Easing out of Lockdown with Compassion and Kindness.

As we all ease out of lockdown, we believe that mindfulness is one of the greatest tools to help everyone stay connected.  All of us at MindfulnessUK have been reflecting on this change with lots of people telling us that they are feeling fear, even a trembling of the heart and don’t really know what that is about.

Karen Atkinson, Senior Partner at MindfulnessUK, has been reflecting on her own experience:

“Coming out of lockdown, after all that we have experienced in the last year reminded me of the time that I had cancer, a few years ago.  After my treatment and when I started to get back to being ‘ok’ it was then that I really hit a difficult time. 

I can only describe it like when you watch an animation or a cartoon as a child and one of the characters has to run really fast and they leave something behind, like a shadow or a puff of dust or air.  That is what it felt like, going back to work, and everything around me looking normal but me feeling completely disconnected and that half of me had been left behind. 

I recognised that I hadn’t had a chance to process my feelings and as we come out of lockdown, I know that some people are experiencing this same feeling.  During lockdown we experienced collective trauma and some of us connected with things we maybe had either not connected with before or had forgotten.  Some of us woke up and realised the importance of kindness and compassion and how nature can fill our hearts with joy.  Now we are going back into the vortex of life but haven’t yet caught up with it which causes this feeling of disconnect.” 

With so many people not aware of this feeling or emotion or not truly being able to understand it everything can feel so much more challenging.  The collective emotional trauma that we have experienced hasn’t yet been processed and we are all really keen to reconnect with loved ones, work, and society.

Mindfulness and Compassion.

Awareness is really key to ensure that we can move forward, as well as a deep sense of compassion, and the need to look after ourselves.  This process takes time, catching up with the present-day experiences, will take time and we need to be very kind to ourselves.

Self-compassion, giving ourselves time, remembering and reconnecting in whichever way we can.  The importance of family, community and nature and keeping those resources close to hand.  Share those collective experiences, it is ok to talk about it.  To be kind to yourself and others around you and experience this vulnerability, takes courage.  As the process of lockdown took bravery this next phase also takes nerve.  We need to pace ourselves and try not to do just go with the expectations of people or society around us, and instead do what is right for you.

Go well and take care of yourself, take your time and use all of the resources around you to help you flourish and blossom.

www.mindfulnessuk.com / info@mindfulnessuk.com / 01823 697890

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