Remembering people you miss at Christmas time

Anniversaries and birthdays of loved ones who have passed can be a difficult time for many. They can be especially difficult during December, with the focus on spending time with family at Christmas.

If you are missing a loved one know that it’s okay to do so. This time of year isn’t happy for everyone all of the time.

Maybe light a candle to honour those you’re remembering, and incorporate it into part of your yearly routine. Honour the memories and feelings you still have. Honour those you love and miss.

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(c) Michelle Thereze, She Holds The Bowl, 2018

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Standing in your Truth can be a bit scary…

Standing in your Truth can be a bit scary at times, as you never know how it will be received.
But if something is really important to you, and you spoke up with love, then you know that you stood in your Truth and you didn’t just stand by.
Speak from the heart and, no matter the outcome, you know you did your best.

– Michelle Thereze

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Photo by Sharon McCutcheon

Struggles with forgiveness – a Heart disconnection

Forgiveness is a journey. Sometimes you cannot complete it yet because you are separated from your own Heart. In a bid to protect yourself the barriers went up, perhaps completely unconsciously, but now they have become a block. This block stops you from accessing the depths and expansiveness of your Heart.
You will know this is the case when you actually want to forgive someone and it causes you pain to be unable to do so. Despite everything there is still some part that can’t seem to let go, and it causes distress.

Quote on taking steps towards change by Fearne Cotton

“If you’re feeling the potential for a big life change on the horizon but still can’t quite take your first step off the diving board then, for now, take small considered steps. You don’t have to make great leaps from the get-go. Work out what you feel needs to change and make your choices around that. Decide which tiny stepping stones can set you in the right direction, but won’t feel like a shock to the system. If you know your inner happiness will improve with change, grab those choices by the horns and breathe into the unknown.”

– Fearne Cotton, Happy: Finding joy in every day and letting go of perfect (page 111)

If something ends…

If something ends because things didn’t work out as you hoped that doesn’t mean it was a waste of time.
Try to remember the good that was there; the experiences, the happier times. Then look to the lessons you have learned since.
Take both of these things – the memories and the lessons – and start on a new step forward. It wasn’t a waste of time, it was an experience, and a part of your life story.

(c) Michelle G, She Holds The Bowl, 2018

It’s okay… keep going

It’s okay to admit you got it wrong. It’s okay to admit you made a mistake, took too much on, tried to ‘run before you could walk’, or you just aren’t ready yet.

Sometimes we can charge ahead, feeling like we ‘need’ to do something or ‘should’ be making progress. But sometimes we also need to take a deliberate step back, take note, and accept its not what we need.

Taking a break

I’m going to be taking a break of at least a week across all my blogs. I want to prioritise self-care, get back to centre, and be present for all of the changes going on. I’m needing time to recouperate, re-balance, reconnect, reflect and reassess on a number of different levels. To do so I need to withdraw from a lot of external output so I can go within.

The reassessing will also extend to my various blogs. As I’m shifting, growing and changing my ideas and feelings about my blogs are doing the same. I’m not the same person I was 18 months, a year or even a month ago, and I need to reflect on that and see how I can translate it into my online presence and content.

I will be back, but until then: take care of yourselves, remember you have a right to self-care, and you are allowed to change, evolve and move into new things.

Michelle
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Self-care & Wellbeing Purchases – Agave plant & photo frame

I’m going to start sharing some of the things I have brought/ bring in to my life that contribute to my self-care and self-love practice, as well as my overall wellbeing.

For me plants are part of my self-care. I love watching how they grow and develop seasonally and year after year. Taking care of them reminds me to take care of myself too. I bought this little Agave at a local May fair, and found the pot a couple of days later in the local branch of Tiger Store.

The colours tie in just right with my Kwan Yin card (from Lindy Lawler), which I’ve had for some time. The card itself was getting all bent out of shape from being on my window sill, so I finally bought a frame for it. I notice it even more now, and the message – “Remember you shine with the brightness of a thousand suns” – is something that particularly speaks to me. Remembering to honour our heart and our gifts is important for self-care and self-love.

(c) Michelle G, She Holds The Bowl, 2018

When you stumble on the path or lose your way

Perhaps you stumbled or took a detour. Perhaps something cut you off, or you severed the link yourself…

There are times when most people struggle on their pathway, for one reason or another. The first step is to accept that you have become separated from it, and to look into the reasons it happened.
Some events are out of your control, and there’s no way you could have predicted them, but you do have a certain measure of control in your response. After the initial reaction (emotions, fears or feelings) it’s time to take a deep breath and assess.

Chronic illness: You are not your diagnosis, and you are worthy of love

This week is M.E. Awareness Week.

I write the following from the perspective of someone who has M.E., fibromyalgia, migraines and other conditions. I’ve had M.E. for around 15 years now, since I was 17. I have spent various times being bedbound and (mostly) housebound. I am currently (mostly) housebound, so I know what it’s like to have something take over your life, where it feels you have so little say in what you can do.
It can be hard to separate your view of yourself from the illnesses/ conditions, but it can be done. We are all individuals and chronic illness doesn’t change that. We might change as a result of these things but we are not our diagnosis.