Don't Underestimate Your Context
Hello,
Context is everything.
And here's why: If we forget our context - what we are living through - we are more likely to turn on ourselves and shame ourselves unfairly for what we are struggling with.
In my work as a therapist, one of the things that I find to be truly helpful for people is when they are able to step back and validate their own context. They are then able to have more self compassion and grace for themselves.
You are living through a pandemic, and we are nearing a year of it. You are also living through whatever else is happening individually in your life. Your context, and you, deserve compassion.
I had the best time talking to Jeremiah and Vania of the Beard n Curls podcast recently.
We talk a bit about my own story, but also about the goggles we may all wear that impact our experience - another form of context. We also discuss mental health in the pandemic.
Watch here!
I have heard from so many how last week's Still Becoming Guided Meditation was right on time.
It is A Short Meditation for the Overwhelmed, Episode 57. Take a moment and listen if you haven't, and let me know your thoughts.
The context you are living through might be creating a sense of overwhelm - this is designed to be a pause and an exhale.
There will be a new meditation out this week - all about weariness in waiting.
Finally, from an expert in the study of self-compassion:
“By giving ourselves unconditional kindness and comfort while embracing the human experience, difficult as it is, we avoid destructive patterns of fear, negativity, and isolation.”
- Kristin Neff