How to find peace in challenging situtations
If you've ever visited a place after a period of time away, you might know that an experience like this brings up lots of different….stuff… feelings, emotions, triggers.
Maybe it's a visit to see your parents.
Or a return to a home where you grew up.
Or seeing your old high school friends.
Or going back into restaurants after spending two years in a pandemic.
A question I get asked so often is, how do we remain peaceful and calm, even amongst situations that challenge us or bring up strong emotions?
I've been back in Toronto for a month now, my first visit since 2018 and here are some things I've noticed:
Toronto is both so familiar AND so different
Staying with my mom since leaving her home at 18 is both deeply nourishing for the soul and my inner child (my belly is def very nourished, too) and also triggering
Going through old stuff and clearing the things I couldn't let go of before feels both like I'm grieving an old part of me and also a welcoming celebration of another part of me
The good thing is, I have so many more tools to take care of myself than when I was 18.
How I've been able to remain peaceful and calm through this experience is this:
(1) Letting go of the need for an experience to be one way or the other (neither is good or bad, or better or worse)
and
(2) Accepting that two different things can exist at the SAME different
In short, letting go and acceptance are two powerful practices for navigating life.
In our 1:1 coaching sessions, one client learnt how to do this…
… how to let go of an expectation on what she wanted to create out of life and work (resulted in a lot less force and resistance)
… and how to accept that she was both frustrated and excited about the process (resulted in no longer wasting effort and energy on trying to be one or the other)
Opened up so much more SPACE and ENERGY for her to actually BE creative. To BE intuitive. To BE trusting of the ideas that came to her. And to take action from this place of creativity, intuition and trust.
She ended up registering her business and creating clients.
It doesn't matter what the result you want is (more peace, more clients, more joy, to start your own business).
What's important is the process in which you decide to navigate what you want.
The next time you find yourself struggling to cultivate peace or ease or the result you want, ask yourself:
What can I let go of?
What can I accept?
If you notice that you're feeling two things at the same time, invite yourself to embrace that these two things can co-exist.
With love and an invitation to be curious,
Victoria
ps. if being able to let go and accept is a way of being you'd like to live, work and create by, start practicing now… remember it's all a practice, and the more you practice, the easier it'll get.
pps. also, you don't have to practice alone. I mean you can choose to do it yourself, but you don't have to.
Let me support, mentor, and guide you as you journey on personal and spiritual growth. I'm currently receiving 1:1 coaching clients and if you feel a FULL BODY YES to receiving support, love, compassion, and guidance… you're invited to book a free exploration call with me.
There are no obligations or expectations. The call is an opportunity for you to ask questions, for us to see if we align, and whether or not we decide to work together, you'll leave the call with clarity on your next steps. Book a time here.