Y’all, the past couple of weeks have kicked my butt. I had an amazing vacation and within 48 hours of arriving home was terribly sick. I ended up with bronchitis and an ear infection that caused the eardrum in my right ear to collapse. Part of me wishes that I could say I have handled this all with grace and patience, but in truth, I’ve been exhausted, frustrated and grumpy. I’m human and this has been hard.
It is times like this I am most grateful for my yoga practice. It gives me that space to be human and allows me to simply experience my struggles with a less judgemental eye. It offers me the opportunity to observe myself and the way I am handling my struggles with a sense of compassion and curiosity. You see, if I can learn something about how I am showing up for myself while I am struggling, next time things get difficult, maybe I will be able to offer myself more space, more compassion and perhaps a new coping skill or two. And what happens when I give myself more space, more compassion and I learn new coping skills? Well then I can do a better job at showing up in the world with compassion and kindness for others.
You see, when life pushes us to turn inward, we aren’t being selfish by taking that time for ourselves – because the things we learn in that process can help us as we turn more outward facing again.
I would definitely encourage you to consider making the choice to turn inwards sometimes though… having a bout of bronchitis, an ear infection, and a collapsed ear drum forcing it on you is definitely not a preferred method.
Learning every day…
Cara