4/5/2019 0 Comments RitualTo my fellow pilgrims, Many of us on the fertility journey know well the sting of a negative pregnancy test, the grueling delays in the process, or the searing grief of an early pregnancy loss. If you’ve been on this journey for a while, you have probably developed some strategies and skills around picking yourself back up again after getting knocked off course. Maybe you surround yourself with loved ones or reach out to those who have walked a similar path because you simply can’t handle doing this alone anymore. Maybe you’ve drawn inward because you are exhausted by the constant check-ins of well-meaning friends. Maybe you try to stay as busy as possible to maintain some sense of normalcy or maybe you take a day or two off of work to focus on you. Maybe you look ahead to the next cycle or maybe you’re on a break. Perhaps you see this loss as bringing you one step closer to your baby or maybe your hope becomes a little more fragile. There is no right or wrong way to navigate these disappointments and detours so long as you do so with the greatest compassion and respect for yourself and all that you have been through. In my work as a spiritual care provider, and as a woman on my own fertility journey, I have witnessed time and time again the healing nature of naming the hard parts of what is or what has been in order to turn toward hope once again. Working through a disappointment or loss is a process, one we sometimes don’t want to engage in for fear of getting stuck in despair. And yet what I know to be true for myself and have seen in the stories of others is that when we acknowledge the pain we can move through it and come out the other side with deeper peace and a greater capacity for joy. This simple ritual is written especially for you, my fellow pilgrims on the fertility journey. Take what resonates and leave what doesn’t. Trust that you know what you need. You are not alone. Deep healing and peace be yours. Simple Self-Care Ritual |
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