Thanks EM! I do remember Where the Wild Things Are from my childhood. That’s a wonderful idea to think of the big emotions like grief as one of the monsters. It takes the amorphous scariness out of the emotion and turns it into a monster from the book. I don’t remember the book very well but just googled pictures from it and the monsters look a bit comical and not too scary, so they offer a good way of projecting challenging emotions into a form that is manageable. It’s possible to placate the monster by finding the right response - such as taking a nap etc like you suggest - whatever form of nurturance helps. For me, grief, shame and anxiety have been coming up in relation to past experiences. I’ll use my imagination for how to handle these and imagine what kind of monster they look like.
Self-care today:
1. Noticing birds in the garden and out on a walk. I love birds.
2. Allowing myself a second cup of coffee. I normally have only one to avoid over-caffeination and being kept awake, but I felt I really needed it today and that it’s ok to break my own rules!
3. Came across and watched a YT clip of Bruce Springsteen interviewing Eddie Vedder about his new album. Bruce mentions he really likes the lyrics from a song called Invincible, specifically the words “Invincible, When We Love”. I really like those words too. It’s like love protects us from harm. Vulnerability is important to acknowledge too, but it’s like loving from the heart is what sustains us. I read the whole lyrics from the song and I especially liked this verse:
You are light, you are principle
When you love, invincible
Our shared light, indivisible
When we love, we’re invincible
Hope you had a lovely meditation this evening EM xxxx
