Where Have You Been?
I have been absent and not as present as I would have liked to be when it comes to posting, blogging, and engaging with those of you who choose to spend time here.
The demands of the responsibilities and roles I carry started to increase, eventually reaching a point where I noticed myself becoming reactive. I could also feel the physical effects of stress and survival mode taking over.
I am looking at—and owning—my reactions and beliefs with compassion and grace. I recognize that I lost sight of my own self-regulation and became caught in a cycle of doing and caring for the needs of others. It felt like I had absolutely zero left to give myself.
Which, honestly, was true.
I had nothing to spare.
I am incredibly grateful that I had an abundance of time off in July. It gave me the opportunity to intentionally slow myself down to a turtle pace and encourage myself to look at my reactions and beliefs differently.
I also had the opportunity to take a long weekend away, and I credit that time with contributing to a larger shift in perspective. It felt so good to set down the self-imposed belief that everything was equally urgent all the time.
Everything is not equally urgent.
And I don't have to respond to everything as though it is.
I am also incredibly grateful for the wonderful friends and colleagues in my life who were able to ground me, support me, and remind me that my health and well-being matter, too. They lovingly challenged me when I needed it and helped me see things from perspectives I couldn't always access on my own.
I am hopeful for a gentle increase in engagement here. I have missed making videos, writing blog posts, and sharing in general.
I feel more grounded. I feel like I have more capacity to create space when pressures and expectations begin to rise so that I can respond from a more aligned place. And, importantly, I am feeling physically better.
I am proud of myself for allowing others in. For accepting support. For allowing myself to be lovingly challenged.
I am grateful that grace and compassion have been with me through all of this, and I look forward to continuing to make room for more ease and grace as I move forward—all while remembering to honor what I need for my own well-being.
So, may this blog find you thriving in life.
And if life is driving you right now, may you also find a little grace and compassion for yourself as you sort through what you need to set down, look at differently, or simply stop treating as urgent.
And perhaps, most importantly, may you find a way to make your own self-regulation a priority.
Because sometimes the most important thing we can do…is be good to ourselves.