I'm sorry to hear you're not having a great day today.
Days like this really have the potential of knocking us back and if that's anything close to what you're feeling right now,
I'm not going to sit here and tell you just to let it go and move on and breathe your way out of this trying day with a smile.
Instead I want you to take this time with me now to give yourself the space to allow yourself to feel this day,
To notice the emotions that are present so you can get clearer on exactly what it is that's making you feel like your day hasn't gone the way you would have liked.
Now you might be thinking I already know what went wrong with my day but you'd be surprised at what can come up when you actually give yourself the space to be with your emotions,
For each one to get their turn to speak.
Sometimes it can turn out that something we thought wasn't affecting us is actually the root cause,
It's just the emotions attached to it weren't as loud as the others.
So first let's take a few deep breaths together,
Just to help centre our minds so we can tap into our emotions,
To this knowledge that our bodies are trying to share with us.
Starting now with a slow deep inhale,
Filling your lungs up with as much air as you can,
Then releasing it all with a slow steady exhale.
And again,
Inhaling deeply,
Feeling your chest rise as your lungs expand as it drinks in this cool re-energising air,
And exhaling slowly,
Steadily,
Breathing out the old stale energy that does not serve you anymore.
One last time,
Bringing your full focus to that rising sensation of your chest and the relaxing of your body with your exhale.
The emotions you feel throughout your day,
That's got you feeling as you are about yours right now,
Aren't there to validate your opinions or thoughts about why your day hasn't gone the way you wanted to,
Or to perpetuate critical self-talk about it.
Our emotions are useful tools,
Superpowers even,
Acting as internal compasses to point us toward the things within us that need addressing,
Nurturing,
Healing,
Getting us to ask ourselves Why?
Why are we feeling like this?
What's caused us to feel this way?
Then,
Whatever answer arises from this,
Now having something in which to work from,
To do something about,
Rather than just being lost in the whirlpool of feeling.
So I want you to take some time now to contemplate,
To listen to your body and identify the emotions that arise when you think about your day today.
When you notice one,
Don't give it your full attention,
Simply note its presence,
Then move on to identifying if any others are there.
So,
What emotions arise within you when you think about how your day went today?
If you found yourself being dragged or are trying to be dragged into one particular emotion,
Recenter yourself now with a deep breath and a slow steady releasing exhale,
Confidently knowing you found the strongest and most prevalent emotion that needs working with first in the next part of this exercise,
Where we're going to be asking ourselves Why?
Why do we feel like this about our day?
Again,
As you do so,
Don't allow yourself to be sucked into the complexities of the things that contributed to you feeling this way,
Simply just noting why you feel this way.
For example,
Say you're feeling disheartened about your day and when you ask yourself why,
It's because something went wrong at work.
If your mind starts to replay this event,
Starts to lead you down into a spiraling thought process about it,
Take a step back,
Breathe,
Taking a deep inhale and exhale,
And bring your focus back to the simple,
Overall explanation of why you feel this way.
The how's,
The what's,
The who's are irrelevant,
That's not our focus right now.
Just take this time now to listen to what this emotion is pointing you toward,
Asking it why it's there.
Well done,
I know that won't have been easy.
Working with our emotions in such a way can take a little time and practice to get used to,
So please don't be discouraged if trying to do this last exercise was difficult.
The fact that you're trying,
That you're actually trying to do something to healthily work through this day is one heck of an accomplishment in itself.
The more you work with your emotions like this,
The easier it will become to listen and understand objectively.
As we're swept up in the happenings of our day,
Often times it can seem like we have zero control over what's going on,
And whilst in some respects this is true,
We can't stop the things that happen from happening to us,
We can control however,
How it affects us.
Whether we allow these things to take from us,
Be it time in obsessing over what they said,
Self-esteem,
Or the potential for anything else good to appear in your day from allowing it to warp your thinking patterns and perceptions into a spiralling negativity,
Or whether you let that situation gift you something instead.
So,
Our next step is to decide what we're going to do about it,
If we want to do anything about it,
But being comfortable and accepting in the knowledge that for whichever we decide,
It is our choice to do so,
No one else's.
Either way,
You're taking the power,
The control away from the situation over you,
And are making the conscious decision yourself as to whether you want to change it,
Or simply be with it.
Only you know which of these is what you need,
And if you're sat there thinking,
But what if I choose wrong?
What if what I decide to do doesn't help me but makes things worse?
If what you decide does end up exacerbating the situation even more negatively,
It isn't a sign or an opportunity of validation that you're hopeless,
Incapable of helping yourself,
Or you're deserving of feeling so badly.
What it is,
However,
Is a confirmation that this is not what you need right now,
And that you need to approach your situation differently.
Nothing more.
So start thinking about what it is you need right now.
What is the best course of action for you to take that's going to help you address this situation?
Will it be to do something that helps shift your energy,
Or to allow yourself the space to healthily be with your current energy?
And how will you do this?
Okay,
Now,
Whatever you thought of,
Go do it.
If you can't immediately after this meditation has ended,
Make a note,
Physical or mental,
Or both,
To carve out some time later in your day to do so.
You,
Your body,
Your brain,
Your day,
And your life will thank you for it.
And I want to thank you for doing this meditation for yourself today.
I hope it helps you through the rest of your day,
And every day henceforth,
To understand that even though you might not have control over the things that happen in them,
You are not a victim to them.
You have the power within you to decide what they do to you.
Whether they build you up or tear you down.
And if they do tear you down,
You also have the ability,
The knowledge,
And the strength within you to turn it into a situation that serves you for the greater good.
From my heart to yours,
As always,
Namaste.
