreat. I was a little nervous prior to going knowing that I would be alone with my feelings of grief with very little distraction. I worried that I would be flooded and overwhelmed with my emotions. It actually turned out to be a lovely gentle experience and helped me to clarify some of the deeper thoughts and fears that underlie some of the emotion. After one particular meditation, I uncovered that I was very sad that I had lost my biggest cheer leader; the one who offered words of encouragement, kindness and sympathy whenever I was suffering. Although my mother was 92 and we hadn’t lived together for decades, in a very real sense she was still the one I turned to in times of trouble, she loved me unconditionally and would offer words of comfort whenever I suffered a setback. In Mindful Self-Compassion practice, whenever we recognize that we are suffering we ask ourselves “What do I need?” I realized that what I needed most in that moment was reassurance. I started meditating using the mantra “I love you and I will take care of you”. Using this phrase has caused a shift in my day to day life. For the last several months I had been eating badly, not exercising and felt very sluggish, something I attributed to the effects of my grief. Once I started the mantra it was like my higher self sprung into action; I suddenly had more energy and motivation to eat better and start moving. I started taking better care of myself. It’s okay, no matter what happens I will be there for myself. I just needed to hear myself say it. With kindness, Patricia
2 Comments
Gabriel Wheeler
5/8/2018 08:13:33 am
It will be never easy for an individual to develop self-compassion. But the good news is, it can be developed with practice. But prior to that, the person needs to understand what actually self-compassion is? It is the foundation of compassion for yourself. It includes the forbearance of your own imperfections and acknowledging the three ingredients that are- gentleness, humanity, and mindfulness. Thus, it is advisable to develop self-compassion so that you can make a strong interpersonal connection and can adopt the change that is never easy to do- http://www.reginafasold.com/blog/change-is-never-easy-but-it-is-worth-it/ .
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Cathy & Patricia
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