Permission to Slow Down, Permission to Feel

Hi Sweet Beans! Happy November!

With the holiday season approaching things can feel hectic, and almost as if there is a certain societal pressure that we have to rush to get everything "done", before the end of year. As if when we start a new year we magically get to hit a reset button? Or the things that were taking up our energy just vanish when we enter a new year? As much as we would all love to have that seemingly never-ending "to-do" list pile vanish at simply a press of a button, it's not realistic to try to rush our way there.

So during this winter season, can we allow ourselves the permission to slow down, instead of speed up? Can we give ourselves the permission to FEEL, rather than avoiding sensation or emotion?

The permission to slow down, the permission to feel.

So often when unpleasant or uncomfortable emotions or sensations arise, our automatic response is to immediately dismiss or ignore, to want an immediate fix. Because society as we see it now has been built around this condition of pushing through illness, continuing to work, to numb, to avoid, to cover up, to find a quick fix - all because being with those difficult or uncomfortable emotions, sensations can sometimes be "too much". Which in turn can tell us that we are "too much", so when someone asks "how are you?" our automatic response is "I'm fine" when in actually you may be going through a lot, and maybe you aren't simply "fine" but the response given is one to appease the other party, to stay passive, to stay neutral, to not be "too much".

So, we work to give ourselves the permission to slow down, to answer honestly, to allow ourselves to feel, to sit with the discomfort. Because sometimes the only way to truly and deeply heal is to feel through it.