It’s Election Day today. I woke at 4:30am with an anxious kiddo who needed some TLC. Our tween daughter’s angst, while understandable, felt rather unmanageable in our attempt to arrive on time for the school line-up.
So, I had a good cry this morning…a cleansing, softening, releasing cry. I held myself with extra tenderness, honoring my body’s craving for humming in my morning meditation. Journaling came first before work today, because I needed a giant PAUSE. I chose not to wait until later in the day, despite the pressing to-do list. And, because it’s Election Day today, I’ll be pausing even more than I typically do.
A little glimpse into my art journaling…one way I practice pausing.
An Invitation
I’m inviting you to pause with me today, too.
No matter what you’re feeling today (anxiety, hope, anticipation, frustration, despair, excitement), pausing is a powerful practice.
Pausing is a central part of my self-awareness course, coaching conversations, nervous system education, and my own healing.
While your practice will be unique to you and your wholeness, all powerful pausing practices require that we begin by stopping and paying attention to our whole selves with compassion. We must stop what we’re thinking, doing, saying, even feeling, just for a moment. We must interrupt our regularly scheduled programming to allow space for embodied awareness.
Don’t misunderstand—the intention of pausing is not to resist or force or change what is happening right now. This is not a bypassing tool. Pausing is a first step in cultivating consciousness and expanding choice and possibility.
The video below explains a bit more about making pausing a practice, and it guides you through one of my favorite ways to P.A.U.S.E. Check it out…
