Loving Kindness

My practice of loving-kindness is one that I draw on more and more as I embrace a deeper meaning and connection to being a woman in menopause. I find loving-kindness is a way of life that I have grown to respect and value as much as a dear friend who, no matter what, is always there for me. I just have to remember, even in the darkest and most painful of times, to trust that I can access this love. Naturally, at times of stress, we regress, and I notice I fall into an old habit of retreating into a coping mechanism that involves invoking a survival mode of self-sufficiency that is painful to myself and those close to me.

“Naturally, at times of stress, we regress.”

Rachel Podger

As I write, I realise my practice is a bridge that helps me traverse my pain in order to reach my ‘Self’ and my loved ones, and it is my commitment that keeps me moving into life, not away from it. After all, I am on the way home to my heart. Loving-kindness and acceptance are qualities that are essential in this time of inner and outer change, and they help me see my old habits and survival mechanisms for what they are. I can then give them a nod of respect and keep walking forward, gently and gracefully.