WHAT’S YOUR HEALING MANTRA? Healing your grief 2 minutes at a time #46

So often, we find ourselves in situations where our mind spirals out of control, and before we know it, we’re at the bottom of a mental rabbit hole filled with fear, sadness and loneliness.   This week, we are going to find a personal mantra for ourselves that we can lean on like a good friend.  We are going to use that mantra to help keep us from falling into that deep dark hole.  By definition, a mantra is a phrase, word or slogan that is mind protecting.  It helps us stay focused not only in prayer and meditation, but the right one will also keep you strengthened in every situation.  As you begin to lean on it and put it to good use, your strengthening mantra will pull you through great heartache and any trial of the heart and mind.

I want you to pick whatever mantra feels right for you.  It must resonate with you and feel strong enough to keep you up when you’re feeling down, yet gentle enough to let you be quiet when it is time to just cry and be fragile.

I’m happy to share mine with you.  Take it, use it, lean on it or just borrow it until you’ve found one that is more fitting for you.  My mantra has been:

“BE STILL AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD.”

This phrase has brought me through some of my darkest days and continues to strengthen me.  It helps me let go and trust that something or someone far wiser, organized and more put together than me is managing everything in my life.  My job is to do the best I can do every single day and just trust that the details will work themselves out.

This mantra is so poignant and helpful while we are grieving for so many reasons.  Let’s break it down:

“BE STILL”

Many times when we are grieving, we don’t want to go to parties or leave our house, but we also don’t want to be still.  Why do you think that might be? I think we’re all a little afraid of what might happen if we sat still.  So instead, we keep our minds outrageously busy.  We compare our grief journey to others, criticize our own paths and find ourselves saying things like ”It’s been too long and I’m still in the same place”, “Will I ever heal?”, or “What’s wrong with me?”.

No wonder we don’t want to be still.  We may find more to criticize.  We may find more to tear down.  BUT if we gather up enough courage to actually be still, do you know what we will find? We will find rest, we will find our center and we will find more love than we could ever image.  Love that we can direct to our own heart, as well as send to all the people at the party we didn’t attend.  You are right here, right now for a reason.  Allow yourself the permission to be still and to sit with those feelings.  Allow yourself to send love to your heart and know that it is in the stillness that you will find your healing.

“AND”

There will be an “and” again in your life.  While only you can walk this path for yourself right now, there will be a day where you will join others again.  You will find joy and comfort again.  It may come in new and different forms but I assure you there will be an AND, just for you, to follow this season.  You will find yourself renewed, strengthened and healed.  You will find yourself exactly where you were meant to be.  There is purpose to all that comes before the AND.  In your stillness you will find it.  What comes after the AND will be exactly what you needed most and never knew you were missing.

“KNOW THAT I AM GOD”

KNOW… I mean… REALLY KNOW in your gut that I am God.  Whatever higher power you subscribe to… hand all of your emotions over to that God.  Every single one… the sadness, the loneliness, the fear.  Let it go and hand it over and feel it release in your gut.  That higher power that put you in this position has the same power to get you out.  It’s waiting for you to surrender to it.  Let go of the ownership of your grief.  Hand it over, even just for a minute.  In that one minute reprieve, relax and trust that your grief is being rearranged, organized and put back together as something that will make you shine.  And isn’t that what your loved one would want for you anyway? Let your God turn your turmoil into treasure.  Find a way to let it go and shine knowing that you are exactly where you are supposed to be.

So, take my mantra or find one of your own.  Be still with it.  Run with it.  Do everything with it.  It is there to be used every moment of every day to help you heal, love and shine.

What’s your mantra? How has your mantra helped you this week? Help others in our community grow and strengthen too by sharing yours.

Love and Blessings,

Erin