Have you ever experienced depression? Sadness? Loneliness? Felt like Eeyore from Winnie The Pooh? Or just felt sheer frustration that life seems to suck sometimes? You’re not alone.
I’m going to get a little vulnerable here. Lately, I’ve been experiencing some sadness. If you know me, you’ll know that I’m usually a really happy person, but I’ve been feeling a bit like a fish out of water over the last few weeks. Feelings include: homesickness, physical sickness (temporary of course), worry about a family member with a nasty life-threatening meth addiction, sadness because of the largest mass shooting in US history, and the list goes on. My heart has been in a heavy funk. For the most part the things I feel sad about have nothing to do with me directly and yet I’m feeling it all.
I know that allowing myself to feel the full and beautiful spectrum of emotions is part of the process. I’m an empath, I get it, I really do. Which is why I give myself full permission to ride out the wave until this shit storm passes. Many people assume that just because I’m a ‘personal development’ teacher or ‘spiritual’ teacher that I don’t experience the natural ebb and flow of ordinary emotions. I do! In fact, I don’t know anyone that is always ‘happy happy joy joy’ all the time.
The true spiritual growth comes from HOW we manage during these times. It’s also about having the awareness that it’s temporary and it’s totally OKAY to be a hot mess for as long as you need.
The good news is that finally, I’m feeling the fog start to lift and fade away. The secret? Making a decision to snap the fuck out of it (in the most gentle way possible) and start looking for things appreciate in my life. No matter how tiny and insignificant it might seem, I’m constantly looking for things to appreciate because the more I do it, the better I begin to feel. For instance, I just watched ‘Cupcake Wars’ on Netflix with my daughter. They made vegan cupcakes and the inspiration, creativity and motivation of the bakers really made me feel grateful.
I also watched this Tony Robbins video that popped up in my Facebook stream when I needed it most. It was about the true definition of abundance and living an abundant life. And that was that life is constructed of “magic moments” that we get to feel and experience with our loved ones. When we recognize them and log them in our hearts, it cements the uplifting feeling of connection we get to experience in the world and the beliefs we carry in our souls. It was the perfect reminder I needed to get back into my natural state of deep appreciation.
If you’re going through a funk right now just trust that as soon as you open your heart up to shifting your perspective then you will start to feel a little bit better.
There really is so much to be grateful for.
The simple act of practicing daily gratitude can literally change your life. Or at best, if you’re feeling like there is nothing to be grateful for try and focus on your breath. One breath after another is keeping you alive, and that’s something to hold deep appreciation and reverence for.
Gratitude exercise:
Start your day by writing down 3 things you are grateful for. End your day by writing down 3 things you are grateful for. It’s the perfect way to begin your day and the perfect way to end your day and drift off into dreamland. It’s incredibly simple, but it works.
If you love reading and getting inspired by people’s stories of triumph over adversity then you will adore my bestselling Adventures In Manifesting series. You’ll cry, you’ll laugh, and you’ll celebrate the journeys that these incredible souls travelled to manifest their desires. If you’re looking for some inspiration, this is it.
