Monday Motivation #117
Happy Monday!
Let’s dive right in today and talk about comfort.
It’s so useful to enjoy quiet moments where we can focus on the breath and our senses and sit in the present. It’s in these moments where we can find clarity, confidence, and regain our sense of comfort. But how do we return to comfort while in a moment that brings us discomfort?
Maybe it’s during a team meeting at work, or a social gathering where you only know the host. Maybe you’re volunteering at a busy event. Or maybe it’s simply the grocery store on a day you just don’t feel like facing the world.
In those moments, when discomfort may attempt to rule the show, how do we return to our peace?
I was recently at a school event and found myself quite overwhelmed. There was nothing particularly stressful happening. I just noticed my body responding to tension. When I confided in a friend, they shared that they had worked the event the day before and afterwards sat in a dark room to decompress. I applauded their wisdom and pictured myself at the end of the day, embracing a quiet moment in the dark, releasing all the stimulus I was responding to in that moment. Unfortunately there were still many hours ahead and no dark room available to take a time-out. But just envisioning it loosened my grip just a bit and I embraced the opportunity to connect with the breath.
Deep and intentional breath in…
and out.
That was all I had time for before the next wave of attendees flooded the event, but it was enough to help me regain my footing and embrace the crowd. And throughout the day, each time I felt myself tensing, I’d remember the room. I’d take myself there for a moment to let go, reconnect with my breath, and begin again.
Many of us race throughout our day, far from a dark, quiet space where we can decompress. Maybe we only arrive at that space in the evening when we’re too exhausted to even remember to enjoy it. Maybe we’re even in the habit of filling that dark with the blue light from screens and stimulus of the scroll. Maybe we even resist the silence – fearful of the thoughts and feelings that may come flooding in.
But just like the peace we thought about last week’s newsletter, each time we return to the quiet, things become a bit more familiar. We learn to trust the dark – not fear it. We know it to be a safe space where we can regain control and return to comfort.
I know it’s not always easy, especially in stressful moments, to find a place of comfort. It takes practice to even trust one is there. But it is. It’s that sacred space within that you curate everytime you return to the breath. It’s the one we cultivate in our meditations like this one.⬇️
It’s like our own little cocoon that no one else can enter – always available for us when we need to reset.
So next time you’re feeling a bit overwhelmed, give yourself the permission to pause. Maybe even close your eyes for just a moment. Picture yourself in a softly lit room – cozy and quiet – away from the world. Take in the breath and let it out with a smile. You may notice a bit of stress melt away. Embrace that release and enjoy the space it creates. Remind yourself it will be there to return to whenever you need it. Set the intention to remember. And let your inner wisdom be your guide.
Thank you to my friend for inspiring today’s insight. And thank you to you, my lovely reader, for accepting this invitation to cultivate your own place of comfort within. If you’re interested in practicing together, I’ll be cohosting a short meditation tomorrow Live on Instagram at 11 am EST. Join us if you can or watch the replay. We’ll practice together cultivating the space within. I hope to see you there.
Have a beautiful day and a beautiful week. Safe travels if you are off on an adventure – and if you’re not – may you find a new place of comfort in what is familiar.
Much love!
Bye for now.
❤️