Returning to Yourself Through Awareness

Have you ever noticed a time when you just don’t feel like yourself? I don’t mean anything dramatic, rather, things just don’t feel…well, right. Maybe your emotions are bottled or it’s opposite, overwhelmed. You sort of feel like you are just going through the motions in life with no real presence. It may not be a persistent problem, but some days are more noticeable than others. This could just be a simple signal your body is giving you that something (we don’t always know and sometimes we don’t find what started it) leading you off course. When you do, know that mindfulness has a way to lead us back.

Returning to who we are, ourselves, is not something that requires fixing through force. It requires a calming level of awareness. I don’t mean the kind that rummages through your thoughts looking for damaged content so it can be used to further criticize yourself, no. I mean the kind that wants to listen instead of rushing to fix. It’s the kind of awareness that says, “I am here and I am in the now (moment).”

Healing is not about becoming something or someone new. It is about remembering who you are beneath the noise and beyond the distractions, the illusions, and false perceptions. Mindfulness builds that space that remembrance. It brings us back into our body and back into our breath. It returns us back to the present moment where the truth lies. This is where Kind Rebirths is rooted.

Practicing calming awareness lets us stop fighting our emotions. Letting them live freely for a moment without the need to try and justify it or explain it, lets us own the ability to just feel without judgment. In that allowance period, stresses release and the healing begins. A return to self might look like witnessing and noticing in times when we feel overcome and powerless. In that moment, we choose to rest and reflect. When we are feeling grief, we choose to acknowledge it and honor it instead of resisting it and burying it deep within. This is how we build trust in ourselves and our abilities. These are kind rebirths in action.

Mindfulness is a teacher in that it shows us that we do not have to abandon who we are to survive in the world. We can move through it using our awareness as an anchor or our pillar. Mindful awareness is our North Star in a world of fog and compassion is our companion. Presence of moment is our homebase.

Every return home is way to strengthen our connection to ourselves internally, believe it or not, a connection with all those around us. As we become more attuned to our own needs and as we set boundaries with honesty and pure-hearted intention, the more aligned we find ourselves with a strong inner voice speaking to us and guiding us. This is not a practice I use for a one-time use. It’s something I use to reawaken myself daily. That said, consider a practice of noticing; consider a practice of breathing; and practice a path that chooses yourself over and over again. Kind Rebirths aren’t loud demonstrations, but they have deep roots. It’s okay to return to who you are quietly.

Stay mindful…

Rebirth