Re-connect and Ignite
“This above all: to thine own self be true”
Many of us have more time on our hands during this period of lock down in the UK and may be feeling stressed, anxious and frankly, a little lost. As the frenzy of modern life is halted we may feel the pull to embrace interests and passions long cast aside, and to reconnect with our true selves. With many external distractions stripped away you might feel like you’re raising your head from the slumber of homogeneity and wondering “how the hell did I get here?” Never has there been a better time to take time to reflect on and sit quietly with oneself as now.
In this first day of our holistic glow up, I invite you to take this journey of self re-discovery, to meditate, reflect and implement changes that will, when this current craziness is over, re-ignite the essence that is uniquely you, and you alone.
Find yourself an empty notebook that you can dedicate to your journey, it doesn’t have to be fancy it’s what you place in it that matters. On the very first page write something that you have read that has resonated with your soul. It could be a poem, a line from a novel or film, a mantra or words of wisdom passed to you from a loved one. It doesn’t matter what it is as long as it touches you.
If you are a visual person you could if you wish select an image instead, this could be a painting, a place or photograph that reminds you of a time when you felt most connected to yourself. Equally, there’s nothing to stop you adding both written word and imagery. In fact I encourage to make this journal incredibly personal throughout.
When you have a quiet moment to yourself I invite you to recall:
1. What were you passionate about at in your late teens and early 20s?
2. What was it about that thing that put fire in your belly
3. Does it still resonate with you now or do you feel it was a childish fancy that you simply outgrew.
4. What are you passionate about now? Is it related -even tangentially- to the passion of your younger days, if ‘yes’ think about how, and if no ‘think about how they differ, are they indicative of growth, stagnation or apathy?
Find a quiet place and meditate on these questions, remember what it feels like to be ignited and driven by a passion. Tap into the concomitant emotions and then just sit with them for a while. Take a few minutes at the end of your practice to note down in your journal the answers. Remember, this is your journal you can keep your answers as long or as short as you like.
We can, I acknowledge have been a bit idealistic and fanciful in our younger days, but you can’t deny how great that vigour and passion was. We felt like we could change the world…….. and so you can now in your own way.
I’d like to close today’s post with the wonderful and very poignant words of Walt Whitman:
The untold want life and land ne’er granted,
Now voyager sail thou forth to seek and find.
Image Credit: Photo by Carolyn V on Unsplash