Lift up and take off

The Muse Letter No. 20

I need to talk about my worries today. I tell my Dad on the phone this morning, I warn him, so he understands what this talk will look like. I tell him, I need to talk about my worries, and I need you to not panic. I need you to stay calm and collected, I need you to say things are going to turn around, things already have been turning around. I need you to say: You’ve been here before, you know this is not the end. This is a little loop in the cable, like when your headphones get mashed up in your pockets, a little knot, you just need to untangle.

Self-soothing is an important skill, that grows over time and like our challenges are growing as we get older, it has to adapt into many different shapes. Sometimes it’s the moment to know when to talk about worries, sometimes it’s the moment to remind yourself what a friend once said to you, sometimes it’s taking a break, putting everything on hold and just sit with the problem, arm in arm, asking questions and hopefully getting some answers.

A couple of weeks ago I told a friend how confident I felt about my new freelance endeavour, sending her a voice message where I speak about it full of joy and excitement. I’m looking for that message now, as I write this. “Listen to it, when you’re not in that place anymore.” She had said.