You Don’t Need to Fix Yourself to Be Enough
Aum
Dear Beautiful People,
Are you going through something difficult? Maybe carrying some regret, shame, or heartache or feel you let yourself down? Maybe you messed up or hurt somehow close to you or you made a mistake and you don't know how to fix it? Then this message will resonate with you.
It's in these deep, dark, and disparaging moments what we need most is compassion from ourselves. Too often we beat ourselves up or tear ourselves down. But this is when you need to care for yourself the way you would for a friend. We often associate self care with indulging in some guilty pleasures, or spending on some luxurious item. And they can comfort us and distract us momentarily. But the doubts, the fears, the anxieties inevitably return.
The real road to recovery is choosing to sit with your pain rather than running away from it or suppressing it. Be with your pain not to punish yourself but to understand the source of the pain and resolve it. Be with yourself with kindness and compassion instead of judgment or criticism.
We hold ourselves to impossible standards and punish ourselves for falling short of them. Just because you feel like a failure right now or lost something dear to you doesn't mean that this situation is going to define you forever. Your worth was never based on your performance or your possessions. You were never meant to be perfect, just human. We all go through dark times in our lives. It is easy to love ourselves when we get it all together but loving ourselves when we feel like we are falling apart -that is where the real work is. That is where the healing happens.
So what does that process look like?
It starts with allowing yourself to break down and cry - it means not having to fix anything right away. Allow everything to be just as it is for the time being. Allow yourself time to rest and recuperate. And use this time to reclaim your body and mind gently and compassionately. Treat your body as a temple that houses your soul and incorporate healing rituals into your daily routine (Karma Yoga). Simultaneously, take back control of your mind by some form of devotional practice (such as mantra chanting and/or devotional hymns) to a form of God or Higher Power you are accustomed to (Bhakti Yoga). Understand that these rituals and chantings and hymns will not fix the problem but only to enable you to reconnect with your body and mind. But even these are temporary steps towards finding a more lasting solution to your problem. Once you get some control over your body and mind, then the real work starts and that is upgrading your awareness as to the real cause of your pain and suffering. This is the domain of Jnana Yoga - the Yoga of Knowledge, knowing which, that which you are seeking, will be known!
And that is the inspiration behind Vid Veda Vedanta:
Vid = Know
Veda = The Knowledge
Vedanta = Knowing Which Everything Becomes Known
Wishing you Love and Light
Your Partner in Positive Change,
Nivedita
