The birth of the bear
Well this is exciting, my first ever blog post. Ever!
This extension to The Listening House has come about because I have a lot to say and sometimes not enough time to say it within the house, busy listening as I am there…
And the reason that I often have a lot to say is because I feel things a lot. A lot of things. A lot of the time. In a lot of different ways. Emotionful is how I describe it. There have been various other terms used to describe it (me) throughout my life, and not all of them particularly complimentary or helpful to me. Some downright damaging. It’s taken me quite a while to become truly comfortable with who I am, and there have been some wonderfully inspiring, kind and compassionate people who have led me to where I am now. I am sure you will hear all about them if you stick with me on my blog journey.
The point is that I am truly happy with being emotionful. It makes me feel alive. I feel a sense of peace with whatever emotion I am currently feeling, now that I am no longer battling against the so-called “negative” emotions, or those that I “shouldn’t” be feeling. Feelings are for feeling, all of them. That is their purpose. And the more we can relax into them, the quicker we can move through them, if that is what we choose to do. If we choose to stay in the feelings, then we can feel a sense of calm, that there is nothing else to be done or decided upon in that moment…
One of the tools I used for getting to a place of peace and acceptance with all of my emotions was to give each of them a character and a name. By visualising each of my different emotions, and naming them, I was able to use my imagination to create characters which made them seem more tangible and manageable, and not something to be frightened of or anxious about. The characters I decided to use were bears as I’ve always had a soft spot for teddy bears.
They have names such as (Opti)Maisie and Boombastard Shittie Bear. (See if you can guess which one is which from the drawings above and below!). I could just as easily have called them Freda or Bernard. They kind of named themselves though and the name isn’t really what’s important. What is important is how comfortable I started to feel with them once I had identified and got to know them.
Our imaginations are incredibly powerful tools. There was a long period of time post-childhood that I didn’t really use mine. I’m glad I found it again as it’s served me really well over the years since, and will continue to be my trusty steed for as long as I live (and maybe beyond, who knows?)
So I’m sure that you’ve worked out now that the name of my blog, Bear With, is a play on words as I am now “with” bear(s). And it also is a request for patience, kindness, understanding, all of which I know we could all do with more of in our lives.
So that’s it, blog number one done. I am no longer a blog virgin. My intention is to write my musings often for you, dear blog friends, in the hope that some of you find it interesting and maybe even useful. I don’t claim to have a definitive answer to all of life’s burning questions. I do claim, however, a curiosity about humans and a passion for living life to its fullest, and I absolutely love exploring both of those things. So I reckon we’ll have some adventures along our way…
Thank you for listening.
*if you enjoy the themes of these musings and would like to learn more, or join in similar conversations, please head over to The Listening House www.atthelisteninghouse.com