I have heard so many different experiences of this time:
- I feel so confused.
- I have lost my job and feel a lot of financial insecurity
- I’m okay, but Im really worried about my parents.
- I feel selfish, but I’m single and 38 and want to meet someone and I can’t date
- I’m finding homeschooling completely overwhelming
- I’m alone at home and am feeling depressed.
- I’m loving it, I don’t want it to end
- I love less travel
- I am enjoying the slower pace
- I am enjoying more time with my family
Know that whatever you are experiencing, it is valid and it is okay. The acknowledgement of your experience does not invalidate someone else’s experience. It is okay for people around you to be in panic and for you to be calm.
As children our experiences may not have been validated. When our experiences, thoughts and feelings are consistently not validated we start to ignore our feelings and believe that they are not important, that other people’s feelings and wellbeing are more important than our own.
Take some time right now to notice how the last month has been for you. Without judgement.
When we slow down and take the time to check in with ourselves it is a deep act of self-love and self-care. We are telling ourselves and our inner child that we are worth listening to. Really listening to. That our thoughts, emotions, physical and spiritual experiences are real. By taking the time to be with yourself you validate yourself.
When we do this we no longer seek external validation from the people close to us. We have already been witnessed, held and accepted.
From this place we can care for others and love others in a completely different way. It is from a place of wholeness, of not needing, grasping or manipulating.
