Hello!
On the recommendation of a couple of friends, I’ve been listening to the audiobook of ‘Period Power’ by Maisie Hill. In it, she talks about how (for people who have menstrual cycles) getting to know the pattern of your cycle can be really helpful for getting better at pre-empting your needs and planning for them. For example, anticipating days when you’re likely to feel like doing lots of socialising and creative thinking, as opposed to days when you might want to do more nesting at home, or get cosy and do very little.
It makes me think how valuable it is, regardless of whether you have periods and what kind of hormones etc you have, to remember to ask yourself the question ‘what do I need?’
And of realising that your body and (however else you think of yourself - mind, heart, soul, self) goes through its own cycles and fluctuations, and that what you need will vary from day to day and week to week. Sometimes predictably, sometimes not.
The act of asking yourself ‘what do I need?’, and then listening to and acting upon the answer, is really the central tenet of mindful self-compassion (that course I’ve been recently learning to teach).
And it can make a huge difference. It can switch us from a mode where we’re going on autopilot, to one where we’re aware of, and able to respond to, our feelings and needs.
I think on one level or another, we are all likely to be deeply affected by the disturbing stuff happening in the world at the moment. I have to say, I’ve actually had a lovely weekend and am only now realising what I’ve not fully taken in, from not reading the news til now - the large racist demonstrations happening in London. And reading up now serves as a reminder of how much there is of this kind of stuff going on in the background at the moment (and also in the foreground). And I say that not to be depressing, but to acknowledge the shared experience that we are all going through at the moment (from all our different perspectives).
And also to acknowledge that when this kind of stuff is happening over a long period of time (the rise of far right politics, cultural divisions, violence and so on), it may drift into the background for some of that time, but that doesn’t stop us from being affected by it.
All that to say let’s support each other as much as we can, and let’s all have permission to ask ourselves ‘what do I need’, and to tend to that.
So what do you need? Today? This week? How could you give yourself a tiny bit more care or attention, or make things ever so slightly easier, calmer, more connected?
If you have any reflections on this, or notice anything that you want to share - as ever, I’d love to hear :)
That’s it for today. I hope you have a lovely week. Here are some photos of beautiful skies of the past week, and Spooky sitting at my desk. And if you’re interested in some short guided meditation practices along a similar line to this post, check this previous post out for some options.
