GIVE YOURSELF TIME AND SPACE TO GRIEVE

Sometimes it's hard to be present to the moment when you feel like you're leaving something (or someone) behind. Your mind begins to wonder:

How can I truly be present to this moment when I'm still dealing with so many unraveled dreams and plans?

How can I be here when my heart is still in another place?

How do I be present to the people right in front of me when someone is missing?

How can I be excited about where I am today when I still trying to make sense of all the things I've had to say goodbye to?

These are hard questions to answer, and I just hope you know it's okay if you can't answer them right away. What's important to know is that these questions might just be revealing to you that you're grieving what you're leaving behind...and there's nothing wrong with that.

You are free to speak out about what you're leaving behind and why it's hard. You don't have to deny your feelings. You don't have to pretend that it's easy to move on or that you're not scared about the future.

What matters is that you give yourself time and space to grieve...and in doing so, you will begin to see that letting yourself feel that is also a way of being present to the moment.

And this is true even of the small things in life. Sometimes you're saying grieving the loss of a loved one or relationship, and sometimes it's as simple as grieving the loss of your old life or routine. Maybe you're saying "goodbye" to a place you've called home for the past few years or to a season of your life that was special to you.

In any case, it's okay to grieve right here in the present moment. It's okay if you can't just "put it all behind you" right away.

Of course, being present to the moment is more pleasant with happier emotions, but we must remember that even when we grieve, we are also present to the moment in a very deep way. We are feeling everything happening, and it's okay if it takes time to work through that feeling.

Allow yourself to be present to the moment by not denying how you feel and know that grace will meet you there. Allow yourself to feel the full range of your emotions, and in time, you will find that you're more present to the moment than you ever thought possible.

Word of the Day: Allow (v) "give the necessary time or opportunity for." (Oxford Languages)
Affirmation: I allow myself to feel my emotions fully, and in doing so, I am more present than ever before.
Journal: Letting go can be hard. Describe a time when you had to let go of something (or someone) that was important to you. What made it so difficult? How did you learn to move through?

More in this week's series called "Learning to Live Fully Right Here", only with a subscription in the Storyteller App.

Sincerely,
Morgan Harper Nichols
@thestorytellerco
@morganharpernichols