Just a little bit better. What if that’s all it takes to eventually feel a lot better. It’s something I’ve been playing with during my recovery from heart surgery last summer. It’s been a long recovery, not quite sure why. Perhaps because I’m getting older. Perhaps because I have more to learn about loving myself unconditionally. Perhaps because of a number of bumps along the way. Perhaps all of the above and more.
It’s been rough. Rough physically, but rougher still because I’ve struggled with beliefs about what healing truly means. This was my third aortic valve replacement. I was used to bouncing back quickly. I was used to feeling incredibly healthy, despite health concerns. So, I assumed this recovery would be quick. When I realized it would be anything but quick, I grappled with a slew of negative, disheartening thoughts. This, again, was not something I was used to.
What I’ve learned, is that the miracle of healing is sometimes so subtle it can be hard to notice. As the days turned into weeks and months, I found I was very disappointed with my progress. I dismissed small progress because it was not the full-on recovery I was seeking. This disappointment, and lack of gratitude, led me down the ‘nothing’s working, I’ll never feel better’ rabbit hole.
It was when I decided I just couldn’t stand it any more that I began to hear: “just a little bit better”. I heard it on podcast, in a workshop, from a healer, during my own meditations. I asked myself if I could simply focus on feeling just a little bit better. What if that could be my daily goal. Surely I could do that.
And to the best of my ability, that’s what I’ve done since. I’ve acknowledged subtle progress, and expressed gratitude for feeling a little bit better. Right away I noticed that by taking my attention off what was going ‘wrong’, I began to see what was going right. I opened up to more and more gratitude for the blessings I did have.
In addition, I used a number of self-help techniques to help me relax and boost my mood. I also reached out to a gifted EFT Practitioner for help in releasing thoughts and feelings that were not serving me. Before long, I realized a number of my symptoms had improved — I was feeling a lot better.
Now I’m not saying that this is what helped heal my symptoms. Could be that it did, or maybe not. And, I’m not completely out of the woods yet either. The point here is that this practice helps me feel a lot better emotionally. Feeling better emotionally helps me stretch into more joyful activity. Feeling better also helps me appreciate the numerous gifts within some of my darkest moments.
Here are some of the tools I used to help myself feel a little bit better:
A Walk in Nature – Fresh air does wonders to lift the spirit. Sunshine brings vitamin D, a mood booster. Nature’s beauty is a feast for grateful eyes.
Acupressure Mat – Lying on an acupressure mat helps reduce cortisol, and relax the nervous system, body and mind. A perfect time to listen to a soothing audio.
An Uplifting Podcast – An upbeat, uplifting podcast, or radio show, or youtube video, can be a wonderful way to shift to a better feeling perspective.
Do Something Nice for Someone — Contributing so someone else’s happiness is an effective way to boost feelings of connectedness and belonging.
Express Gratitude for Anything – Feeling grateful, truly grateful, for anything, is a good way to shift out of a negative head space.
EFT Tapping – Sometimes we need to go deeper to help release distressing feelings and thoughts. EFT tapping is a fast, effective tool. Because EFT Tapping helps to reduce cortisol, it can also help release physical pain. It can be used as both a self-help tool, and with a certified practitioner.
Meditation — Silent or guided meditation can be very helpful for clearing the mind, and calming the nervous system. It’s also a great tool for tapping into your intuition for guidance around your current issues.
More Self Help Tools— Magnesium baths to detoxify and relax. 750 Words to encourage and uplift. Nutrient-dense foods, herbal teas, lemon water, etc. to hydrate and nourish.
Reach Out To a Healing Professional — Self-help techniques are wonderful and effective. Yet, there are times when a healing professional can help us face what might be too difficult to face alone. Reach out to someone you trust.
May you enjoy an abundance of well-being.
Peace,
Marian
Contact me to learn more about using EFT Tapping to feel better.