The body always remembers....
Life is beautiful and messy, sometimes even simultaneously. But even amongst the joyful and thrilling moments of life, we ALL still at times experience the messy and unpredictable events that cause us so much pain and suffering; the ones that flip our lives inside out, the ones that debilitate us from moving towards what matters most to us, the ones that suffocate our breath and stop it in its tracks, and the ones that have us feeling stuck, trapped, as if we can't move forward.
And so often when these events present themselves to us, we may acknowledge it's existence, but we tend to push it away and avoid actually dealing with effectively.
What does this look like exactly? Well, we distract ourselves, incessantly. Maybe we distract ourselves through excessively using social media, maybe we distract ourselves with food, drugs, or alcohol, maybe we distract ourselves with burying into our work and projects, maybe we distract ourselves with tending to our children and never ourselves, maybe we distract ourselves with working out hard at the gym, maybe we distract ourselves with endless television series, maybe we distract ourselves with constantly looking after others, maybe we distract ourselves with extra curricular activities and hobbies, maybe we distract ourselves with always making plans with people and surrounding ourselves in groups, and maybe we distract ourselves with constantly filling up our hours in the day leaving no time to be alone with ourselves, our thoughts, and our bodies. Whether we distract ourselves with positive or negative things, nonetheless, it's still a distraction from our most intimate parts of our being; our truth. In my line of work as a therapist, we call this experiential avoidance; meaning the desire to avoid distress and to do anything to not have to experience unpleasant thoughts, emotions, or sensations.
If you find yourself relating to any of this, first know that you aren't alone, but rather that we are all part of this relentless dynamic and living in a society that encourages us to be endlessly distracted. In the short term it may prove to be effective and helpful, but over time it's not sustainable and creates further suffering. You may put it out of your minds eye and consciousness, but the body always remembers.
Perhaps when things get quiet you are reminded of a situation that's still impacting you, a conversation that still hurts you, or an experience that still haunts you. Either way, let this serve as a reminder of the inner work that YOU need to do so that you can finally feel free from whatever is holding you captive.
Things to ponder....
What are you doing/using to distract yourself?
When you sit with yourself quietly, how does your body actually feel?
What do you need to acknowledge and process rather than continue to avoid?
To your healing and wholeness.
-Laurita Gorman