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Have you ever felt that kind of sadness where only slowing down and truly listening to yourself could reveal the heart of your sorrow? Or, found yourself enjoying sad tears while listening to a song or watching a movie?
I felt this way leading up to the holiday season, which is odd because I ended up having a really brilliant time. I think it was because of this sadness tugging at my consciousness, leading me down, down, down…until I became quite still.
A message was echoing out from the core of my being to the forefront of my mind: “Listen fully to this feeling… make your actions follow your knowing. No short cuts. No not listening. No distractions or excuses. Just rigorous self-honesty.”
When I heard/felt this, I knew exactly what it meant. What my inner voice was telling me had to do with my relationship to myself.
It was pointing to the shortcuts I take in my relationship to myself. No one can call me out on this because no one else is present to how I interact with myself. I am not abusive, I am not unkind. I listen a great deal to myself and yet I have been remiss in living my life from a place of depth and connection, instead I kind of check-in (ish) and carry on.
The rigorous self-honesty is saying:” If you want to feel really nourished and fulfilled then take the time to make decisions, consider your own feelings and take the time to feel your feelings, even the sad ones. Take stock of what is true for you at any given moment.”
This simple guidance allowed me to discard layers of to-do lists, drop fears about who to invite or not invite to dinner parties and so on and connect to what I wanted to feel during the holidays: peace and appreciation of the people in my life.
Being around people gives me great joy, so I spent my time enjoying people versus worrying about the table settings. I invested in experiences and loved ones over rituals and things that soon lose their shine.
And that led to more breathing space, more connection during gatherings and a lovely feeling of a full heart.
If you find yourself feeling sad or would like to explore how rigorous self-honesty could transform your life, let’s talk. Click here for your FREE Discovery Session with me and we’ll start the year filled with clarity and action steps.