I’ve been asking over on my Facebook page what stops people from loving their lives right now.
Obviously it’s tough times at the moment – crazy killer virus, lockdown, job stress and uncertainty, financial stress, future stress, the list goes on and on.
So what exactly is stopping you from loving life right now? Before you read on, answer the question for yourself.
No cheating!
I asked myself the same question. My answer wasn’t Covid-19 related.
What has been stopping me loving life over the past 8 months was the picture I had of what loving life looks like.
There’s sunshine and laughter and dancing and merriment and (rather crucially) energy.
Convalescence doesn’t fit with my picture of loving life.
Being the feeble, fragile, fatigued Victorian lady lying on her chaise longue isn’t my idea of loving life. (Although the chaise is totally in my ideal life picture, I love a chaise longue!)
Being too fatigued to see friends and family is not my idea of loving life.
Being done with the day (as in unable to physically do anything else) by 4pm is not my idea of loving life.
But do you know what? That’s what I’ve got. I’ve been convalescing. I’ve been rebuilding strength. I’ve been practicing patience, self-love and honouring my body’s messages.
And there is life to love.
My bedroom has been my sanctuary, my peaceful place, my restorative bolthole and I love it.
My family are wonderfully supportive, kind and generous. I love them.
My friends are caring and understanding, and I know that when I’m ready and able to get out more, and we’re allowed out, they’ll be there. I love them.
My business (which was neglected for 4 months last year) is still there, still entrancing and inspiring me as it has for many years. I love it.
My stress levels (a huge trigger for MS issues) are lower than ever (corona-pocalypse aside). I love that.
Finding time for meditation is a lot easier when you don’t actually have the energy to do anything else. I love that the prolonged downtime I was forced to have helped me to embed a daily habit I’ve wanted to create for years.
And boy, have I learned a lot about self-care, energy, joy and self-love in the past 6 months.
I knew I would as I was writing a book on it, so I knew life would show me what I needed to know to write that book.
I got to experience those foundations from the perspective of feeling dreadful and in desperate need of self-care, joy, energy, self-love, but with no energy to do much about it.
I love how much I’ve learned, and how much it has humbled me. This stuff is so easy when you feel good. When you feel bad (and most need it), it’s not.
I look forward to getting back to the ease, and writing about the difficulty.
I’m learning acceptance, surrender, patience as self-love.
Fuck me, that’s hard for me, but I love that I’m learning it!
MS (when I didn’t know I had MS) taught me about self-care, taught me to listen to my body (which led to listening to mind, heart and soul too).
MS today (20 years on) is teaching me to deepen that self-care and attention to my health, and to make it more important than anything else.
It is, if your health goes, everything else goes to shit!
I love that I’m learning that.
There’s so much to love.
Ok, it doesn’t look like the sparkly, glittering, dancing through the wild-flowers life (more like falling asleep in a field of poppies!), but this is what I’ve got right now.
And I am going to love it as much as I can.
Can you do the same? Your life now might not match the vision in your head of a life you love, but find what there is to love and love it with all your heart.
You don’t have to feel like you’re head over heels with life in every moment – aim first for more moments of loving life than you do currently.
Let it be easy to love a little more of life, even when life’s an absolute shambles, and you’re discombobulated, frightened, anxious and climbing the walls.
Life doesn’t often line up with our picture of what loving life should look like, so practice loving life anyway, perfection or no perfection!
And if you need some help with this, this is what I do – help people love their lives. Let’s have a coaching session. My gift to you. No catch. No pitch.
Just let’s help you love your life, because what delights me is to see people loving their lives. And you deserve to love your life no matter what’s going on.
Contact me to arrange your free session.
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