5 step sacred ‘go bag’
How do we serve our tender hearts and find joy during the holiday season?
As you share your time with family and friends, you may find you get entangled in a net of negativity likely fed by stress, crappy past experiences and worry, not to mention financial challenges, health issues, patterned relationships, the need to please, there is a lot! It can all weigh heavy on your soul. But what if you create a toolkit you can take with you, wherever the season takes you?
Here’s my 5 step ‘go bag’ for surviving the remnants of 2023 and bringing some cherished memories into the New Year.
Step Zero: Find your imagination…. What if you were able to imagine and experience the many positive memories you will create this year? Imagine the greetings being heartfelt, see yourself with your loved ones laughing and having fun. Feel the moments of delicious food and meaningful conversation weaving through your senses and into your minds eye. Instead of armoring up to prepare for battle, expecting everything that could go wrong; choose to embody and imagine all that could go well!
Step One: Find the bathroom…. Why is this important? If I could predict the moment I would become emotionally hijacked or overwhelmed, chances are I would be able to avoid the circumstances of it entirely. The reality is, I do not know when I will be overrun with emotion. I personally use these moments to excuse myself and find the nearest restroom where I know I will be left alone and allow myself to perform the following steps.
Step Two: Find your breath…. Any breathing pattern will do. Focusing on the exhale is a primary contributor to being able to transition from a sympathetic place of fight, flight, freeze or fawn and transition to the parasympathetic space of rest digest repair. Slow inhales and exhales through the nose, square breathing (4 second inhale, 4 second hold, 4 second exhale, 4 second hold and repeat), 2 inhales to one slow exhale (inhale into the belly, inhale into the chest and a slow exhale or letting go of the breath and repeat). Any of these breathing patterns will allow you a space to feel your body, move away from reaction and towards a place of response.
Step Three: Find yourself…. Look into your own eyes and really see yourself. Ask questions that allow you to check back in with what is important to you. Who you want to be in the world and how you want to interact with the world around you? ‘What do I want to be remembered for? What do I want people to feel in my presence? How can I be more present? How can I become a better listener and practice greater compassion?’
Step Four: Find gratitude… Bathe yourself in all the many things, the people, and places you currently have in your life to be thankful for. Actually feel the gratitude in your body, the sights, sounds, smells and tastes of the moments you cherish, the people you love and who love you, and all the things you have that you may be taking for granted. What is it like if you see all of these moments as a gift instead of an obstacle?
Step Five: Find your mantra…. After you are safe in the bathroom, you’ve found your breath, your body and your mind, choose to empower yourself with a mantra that brings you back to your alignment with who you feel called to be. ‘I am a sacred vessel of life’ ‘I choose to be vulnerable and share my heart fully’ ‘Every moment is an opportunity for growth’ ‘I embrace my mess as I transform it into my message’ ‘I am love, I am light, I am life’.
The best things in life really are free, but that doesn’t mean they are easy. Can you put yourself back into the drivers seat of your life and become the voice of truth, of love and of peace even in challenging times? Dig deep, the world needs you…you need you!
