SITTING WITH OURSELVES

Ideas were brewing. Swirling gently in a cup of cozy, reflections of warmth emitted within my hands that held the mug. It was in the midst of May. I stirred some more. In my mind of mixing, mingling, making, and manifestations, leaves in the crisp evening air funneled upwards into a magical swirl by June.

 

Behold, the spark that lit a match - one that touched and transferred light onto the candle's soul. Happy birthday, to the beginning of a new universe, bursting into existence. Sitting With Ourselves was created and the first post was made in early July 2020. That was the start of it all. The unravelling of a deeper purpose within this universal space.​

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Are you curious to know how this space all came to be?

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It was one of those days. 

My emotions were asking to be noticed, but I pushed them aside and suppressed the discomfort.

The soft heaviness was settling, and I felt myself falling into a rut.

If I didn't take action soon, I was going to fall down the rabbit hole, and it would be harder to get out.

At that time, I tried to move past it by turning the volume up, placing a blanket of brightness and sunshine over the clouds and fog.

I thought I could make myself feel better by playing upbeat, positive music. I tried to push forward that way, ignoring the thoughts and emotions arising inside.

Still the weight remained - unchanged and unmoved by noise.

Instead, I was distracting myself and avoiding uncomfortable feelings; rather than addressing and acknowledging, rather than sitting with it.

And in the spaces between songs, something became clear.

I wasn't meant to outrun the feelings and emotions.

I was meant to momentarily stay.

To pause.

To sit with it.

To breathe without trying to improve the moment.

To allow what stirred inside me to rise, soften, and pass in its own time from the moment it came.

Not fixing it; but meeting myself where I was.

Moving through it, not around it.

That simple act of staying, feeling my feelings when they arose, and sitting with them, changed everything.

A moment of realisation struck me; a moment of epiphany towards the importance of this form of emotional regulation in recognising and experiencing.

When we stop interrupting ourselves, we can better notice the arrival and dispersal of emotions.​​​

I notice how clarity arrives through awareness and attention, not through force.

How the body loosens when it feels listened to.

How emotions, once given space, often know exactly where they need to go.

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From this, Sitting With Ourselves (SWO) began to take shape in my mind and heart.

The idea widened beyond emotions alone, and into the many places we are asked to tend - our mental and physical health and wellbeing, our relationships and connections, our sense of meaning and wonders, and our whole very being in this experience as a human.

There was an expansion of space, pulling elements and matter together to form galaxies and stars.

Like a Big Bang, the birth of SWO universe came to exist with its unfolding beginnings.

Each part influencing the others, like roots beneath the soil of a growing garden.

We are the garden of whom we owe to ourselves to nourish and take care of, in wellness to the best of our abilities at the time. 

And naturally, in return, allow ourselves to flourish and bloom, from our care through every season that comes.

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Sitting With Ourselves exists as a space for that kind of love and gentleness.

A universe shaped by human experiences and reflections.

A place that invites slowing down, listening inward, and tending to the parts of ourselves that ask to be seen and held.

A space where we are both alone and together at the same time in our journeys.

Where we can connect and converse. 

Where we can pause, breathe; explore openly, courageously; and learn about ourselves and this life we are experiencing.

A garden we can grow together.​

A home we can feel safe to exist; and one that will always be there, waiting for us when we need a safe place to come home to after overwhelming adventures in our independent lives.

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Welcome to Sitting With Ourselves - a warm reminder in your cup to stay grounded within your soul.