regimen, no special vitamins or has a easy, privilidged life. She is living a “normal” life aka, going to school,
working, dreaming and doing her best to be a present and compassionate friend, daughter and sister.
She does not have it “all together” and we were laughing about how funny it is to us at this point that we
believe that is even possible. We joked, “oh there is that pattern again” when “we” catch ourselves, laying
in bed not sleeping, obsessing about not knowing what we will be doing with our lives next year and doing
our best to remember we cannot “think” the answer into existence while still holding out that we can anyway.
The importance of sharing this story is that she is flourishing not because she doesn’t get tripped up by worry,
insecurity, comparing or wanting to control how others relate/see her. It’s that she now trusts that she has her whole body, mind and heart’s wisdom to rely on to help guide her and bring her back to presence from what
beliefs or behaviors are draining physical, mental, emotional or spiritual health.
Her eating problems and recovery taught her about the importance of radical self-compassion, keeping boundaries and trusting that her body is where it needs to be when she stays
attuned to its food and movement needs. These skills learned from recovery are carried over to the rest of life.
Just as she has been willing to step into an alternate paradigm on food and weight (from dieting to
attuned eating; thin is ideal to all shapes fit/are acceptable; health is dependent on size to health is
supported by self-care), she now can use this self-care model to see what in life may be draining her and what she really needs to be in alignment.
So how do you know if you are being drained of energy and not flourishing?
How do you Feel when you think about what you are thinking about is the first start.
What are some of your energy drains?
Some of mine are:
Checking my phone every 2 minutes
Thinking that I can do 3 things at once and expecting myself to do then all very well
Not allowing for vulnerability
Clutter
Really crowded places (think Disney)
Complaining people around me that don’t see that it’s not helping (including myself)
Not keeping boundaries/Being a victim
Not joyfully moving as my body requests
And how did I know this? It’s the same thing we do to know how hungry and full we are. We check
in again and again.
First we fully feel the feelings to not avoid them then we can act in alignment from a place of more
wisdom instead of trying to use our minds to solve an unfelt pattern or emotion.
It is like eating based on the clock (unless there is a mechanical eating reason to do so) when your body
is hungry before noon gets there.
Your invitation for this week is this:
Along with checking in with your hunger and fullness each meal, take 30 min at least one time this week and
check in with what in your week was nourishing to you and what interferes with your flourishing, such as
obsessing, staying busy with little balance, etc.
Would love to hear what you notice and what would need to shift in you to unblock the flow of your energy so that you could flourish more. If you are curious about how Emotional Connection Facilitating work could help you with this process email me at tracybrownrd@gmail.com and we can chat how using the power of your emotions can help you free yourself from stories and patterns that keep you stuck.
Have a great rest of your week!
Tracy
I love this: what would need to shift in you to unblock the flow of your energy so that you could flourish more? Not something I often think about. “Self-care” can sound so vague…but nourishing and flourishing are words that resonate with me. Thank you!