Hi friend,
Sophia here for Insight Timer.
Welcome.
So you're feeling lonely?
That's okay.
I do too sometimes.
We've all recently been exposed to disconnection,
Maybe some rejection,
Illness and distance.
This is something everyone experiences in life at some point.
We are after all social animals like the pigeons who mate for life or otters that hold hands to stop from drifting apart.
One of our primal needs and habits is socialising.
It can be a confusing and disarming feeling that often leaves you stifled or frozen.
But there are a few things to help widen the perspective and quieten any automatic mental processes that can perhaps make things worse,
Especially when we're alone.
This can be done as a meditation,
But most of these exercises require visual stimuli.
So it can be done in a cafe,
A park or at your desk.
So if you're ready,
Let's begin.
The first step is to list with a pen and paper all the people in your life.
From the butcher to your sister,
Anyone in your life who may recognise you on the street.
A pen pal,
A fellow dog walker in the park,
A neighbour,
Your postman,
A work colleague,
Anyone and everyone.
Once you've listed everyone you can think of,
First take a minute to send some gratitude to them.
Maybe they serve you amazing coffee.
Maybe they're great listeners.
Or maybe they simply make you smile from time to time.
However big,
However small.
Finding ways in which they can delight you.
The next step is to write down all the ways in which they may have affected their lives.
Maybe from time to time you make them smile.
Maybe you serve them amazing coffee.
Maybe you're polite to them.
Whatever it is,
However big,
However small.
I think you'll be surprised just how much you write down here.
You see,
Any positivity you send out to people you encourage another person to do the same.
Like ripples on a pond,
The effect spreads.
And what we're doing here is really an expression of self-love,
Self-compassion and self-realisation.
Realising that we do matter.
Silence can bring thoughts to the mind that are harming.
Things like,
I don't matter,
I'm not enough,
No one likes me.
But it's very important to remember these aren't actual facts.
And in fact,
If you make your lists and were to appear in a court of law to present evidence for and against you not being important,
I think the jury would rule unanimously that you are very important to many people based on the evidence.
Only sometimes we forget.
And that's okay.
I hope you enjoy making these lists.
Join me on Insight Timer for part two of this course.
I'll see you there.
Thanks for listening.
