Sometimes, the feelings we avoided last year, last month, last week or yesterday, come bubbling up to the surface in the quiet hours of the night.
They knock on our hearts and minds, demanding to be greeted.
Sometimes, we are so hard on ourselves we let these feelings take over.
Sometimes, we get so scared of them, we distract ourselves with the glow of our phones or the refrigerator.
Sometimes we get so swept up by them, they rack our bodies with physical shaking or sobbing.
We can be so hard on ourselves in the dark of night.
If you’re a merciless one to yourself in the middle of a sleepless night, try a gentler, more compassionate greeting the next time you’re staring at intense emotions you’d rather not see at the foot of your bed.
Tell your feelings they are wise indeed & that you know they’re only trying to help.
Then gently tuck them into bed and ask, “If you’re truly here to help me, what loving lesson & supportive thoughts do you have for me?”
If they start to berate, belittle, badger or badmouth you, just ask them, a little more firmly this time, “If you’re truly here to help me, what loving lesson & supportive thoughts do you have for me?”
Interestingly, even feelings like worry, anger, anxiety, guilt, shame and embarrassment are capable of very loving gifts. When you ask them to stop browbeating you and to speak in a loving manner, they often have brilliant insights that can be shared in a much more benevolent way.
Be kind to you. Especially at 2am.
Hugs,
AmyK
