Hi,
Everyone.
And thanks for being here.
Thank you for joining me.
My name is Linda G.
Robert.
Today I want to talk about what happens when life suddenly changes our plans.
So maybe you have big dreams.
Perhaps you're.
Planning a trip and you're really looking forward to it.
Maybe it's a project.
That you've been working towards.
Something that you've been planning and thinking about like for months.
So imagine one of those,
Okay?
And in my case.
It was the Camino.
It was the coastal route from Porto to Finisterre.
So I had a plan.
And I had been preparing.
In fact,
For months,
I was looking forward to this experience and everything that I imagined it would bring to me.
And then,
Of course,
I had an accident.
And I injured my arms,
Both arms.
And suddenly the plan changed.
And I think that's one of those moments when life reminds us.
That we don't always get to decide for ourselves.
What happens next.
So at first,
There can be frustration.
There could be disappointment.
I experienced a lot of disappointment,
Maybe even a little anger.
You might even find yourself thinking,
Well,
This wasn't supposed to happen.
What am I going to do now?
Oh my goodness,
I'm going to have to cancel this,
Cancel that.
Oh.
Or you'll ask yourself,
When am I able to do this?
When was I,
Am I able to do the things that I wanted to do,
Right?
When am I ever going to be able to do it?
And of course,
All these questions are normal.
They're absolutely normal.
And eventually.
We have to stop fighting with the reality.
Because.
.
.
Our reality is different and it's not because we like it.
And it's not because we're giving up,
Because I am not giving up on my Camino.
But because accepting where we are allows us to take care of ourselves.
Exactly where we are now.
At this moment.
So for me,
My priorities suddenly changed.
It became very,
Very simple.
Rest.
And recover and take care of my body,
Take care of my arms and get through today.
And then,
When I'm ready.
.
.
Right,
I'll think about tomorrow.
And perhaps,
Perhaps that is one of the gifts of an unexpected interruption.
I want you to think,
What were the gifts of that unexpected interruption?
It brings us back to the very present moment.
So instead of thinking about everything we're going to do,
We begin asking,
What do I need right now?
What is important?
Today or in this very minute?
What is important?
What can wait?
And sometimes.
The answer is very simple.
You need to rest.
And when we're injured or when we're going through something unexpected.
We can be very impatient with ourselves.
We want to get back to what we used to do,
Get back to our normal.
We want our independence back.
I know I certainly did when I had my casts on for three days.
We want to do what we were doing before.
And we want to do it now.
But our bodies,
My arms.
Need time.
Our bodies might need time to recover.
And that's where,
Of course,
Self-compassion comes in.
So self-compassion means recognizing.
This is difficult.
My body.
Needs time to recover.
My arms need time to recover.
I don't have to do everything the way I did before.
Not now,
Anyways.
And perhaps.
More importantly.
I don't have to be frustrated with myself for needing to heal.
My reality is I need to heal.
So I'd like to take just a few moments to imagine something with me.
Know if you're comfortable.
Close your eyes,
But you can leave them open if you prefer that.
Take a slow breath in.
And gently breathing out.
Now imagine yourself standing beside a path.
And you don't have to walk this path at all.
You don't have to know.
Anything about the path.
You don't need to know where it leads.
You're simply standing there.
Breathing.
And you're allowing yourself.
To be exactly.
Where you are.
In this very moment.
Notice the path ahead.
There's no need to rush onto it.
You can take the time.
You need.
And quietly remind yourself.
I can take this one day at a time.
Now take another slow breath in.
And as you breathe out,
Let go of the need to have everything figured out.
When you're ready.
Gently open your eyes.
You know,
Life doesn't always follow the plan.
That we've planned.
Or the path that we've planned either.
But sometimes when the path changes,
We discover that we're capable of adapting in ways that we never expected.
So if you're going through an unexpected change right now,
Like what I am.
Be patient.
With yourself.
Give yourself permission.
To recover.
Give yourself permission to change your priorities.
It's okay.
And most importantly.
Give yourself permission to be exactly as you are.
Where you are.
Right now.
One day.
One breath.
And one step forward.
At a time.
That's what I'm having to do.
One day at a time.
I'll see you soon and thank you so much for being here.
