Stuck

Do you feel stuck in your grief? Do you sometimes feel like things will never be better than they are right now? Do you long for the way things were before your loss? Do you think you will never feel whole again or even feel better? Did you know that usually all these thoughts come from your monkey mind, what Eckhart Tolle calls “the voice in your head”? And I hear you say, “But I don’t want to feel this way! Why would I do this to myself?” And the answer is, you are letting that monkey mind run amuck.

That voice in our head is frequently like background music that is constantly running. And you can do something about it. First, recognize that it is there and that basically it’s just trying to help. So I invite you to take a moment right now to listen to what it is telling you. You may be having a bad day and feel alone. Your monkey mind may be saying something like “Oh, poor me. I am so alone and being alone makes me feel so bad.  All I want to do is cry even though I know that doesn’t help.” So let’s take a look at what she said from the perspective of this very moment. First, are you “poor”? Probably not. You have a home to live in, food to eat, and some friends and family. Next, right now do you have to be alone? In this moment, can you decide to take some flowers from your yard to a neighbor? Or you could email a friend. Or you could send a note of support to someone. So right there are 3 different people you can be in contact with so that you are not alone. And next, do you really feel bad? If you do feel bad, make a list of 10 things that make you feel good, then start doing them. You will be too busy to feel bad. And the last thing she said was about crying. If you do feel like crying, cry, right now. If you can’t just cry at this moment, maybe you don’t really need to. And if you do cry at this moment, cry it out. The tears can wash away what has been building up, and when you are done, you can have a fresh start in this moment.

Now it’s time to make friends with that monkey mind. Decide to work together toward your good. Thank your monkey mind and give it some love. As with any relationship, nurturing it will make it stronger and allow more joy in your life.

When you get those stuck feelings, pay attention. Write the feelings down and examine if they are true. If they aren’t true, let them go. If they are true, now you can go about healing or fixing, or whatever you need to do to make things better. The key is to live only in truth and to take good care of yourself. Fully embrace yourself with love.