When we think of self-care, do we forget to count downtime? I'm thinking here not so much about downtime that is scheduled, as it were, but rather that which is almost circumstantial. In other words, what are the positive spin-offs we derive from the "negative spaces" in our lives, as well as the activities we do that require us to either access or create space?
Tag: self-compassion
Nothing is enough.
A handful of insights, gathered from various sources, about productivity, rest, and self-worth. Photo by Kyle Collins on Pexels 1. Permission to start at zero. I’ve been listening to a series of short talks called “Time Management for Mortals”, delivered by Oliver Burkeman, who wrote a book on the same topic, on the Waking Up … Continue reading Nothing is enough.
The journey of a kombucha bottle filled with Ganges water
The first time I swam in the Ganges was the first morning after our arrival at the Ashram. I had set my alarm early enough to get a walk in before morning asanas, and headed upriver. I was feeling the effects of a 05h30 wakeup after not such a great night’s sleep – daytime temperatures … Continue reading The journey of a kombucha bottle filled with Ganges water
Past Tense: The anxious voices of history
Whereas in my last piece I considered anxiety as fear of the future, in this post I reflect on the ways in which it might in fact derive from the past. Rather than being a “fear of future feelings”, as I put it, perhaps anxiety can be viewed as a way in which our fearful past selves keep up with us.
The Power of the Third Person
In a webinar I attended once on the value of presence, the presenters shared a metaphor for being mindful of your own thoughts: "Engage your third person". In storytelling, the third person is used as a form of narration that is outside of the action. Can we play third person or “third party” to the action in our own minds? Are we able to play not just the role of mediator, but also of witness? And when would this be useful?
The dance of self-love
Self-love is like a dance in which we move between acceptance and growth; between pushing and pulling on one hand and holding and protecting on the other. As fully integrated beings, we need to ultimately attempt to see that these are somehow one and the same thing.
All in your head
I had a realisation recently: "It’s all in your head” doesn’t necessarily mean “It’s not real”. This is a personal stance with feeling behind it, and my feeling is essentially that being told that something is “all in your head”, or suspecting the same, can feel for the most part invalidating, isolating and even a bit cruel. The specific example I had in mind was when people use this to explain when somebody experiences physiological symptoms which seem to have no obvious physical origin – typical examples being chronic pain, fatigue or fibromyalgia. In this case, “It’s all in your head” usually implies “There’s something wrong in your head”, which, true or not, may be interpreted as “There’s something wrong with YOU” “It’s all in your head”, in other words, to me usually suggests “It’s not real”, which is to invalidate someone’s personal experience – or at least to tell them they’re on their own.
Burnout and the art of not taking oneself too personally
As a person who's prone to getting burned at work, I've come to realise that I'm often the one feeding the fire. It’s hard to take responsibility for burnout when our culture of glorified individualism and over-achievement has a lot to answer for, and when work-life boundaries get increasingly dissolved by technology, but we have to own anything we wish to change. And perhaps, while taking personal ownership for it, we can also take burnout less personally.
All & None of the Above 