Welcome to this meditation.
When rejection hurts.
I'm glad you're here.
Perhaps.
Something has happened today.
Let us lift you,
Feeling hurt.
Perhaps someone hasn't replied to your message.
Perhaps somebody's words have stayed with you long after the conversation ended.
Perhaps you've noticed a change in someone's behavior.
And now you're wondering whether you've done something wrong.
Or perhaps you can't quite put your finger on what's happened.
You simply have this painful feeling that something isn't right.
Whatever brought you here,
Let's take a few minutes together.
You don't have to work anything out just now.
You don't have to explain yourself.
And you don't have to pretend that you're okay when you're not.
Let's just begin where you are.
To find a comfortable position.
You can sit or lie down,
Whichever feels best for you today.
If you'd like to close your eyes,
You can.
Or you can leave them open and allow your gaze to soften and rest somewhere comfortable.
Take a moment to notice the surface supporting you.
Perhaps you can feel your feet against the floor.
Or your body resting against a chair or bed.
There's nothing special you need to do.
Just arrive here as you are.
Now notice your breathing.
You don't need to change it.
Simply notice the air coming in.
And going out.
Perhaps your breathing is a little quicker than usual.
Perhaps there's tension somewhere in your body.
Perhaps you feel restless or you can't quite settle.
But that's okay.
You don't have to force yourself to relax.
For now,
We're simply making a little space for whatever you're experiencing.
When we feel rejected,
The pain can sometimes arrive very quickly.
One moment,
We're going about our day.
And the next,
We're questioning ourselves.
Did I say something wrong?
Have I upset them?
Do they still want me in their life?
Have I somehow become too much?
And sometimes those questions seem to take over everything else.
If that is happening to you.
I want you to know that you don't have to feel ashamed of being hurt.
Something has touched a sensitive place.
And right now,
That feeling deserves kindness.
Not criticism.
You don't need to tell yourself that it shouldn't matter.
You don't need to pretend that you're not bothered.
You don't need to judge yourself for caring about someone else's opinion.
Relationships matter to us.
Being understood matters to us.
Feeling that we belong matters to us.
It is human to want those things.
So for a moment,
Let yourself acknowledge what you're feeling.
Perhaps it's sadness.
Perhaps it's embarrassment,
Anger,
Fear,
Or disappointment.
Or perhaps it's a mixture of several things.
You don't need to find the perfect word.
Just notice what's there.
And if you find that difficult,
You can simply acknowledge something hurts right now.
And that's enough.
Now,
If it feels comfortable,
Bring your attention back to the support beneath your body.
Feel the ground.
Beneath your feet.
Notice your hands.
Notice the gentle movement of your breathing.
You might like to let your shoulders soften a little.
Or allow your hands to rest more loosely.
There's no need to force anything.
We're not trying to make the feeling disappear.
We're simply giving you something else to notice alongside the pain.
And now there's something I'd like you to remember.
Feeling rejected.
And knowing that you have been rejected are not necessarily the same thing.
Sometimes we are really rejected.
Sometimes someone's disappointed with us or our relationship changes.
And sometimes we don't yet know what has happened.
When we're hurting,
It can be difficult to leave that uncertainty open.
Our minds may try to find an answer as quickly as possible.
But you don't have to decide what everything means in this moment.
You can allow yourself to feel what you feel without reaching a final conclusion about the situation.
Perhaps you can gently say to yourself,
I feel hurt right now.
I don't have to judge myself for that.
And I don't have to work everything out just yet.
Let those words settle for a moment.
You don't have to believe them perfectly.
You don't have to make the feelings go away.
Just give yourself permission to consider them.
If there's something you need to address,
You can come back to it later.
You can have that conversation.
You can ask a question.
You can decide what you want to do.
You can take whatever steps feel right when you have a little more space to think.
But you don't have to do it all.
Right now.
For these few moments,
You can simply take care of yourself.
Take a comfortable breath in.
And let it go.
Notice the support beneath you.
Notice the space around you.
And remember that this moment However painful is only one moment in your life.
It doesn't define your worth.
It doesn't erase everything that is good about you.
And it doesn't tell the whole story of who you are.
Before we finish.
I'd like to leave you with a few words.
You can listen to them or quietly repeat them to yourself if you'd like.
I can acknowledge that I'm hurting.
I can give myself kindness.
I don't have to know all the answers right now.
I can take my time.
Take one more comfortable breath in.
And let it out.
And then bring your attention back to the room around you.
And when you're ready.
.
.
You can open your eyes or lift your gaze.
There's no need to rush.
Take a moment before returning to whatever comes next.
And remember.
You don't have to punish yourself for being hurt.
Be gentle with yourself.
And thank you for spending these few minutes with me.
Till next time.
