It just is is a little mantra I’ve been leaning into lately, one that my grandmother and mom have said to me so many times but never really sunk in until recently. I was up all night last night with painful period cramps for the first time in about a year and a half and it was hard for me not to go over every single thing as to why this could be happening now, after all this time. In the midst of the exhaustion and discomfort I finally let go and said “it just is”. No attachments to outcomes or judgements towards my body...this is what I have in front of me and it just IS.
It’s natural to want to know “why why why” all the time so we can prevent it from happening again but sometimes the stress and angst of figuring out why ends up contributing to the discomfort even more. Once I let go I was able to see that being in pain moves us into an extra vulnerable state, one that I don’t often visit. It allows true, honest feelings to surface more easily and can provide us a glimpse into what is really going on in our emotional bodies (which can often be responsible for a lot of of physical pain we experience). From that place it was so clear to me which emotions I was storing in my body and what I needed to continue to work through and release. That pain wasn’t happening to me, it was happening for me and I was only able to experience this clarity by using the mantra to help me let go of control and accept what is, all while observing the pain slowly leave my body. Let my reminder now be your reminder that we must not forget about our mental and emotional health, as they are such a critical part in healing our bodies. Its not just what we eat and how much we exercise. It’s so far beyond that.