I have to give a speech in two days. And I can feel my stomach clenching in anxiety. I want to do well. I hope the things I say are relevant, helpful and not stupid. I don’t want them to get bored.
When uncomfortable feelings come up, I’ve learned not to push them away but to meet them with curiosity. I ask the feeling: Why are you here? What do you want to tell me? What wisdom are you trying to share?
All any feeling wants is to be welcomed with tenderness. It wants room to unfold. It wants to relax and tell its story. It wants to dissolve like a thousand writhing snakes that with a flick of kindness becomes harmless strands of rope.
—Geneen Roth, Women, Food and God
Most of all, I remember the words of Geneen Roth. I know that staying and loving the feelings even if they make me squirm and run away are part of the journey to loving every bit of you. And loving every bit of you (and having that love spill out onto others) is what we’re called to do as we live in this world.
