Hello—
…and welcome to Friday the 13th. Here's a thought—rather than dive into well worn superstitions, let's begin with a quote from Samuel Beckett and see where it leads us:
"I can't go on. I'll go on.”
This continues to be the practice—over and over and over again. "Just keep going" as my mother used to tell me. Yet as we continue along, we can easily get overwhelmed by what we feel are our obligations to those around us. Our focus can become narrower and narrower. The pressure for a "result" of some kind builds and before we know it, we've fallen down that rabbit hole of
"shoulds".
Yet what if we choose to change the energy around all of this? As we move forward in our process—regardless of what’s happening in the world around us—when we opt for gentleness towards Our Selves, our practice can become much less daunting. Then the mantra can become "Onwards!—
This, in turn, softens our self-imposed, unrealistic and even artificial "Deadlines"(2:20). It also brings the practice back to what it truly is—a "Work in Process"(1:34)—as opposed to a widget making assembly line "project".
What are your thoughts around all of this? Can you be gentle with Your Self as you're moving through your day—let alone a challenge? Are you able to release the notion of a deadline and ease the undue pressure it had on you?Can you accept that your practice is a process, not linear by it's very nature?
Give us a sense of how all this lands for you by commenting.
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In the meantime, may you be gentle with Your Self as you practice (the small steps forward) to support your Practice (the framework of your process).
Here's to You and your continued healing.
Keep taking care of Your Self.
Onwards!—gently.
Breathe…
Until next time—
Thanks much.
Cheers,
Steph
Stephanie Swafford, BCPP, BFRP
"When It’s Time to Listen To Your Self"
