I’m not talking about voice mail messages, or email messages. I am referring to pain in our bodies that can be physical but are often emotional.
Whenever we are in pain, we are quick to self-medicate. We want the pain to go away…QUICKLY!
We don’t want to deal with it.
A friend of mine, going through a painful breakup said that she was ready to be over it. “Over what?” I inquired?
THE PAIN! I didn’t sign up for this!
Just as a headache might indicate that we are hungry or stressed out, emotional pain bears messages too! Writer Madisyn Taylor says…
Emotional pain provides us with valuable information about the state of our psyche, letting us know that we have been affected by something and that we would do well to focus our awareness inward.
Except we don’t like that inward stuff do we?
So what happens instead?
Well…when we ignore for long enough…we can become so detached and disconnected that we can no longer find ourselves. We have over-given, over-extended in a rush to get external approval, gratitude, and agreement all the while ignoring the messages in our body.
This is a very scary place to be.
You might be depressed, anxious, nervous, and all of it feels as if you are stuck. Unable to move forward or make sense out of nonsense.
Perhaps it’s time that you return to self. Get reacquainted. Take your time. Reconsider what you like…what you want for yourself. It’s OK to be selfish. Go on….BE SELFISH! Write it all down. Take yourself for a walk. Take yourself out to dinner and listen. Listen while you are on the throne. Listen while taking a shower. Listen as you lay yourself down to sleep. Listen past the familiar chatter and pitter patter of recycled thoughts running through your mind. Listen when your breathing slows down from anxious gasps to a steady rise and fall of your chest.
And don’t do this on a timer. This is not to be rushed. There is no specific start and end time. It’s different for everyone. Just follow the clues…the insight…the a-has!
Just don’t ignore the messages.
Save yourself!
Your expertise is your business! 