Wanna hold you, wanna choke you, wanna love you
Wanna hate you, wanna kill you, wanna hurt you
Wanna heal you, yeah
Wanna lose you, keep you, bruise you
Beat, abuse you, treat you mutual
It’s juvenile, delusional, as usual
You’re beautiful, I’m average
I’m brutal, you’re a savage
-eminem-
These lyrics pretty much sums up how I felt about 2020. We all experienced LIFE in its fullest in 2020 and in the first few days of 2021. Any experience/trauma we endure deserves a proper postmortem to appreciate and to understand the gravity of the events.
Furthermore, once we are thru with the analysis, it behooves us to move on and to let go. In addition, by moving on and letting go, we are not advocating forgetting about what happen. However, we are acknowledging what had happened and face the present moment with your full attention. Here are three actionable step’s that help’s me let go. They work with varying success depending on how sticky each situation is.
- Mindfullness Meditation
- Limiting Social Media/News Sites
- Expressing myself through creative means using your body.
Meditation
For many people, meditation is a daunting tasks that takes years to master before you see any benefits. However, I am here to report that is #fakenews. The act of meditating is the act or recognition of your thoughts. That’s it, that is simple. Moreover, when you can be aware of the aspect of thinking or retelling yourself a narrative, you are in the process of meditation.
Now, to finish the process you then bring yourself out of that thought narrative and concentrate your mind on something less stressful-like your breathe or some other sensation in the body. Recognizing your thoughts is a crucial first step to letting go of any traumas you are reliving from your past. This is easier said then done; however, there are several tools out there that you can try. I utilize an app called Ten Percent Happier, which is on my phone and it helps guide me through my mediation practice.
Social Media
Next, the daily use of our cellphones combined with easy access to our attention span thru social media and news outlets has taken away any sort of “down time” or boredom that we once had. This down time or boredom or time not being stimulate thru a screen plays an important role in allowing our fight or flight response to come down to a relaxation mode.
We are constantly reading the next headline, which prevents our body from letting go of constant stress and anxiety. On your phone, place a timer on how long you can be on your social media apps a day. The timer on your app will give you a simple nudge to put the phone down and go do something creative, which brings me to my final point.
Expression
Lastly, expressing yourself through a creative outlet is the final way to let go. This expression, when done productively, allows us to utilize this pent up energy in a positive fashion. Therefore, giving us a reason to move on from our trauma. For me I exercise and move my body, this is my form of creative expression.
In conclusion, these three steps are what I do to help me let go. I suggest trying these or do something similar. I hope this helps.
P.S.
That song, is aptly title “Farewell” if there are any eminem Stan’s out there, they will appreciate it.