How do we put into words just how hard this year has been for people all over our beautiful world?
Words fail me, as this year has been experienced in feelings and impossible to explain.
Feelings that are valid and must be respected and felt.
We have felt, grateful, lonely, reconnected, frustrated, calm, angry, peaceful, grief, pain, joy, happiness, sorrow, and hope. All of them, in all the colours and the moods they have enveloped us all.
We need to sit with our feelings to validate them and so that they don't stay buried or cause us to feel stuck. Acknowledge them, do not judge them, or sink too deeply into them.
Then we can heal, learn, grow, and move onto faith, hope, and joy.
This is life in all its ups and downs.
All the sad stories and all the ones of communities coming together.
Tales of loss and tales of woe.
Tales of hope and tales of positivity.
Tales of appalling injustice and tales of hopeful change.
They have all moved me.
I thank you for your continued support and patience over the past year. For bearing with me in the pauses and returning in between to allow me to me be able to support you in person. Or via the numerous way we all can stay connected now, Instagram, Facebook, phone calls, social distance walks, zoom whatever your preference, connection is so important. Without support we can feel lost and alone. I am grateful that I have amazing friends, family, and an amazing partner that I rarely talk about, but he is there, by my side, all the way. I have meditation and mindful techniques to sooth my mind and caress my emotions. Nature has been my saviour and lifted my spirits, given me lesson after lesson. I will continue my connection with Gaia from now until I breathe my last breath.
We have all experienced such a journey this year and this needs to be acknowledged, so we are able to transition and move forwards…
I have been touched by the most tragic loss this year. A beautiful soul has left us as her own pain was too great to bear. As an advocate of mental health, I am more determined than ever to strive towards a day when we all feel we can talk openly about our mental health and wellbeing. A time when we can ask for help and support, without shame or embarrassment.
My favourite mantra that has supported me throughout this year is “This too shall pass”
Support is out there for our mental wellbeing. Be that in the form of counselling, other therapies, walking in nature, connecting with our feelings, and gaining some perspective and acceptance through meditation, gardening, cooking, exercising, or crafting. Whatever your choice of support is, embrace it, bring it into your life as much as you need to and make it a priority. Let us talk about mental heath and normalise the conversation to enable us to share our wisdom and support each other.
I was told I have a tear in an artery this year. Whilst this has been a shock and a lesson in patience and surrender, I have been able to see how lucky I was. Rather than sinking deep into what could happen, I feel grateful the tear was found and am hopefully, on the way to healing and recovery. I am in touch with my body and my feelings and therefore have been able to work through this. I am not sharing this for sympathy, rather an example of how we can shift fear into hope.
Patience and surrender have been so key this year for us all. Things have been out of our control and when this happens fear can take over, so I congratulate you on getting this far, you are amazing and so worthy of an abundance of peace and love. Surrender to what will be and allow your heart to be open to all kinds of things that are around you right now.
So, I say to you,
Feel all your feelings.
Know they are valid.
Rest, rest, and rest some more.
Then sit up straight and breathe in the fresh air we are blessed to have.
Have gratitude in your heart, every day.
My utmost respect and love to those we have lost along the way, and those left mourning their passing.
With so much love and compassion,
Karen.
