Maybe you know that feeling too. When life just keeps pulling on us in so many directions, with all the small and big demands, changes, worries, and responsibilities and you keep going but then comes the day when you feel stretched thinner than you realized.
Life and emotions caught up on me in the month of May. So yes, I initially thought May would be about “expanding”, about moving more outward, building further onto all I did so far. But the outward quickly turned to inward, it became about preserving the energy and to really slow down to focus on what needs the most care just then. And as much as I would have been able to split myself into many areas, this was not the month to do so. It was clear I needed something more gentle…to tend to myself.
May somehow rattled me in many ways…the school year is nearing the end, the reality of my eldest not only moving out of the house but as well across the big pond to Europe; teenagers going through their own highs and lows; the never ending travels of my husband and his own stressors… and ongoing ever changing perimenopause adjustments…just to name a few.
At times it all felt too much. I noticed my mind and body spiraling. The overwhelm was building. I felt stretched thin, increasingly unsettled, and uncomfortably close to burnout.
I found myself not being able to focus and extremely exhausted, mentally and physically, the to-do list just got longer and longer, and at times kind of feeling frozen to having to make even a simple decision.
More and more, I felt drawn to the small things. Anything else but ‘expanding’ was on my mind. Tuning inward, tending to myself and those around me who needed my attention was the common thread for this month.
It was a lot around creating and giving the needed space to come back to myself in the middle of all that noise, through
- grounding – breathing exercises, especially box breathing
- simplifying – simple, quick home cooked meals
- small daily rituals – essential oils, meditation
- more rest, and
- being by myself…
…to myself to regulate my nervous system that went on overdrive as it was constantly working on calming down my emotions and to get my energy back.
And towards the end of month thankfully the weather turned too. And let’s not underestimate the power of warmer temperature… being able to shed the winter clothes, plant flowers and herbs….It might sound simple, but those small acts became a game changer for me by the end of the month too – both emotionally and physically.
If you are navigating life abroad and all the constant change that often comes with it, you might see yourself in some of this. Add perimenopause or other life transitions into the mix and it can sometimes feel like we are holding a lot.
And yet, we are often very good at “just pushing forward” no matter what.
But May reminded me that sometimes the most powerful thing we can do is pause, listen, and tend to ourselves and the small, simple things around us. Because when we do, we create the space to find our footing again. We regulate and reconnect. And once we create a bit more space to step back, get a different perspective it feels a bit easier to move forward again.
So yes, even though May didn’t take the direction I initially thought…,through it all, this month showed me that when (not IF, because it will…) life takes over we have it within us to tend to ourselves. And by doing so we will regain our strength, move forward with more ease and a lightness in our hearts.
And if you are in a place where overwhelm feels a little too familiar right now, like I was this month, I’ve created a small guide for moments like these. It’s just a few simple steps I come back to when life feels like too much and I need something to gently help me slow down and reconnect with myself again.
I’m sharing it here in case it might support you too, in your own way and your own time.
Here is to finding your ease, wherever you are
With love
AK 🍃