Thank you for these reflections and questions to consider... I definitely think a big one for me is pausing and connecting to myself before going on my phone, checking emails, starting work etc. I just find it so hard to prioritise stillness, slowness, reflection, time to meditate, all the stuff I wish I could do but the call of the to-do list, productivity, household chores etc is always so loud, especially when my childcare days are so short. If I spend my day rushing around, I feel rubbish but if I take things slow, my inner critic gets angry, so I feel stuck between a rock and a hard place sometimes!
Hmmm what I hear you saying is there is a distinction in your body when you rush and when you slow down. What does your inner critic have to say when you move slower? What do you notice in your body when she talks with you?
I think the biggest thing is around not feeling safe slowing down. So my inner critic panics and says I’m lazy, indulgent etc but actually this part is frightened because slowness doesn’t feel safe. So I’ve come to realise I can’t ‘force’ myself to relax and slow down, but I am still figuring out how to gently be with what is, and how I can gradually build trust and, I guess, tolerance to doing less, slowly, each day x
Yes, I hear you. You can’t force your nervous system into feeling safe in the slowness, it can only happen in time with short, little increments of slowness.
Thank you for these reflections and questions to consider... I definitely think a big one for me is pausing and connecting to myself before going on my phone, checking emails, starting work etc. I just find it so hard to prioritise stillness, slowness, reflection, time to meditate, all the stuff I wish I could do but the call of the to-do list, productivity, household chores etc is always so loud, especially when my childcare days are so short. If I spend my day rushing around, I feel rubbish but if I take things slow, my inner critic gets angry, so I feel stuck between a rock and a hard place sometimes!
Hmmm what I hear you saying is there is a distinction in your body when you rush and when you slow down. What does your inner critic have to say when you move slower? What do you notice in your body when she talks with you?
I think the biggest thing is around not feeling safe slowing down. So my inner critic panics and says I’m lazy, indulgent etc but actually this part is frightened because slowness doesn’t feel safe. So I’ve come to realise I can’t ‘force’ myself to relax and slow down, but I am still figuring out how to gently be with what is, and how I can gradually build trust and, I guess, tolerance to doing less, slowly, each day x
Yes, I hear you. You can’t force your nervous system into feeling safe in the slowness, it can only happen in time with short, little increments of slowness.