Love and Pain

My two favourite men have left me for a while. My partner is off in South Africa watching the world cup and my son is going to England to meet our extended family.
I love them both and because I love them I miss them.  There is a small pain in my heart caused by their absence.
I notice that I interact with that pain in several ways.
Some days the pain is a sweet pain, I make space for it, as I know that it is a necessary part of love. It signals to me how important they both are to me and I feel lucky to have that love in my life.  Making that space also means there is space for my feelings of joy that they are off doing what is important to them.

Other days, I don't want to accept the situation, I get hooked by painful thoughts (Yesterday it was, 'If Albert was here I wouldn't be struggling to put these IKEA chairs in the car on my own''), I lose contact with the present and start counting the days until he is home.
And sometimes I manage to be in the present.  Enjoying that I have more time to hang out with my gorgeous daughter; potter in the garden; write this blog.
Kelly Wilson encourages us to compassionately 'lean in' towards ourselves when we feel pain. That is such a good move.  Next time you feel some emotional pain try it - let go of judging yourself for feeling the pain and just lean in with compassion.