Do not rush your healing with society’s advice of ‘Just Move On.’

I have grappled with the words ‘move on’ so much that it made me want to cringe every time I heard it. I was waking up each day convincing myself that I had to feel good, positive and rush to to the next best thing.

It all failed and I fell on my knees with exhaustion. The bruises is where my learning began about healing.

Journaling paved the way for me. And one thing I can now truly say is, that healing takes time. It is liking waking up each day and fighting all your emotions and feelings which are surging like an ocean. It feels like pushing your pain against a wall and it bounces right back. It is dark and messy.

But through it, I also discovered that healing is also multifaceted. One day it is empowering and the next you are bummed out.

It is liking standing in front of the mirror and saying to yourself “We have a problem my love, but we shall get through it with compassion”. It is about looking inside each part of our mind and soul and offering a helping hand. Looking through our beautiful imperfections, owning them, learning and growing and yet open to feedback with much humility.

Healing is knowing that it is okay to not be okay. It is about admitting that you are crushing under the weight of pain and sharing it with your trusted tribe. No you don’t always have to exude good vibes. We need to hold space for each other during our struggles and do a better job of listening and healing with our ears.

Healing is in those everyday moments. You waking up for your yoga class, dressing up for work, listening to your friend whine, planning a birthday party, playing with your children, crying with your loved one for being lost; each of these moments is where we are pushing ourselves to take each day as a new one and that is where the healing resides.

It is not always self-help books, wine, coffee, travel or feeling empowered. Healing is not glamorous; for me it was picking up each broken piece and re-doing the puzzle life had left me with.

Healing was a promise to show up for myself and release the load of expectations. It was time to lay down the shield of perfection. Pick up my life. Be brave, kind and awkward.

Healing was, letting go my critical inner voice and replacing it with mindfulness. Letting the hurt and pain go within me with forgiveness and gratitude.

Healing is when I realised that I’m not all stable but I’m not hanging on the edge of the cliff anymore. I will still be a mess sometimes but I will not lose sight of who I am and how far I have come.

Do not rush it. Your pace is yours and no one else can decide that for you.

Healing is a long road to embracing vulnerability and being proud of it.