The Question
In what ways do you balance surrender to anxiety with the need to push through the anxiety?
The Intention
Balance
The Meditative Moment
The more we begin to work with our anxiety, the more we realize that we can react to it differently depending on the day, hour, minute. Depending on what we’ve eaten, how we’ve slept, if we’re hydrated. Depending on if we’re overstimulated or bored. Depending on oh so many things. Some days we do need to greet the anxiety and then sit on the couch to read a book or zone out to our favorite show. But some days we can greet the anxiety and allow it to accompany us as we go about our day. Knowing which we’re capable of on a given day is empowering. Having a variety of tools at your disposal—meditation, breathwork, movement, food, water, sleep, friends—makes it easier to discern what’s needed in a given moment. If you’re just starting to recognize how anxiety is affecting you and maybe you don’t have that many tools yet, no need to worry about it. You’re growing in awareness, and that alone is a tool. You might have more days on that couch than off of it, but trust me when I say that the accompaniment is possible. Eventually.
Originally sent August 21, 2023, to paid Substack subscribers. If you want to receive current Thin Space reflections, you can start a paid subscription here: https://laurenlmurphy.substack.com. You can choose to pay $75/year or $8/month.
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