… pulling yourself out of the darkness
Ever experience the “winter blues”? Or spring, summer or fall blues?? What is generally accepted as an attractive color in nature really isn’t worn well by anyone’s soul. Yet we all experience it from time to time. For some, it is flat out depression… which can be easy to spot within yourself or those close to you. For some though, it’s more of a mild “blah”. Just not feeling happy in the moment, or weighing yourself down with guilt, stress, or self-judgement.
I recently had a “blue” day that I was having difficult time shaking. So I called in the troops… my soul family… my community of lightworkers and other friends. I asked for insights on what people do when they are feeling low for whatever reason. The response was beautiful, for multiple reasons. First, my own feelings were very much validated, without judgement, by my soul family. Second, I heard many repeat back to me words of advice that very much align with what I say to clients and other friends, further validating that we, as a community, are on each other’s side. And third, I gained some new perspectives; even those ideas that were not new to me were presented in a new light.
So you might want to bookmark this one. Feel free to come back again and again any time you are feeling blue, and herein find support, compassion, and inspiration. Feel free to add your other ideas as well within the comments of the blog.
Remember, you are HUMAN
As I often explain to my clients, we all have an absolutely perfect, pure, and innocent soul. But that soul happens to be walking around in a human body for the time being. Our humanness tends to be made more of “ego”, those qualities of judgement, free will, and so forth, that set our stage for our perfect experience in this lifetime. Our humanness helps us to survive in a human world, and to learn about important things like love, compassion, joy, strength, and more.
Being human, at least for now, I am reminded that I am NOT perfect. That I will sometimes do things that my ego regrets. Being aware of this helps me to understand myself. I get it… I’ll sometimes do, say, or believe things that I will later reflect upon and wish it had been different. As humans, we cannot change the past, but we can learn from it. And I am also grateful to learn something. Oh snap did I just turn my regrets into gratitude? Oh yes I did!
I am GRATEFUL for my humanness, for the ego that currently surrounds my soul, for the ego surrounding the perfect souls who I find along my path. I am grateful for this because it serves to help me build wisdom, and from this wisdom build strength, and from this strength be better able to serve myself, my family, my clients, my planet, and my angels and guides.
Forgive yourself, as you would forgive others
I am typically much harder on myself than I am on anyone else, and much harder on myself than anyone is on me. It’s the architype of being a “perfectionist”. As I noted above, I know I’m human, and therefore not perfect, so why do I expect perfection from myself? Crazy, right? Or at least fairly unreasonable.
One point of guidance I often offer to my clients is to be your own best friend. Step out of your skin metaphorically, and look back at yourself as your best friend, or favorite aunt, or secret admirer, or anyone else who loves you unconditionally would look at you. Hear yourself with their ears. Hold your heart with their hands and their heart. Better yet, look at yourself as your angels, guides, or the Creator would look at you (or whatever sense of loving higher power you align with). When I do this, I immediately shift to compassion and forgiveness for myself.
“This too shall pass”
We are in a constantly changing world, with constantly changing energies and emotions. Maybe even changing beliefs. Whatever your current level and source of discontent, it is temporary. And you have the ability to shift it.
I know this might sound trite. After all, it can be extremely difficult to shift discontent connected to hardships that seem to be sourced externally. Like money, other people’s behaviors, our environment, and so forth. So find something… any small thing… that is within your control. When finances seem tight, first remember all that you have, and find a way to be generous with what you do have, whether it be time, hope, kindness, creativity, or whatever else you are able to perpetuate in a way that makes you happy. If someone else is behaving in a way that is out of alignment with your energy, beliefs, or values, find something about them… one small thing… that you admire, and if you cannot do that, seek to offer them compassion and be grateful that your humanness does not hold the vibration of this person who is in some way offensive to you. When you observe others harming our environment through abuse or negligence, find a way to love your environment even more… any small shift… offering it protection and healing, and perhaps in a way that you are comfortable sharing with others.
I guess what I am saying is that rather than using the discontent as a point to battle, instead us it as an inspirational launching pad. Let it help you affirm or reaffirm what is important to you, and why. See how that shows up in your life, and when you are able to focus on what’s important and “good” in your life, some of the “bad” fades away.
Oh how Childish!!
What really pulled me out of my funk was tapping into my inner child. I took a walk by myself. I found an empty playground and sat on a swing, and before I knew it, I was eight years old again, pumping my legs to swing high, back and forth. I felt myself go through a whole range of emotions as I was flying around up there. And when my emotions started to simmer down a bit, I dragged my feet (just like when the bell at the end of recess sounds) to stop the swing. Then noticing the freshly falling snow was “sticky”, I knelt in the snow, made a snowman, gave it a pet bunny, and found myself getting happier and happier by the minute as my new friend took form.
