Stuck = Shame=Dig Deeper
Dear Woo Woo Girl: I am kind of a vegan, which means I’m struggling to eat beans, fruits and vegetables seven days a week. I don’t always do it because I love hamburgers and barbecue steak. It makes me feel guilty that I am not doing enough for the planet. I also have too many clothes but I am having difficulty getting rid of them. I live in the same clothes, particularly since Covid. Clothes just don’t have the same meaning for me but I can’t part with them. Oh, one more thing. I need to quit my job. I don’t hate it but I don’t love it either. Any suggestions? Signed: Can you fix my life?
Dear CYFML:
Here’s the thing. So many issues and degrees of dissatisfaction speak to an overall discontentment with life. It’s not the fact that you want to be a full vegan and can’t; or can’t seem to change your wardrobe up and find a new job, is it? Deep down there is a lack of passion and joy, and the feeling of stuck comes to mind. The idea of “should” seems to live inside you. Take some deep breaths. Focus on letting go of “should”. It is blocking your view like a twenty story apartment building outside your window.
If you look at what is frustrating you, it is really surface issues blocking your process. Being a vegan five out of seven days a week is a success. Celebrate the fact that you are further ahead of most of the population.
Dig Deeper.
There is joy in the food that you believe in. Find it. Ask am I enjoying being a vegan or do I feel deprived? Do I feel obliged to be one or is it important to me? Taste and feel proud of your contribution. Life is a balance. Yin and yang.
You must start doing different things and you must start doing things differently. That’s all.
When somebody feels stuck, the moment they start doing a small new task they haven’t been doing before to change their situation, a big burden lifts off their shoulders.
When “should” invades your life, dictating how you should feel about your life, there is also shame.
Not being a full vegan is not worthy of feeling embarrassed. Dig deeper and ask why do you feel this way. You are the only person who gets to judge you, yet you have come down hard on yourself. Ask why?
Should = Shame
When you feel emotionally stuck, it’s fair to chalk it up to the shame of an event that you are refusing to acknowledge. This shame has lead you down this path where you feel paralyzed and, well, stuck.
Focus on the one area that is the easiest to find joy. It might mean finding yummy vegan recipes, hosting a clothing exchange, or applying to a new job once a day. This ensures a release and introduces a sense of freshness to life.
Loosen up, love.
The answer; your answer is to find passion and not obsess over what you are not doing. Creative outlets-whatever that means to you is an easy way to change it up. Open up and consciously experience life. Not only is it important for day to day living, but it starts to slay the dragon! If you don’t the dragon becomes bigger and truly interferes with your entire life.
Just let it go!
How do you do that?
Everything is a process, but filled with baby steps. To be consciously aware of how you are feeling is essential. If there is a lack of joy, move away from what you are doing. When you “feel” you make changes.
Fear dissipates.
Spiritual Exercise:
1.Yoga with Adrienne “Letting it Go” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iIHCWMplHsw
2. Journal Daily: Become more aware of your feelings by writing it down. He goal is to release stuck emotions.