It’s okay not to be okay.

Hi friends,

It’s been a long time since I’ve touched base, for a good reason, but we’ll get to that.  

Firstly, I really wanted to just chat a minute about how you all are handling the current reality that we’re living in.  Whatever your situation, whether you’re working or not, homeschooling or not, live alone or have 5 children and 3 dogs running around – it’s not easy.  For anyone.  And yes, many of us have lots to be grateful for.  But that doesn’t mean you should feel guilty for any less-than-positive emotions that are coming up at this time.

So many people I’ve talked to, even those that are generally very optimistic, upbeat personalities, are experiencing a roller coaster of emotions.  One day you’re feeling pretty good, half normal (if that’s even a thing) and maybe even productive.  The next you might feel anxious or down in the dumps, to the point that it’s a struggle to even shower, and you just want to sit on the couch in a cocoon ALL DAY. 

This is normal.  You are normal.  You are 100% human. 

I used to really resist these types of emotions.  Since my default has typically fallen into the productive, motivated, optimistic territory, I don’t LIKE feeling sad, lazy or just … blah.  So when I would find myself in that headspace I would often try and “fix it” by forcing myself to do things I really didn’t feel like doing, and then struggle through every minute of it.  And here’s the thing – it often didn’t work.  It wasn’t until I learned to “embrace the suck” so to speak that I would finally come out on the other side, naturally and without much effort or force.  Since I’ve heightened my awareness around this, it’s amazing to me just how consistent and predictable it seems to be.  The more I fight it, the longer it takes to emerge from the fog.  The more I embrace it and know that it will run its course, the quicker it seems to do so. 

Recently I was required to really put this concept to the test as I lived through one of the longest periods of demotivated, fatiguing, blah of my life.  It’s called the first trimester, and it’s no joke.  Yep – surprise!  I’m pregnant 😊.  Baby Charland will be arriving October 2020.  And while we’re elated and excited and all the things, I have never felt less like myself in my life than during those few months.  I was basically a big ol’ sack of potatoes.  (Which is ironic because I couldn’t eat a vegetable to save my life.)  And nothing I could DO was going to change it.  I just had to let it run its course.  

Thankfully as I’ve progressed into the second trimester things have finally turned a corner.  The nausea has let up and my energy has returned and I actually feel like writing and DOING THINGS again. 

Tying this back to our current circumstances, I’m choosing to view this pandemic as kind of like that.  It will run its course.  We will emerge on the other side.  It might not be smooth sailing.  And we’re going to have ALL THE EMOTIONS along the way.  But time passes.  And this will too. 

Just remember – you’ve survived 100% of your hardest days thus far.

P.S. I always want to be real and authentic, so while my blog content may at times seem all over the place, both in the past and in the coming months, it’s simply what I’m feeling called to share.  I hope that it might resonate with you, or in some cases, find you at the perfect time.   

Sending you love and good vibes.

Xoxo

Laura