Whether it’s a swing, a bicycle, or finding a “dance floor” in the middle of your kitchen, find a way to MOVE your BODY! Whether it’s sticky snow, crayons, or a keyboard, find a way to CREATE ANYTHING from your heart. Don’t worry about judgements… being fast enough, good enough, etc. Just let yourself find your inner self… your inner child… and become eight years old again. Even if you were not happy as an eight-year-old, that doesn’t mean you can’t be a joy-filled eight-year-old now. Try it!
You are Never Alone
I was so touched by how many people responded to my call for insights. Many shared their own personal struggles. And so many gave their words of encouragement. Here are excerpts from a few comments from my soul family who jumped to my aide to support me when I was feeling down (each contribution is being shared as anonymous):
I am trying to pull myself up too. I normally am able to do that by doing something for someone else. I think I will go to Goodwill and look for a Christmas ornament.
I lashed out so unnecessarily... I gave that person the sincerest of apologies and explained myself fully. The guilt etc. I felt was enormous. It started to ease up when I forgave myself. When I looked at the entire picture from an outsider, I realized why it happened. I talked with her again. When I accepted the contrast of what I learned from it. I began to forgive myself even more. I also realized I had to step up on my own self-care. I had been depleting.
I like to talk to someone I trust when I feel blah, it helps dissolve things for me by bringing them to the light.
I also have a difficult time forgiving myself. For me, I usually need to release the expectation I have of needing to be perfect.
A channeled message from a friend: "I am loving to include that you are cared for on all levels and that your heart light is here to assist to lovingly turn to this space and call on creator within- your healing is available lovingly now and always. The loving mind is not the creator but a tool in which the creator uses so please lovingly be clear in your loving choices and look to your heart for all inner guidance.”
I am being called to send you a loving message of encouragement (channeled from Creator): "You're fighting against yourself in something that isn't going to be what you think. Here is a place for you to let go and allow it to be avail to you. You're not going to fail, and you cannot succeed until you are willing to fall and get up again because this is how it works. We fall and scrape our knees and then We get up and run again. You are giving too much time to mind distractions and blocking your flow and ease. This isn't going to be as you had hoped until you are willing to see what can be more than what you think. Be placed in My loving light and heal your fears around your feelings of failure. It isn't going to fail but it cannot succeed until you let go and trust in something big greater than your mind. You're loved”
I especially need salt baths this time of year. And snow can be stressful for me
Feeling your feelings is normal. Mental hurt uses the same parts of the brain of physical hurt. The more focus we give IT the more energy we give IT the worst it becomes. We can whip ourselves in a frenzy within seconds. Emotions are quicker than logical thinking. When we ask "why" someone did that it puts us in a negative loop. Self-forgiveness is first. You are human. Releasing the need works well. If it's loss of love, you already have all the love you need within yourself.
I was having to stand up for myself, which sometimes isn't popular, but I wasn't going about it the right way. I didn't like that part of me, so then not only was I frustrated at the situation, I was judging myself. It's part of shadow work I think, when this stuff comes up. I just had to remind myself the same things you did, and remind myself to turn off the critical judge in my head. I think I needed some time to just forgive myself and get back to gratitude
I would treat myself to a special hot beverage. And I get out and do something physical. The lack of daylight certainly challenges me, but I try to stay on top of it with projects. Oh, and my favorite, hug a horse. All with the help of my dog.
You would be kind to and forgiving of anyone who felt as you do - so then be kind and forgiving of yourself! We are all human and not one of us is perfect; we’re works in progress! Acknowledge your feelings, examine them to determine what may be causing them, and learn from that.
We all can feel this way at times. Reading others' posts is very helpful. When I have been in similar situations I meditate on the troubling event and sit with the feelings around it. (The fertile ground for wonderful awareness to grow) Personally I need to come to an understanding of why I react/act in a particular way and feel my way through a better action/reaction to help heal, grow and reassure myself that I can handle things differently. (Saying goodbye to my old ways and embracing new) Forgiveness is one thing, but growth and honesty with myself is equally important to me. Life is supposed to be challenging so we can grow and evolve, I embrace these opportunities to grow and change.
I hope you have found some brightness within this article. Is there some gem we are missing? Something that YOU do to find your way from BLUE back to BRIGHT? If so, please sign in and share it. It takes a village… and YOU are part of MY village… so I would love to hear from you.