Since starting the Blissful Way blog years ago, this is a first for me.
I am writing this blog post – article from the southern end of the Cyclone Alfred area here in Northern New South Wales in Australia. We have a cyclone that is about to make landfall and it will hit areas of Queensland, Northern New South Wales and down to the Coffs Harbour area. It is already wild weather- strong winds with heavy rain and the majority of the population in these areas have already taken shelter and are hunkering down to wait out the worst of it.
Speaking of shelter – In Maslow’s hierarchy of Needs he refers to our Physiological Needs which are the needs essential for human survival and include things such as food, shelter, and clothing. …
Maslow also talks about several other important needs including Love and Belonging and Safety and Security – I would include emotional shelter in these.
At different times in our lives and for different reasons and maybe even more so now with global affairs and the influence on our shared humanity, we all need a sense of emotional shelter. So how and where do we find that shelter?
If you think about emotional shelter, what comes to mind for you? How do you build emotional shelter in your life? Perhaps it’s the comfort of being held by a warm hand or embrace, a shoulder to lean or cry on or maybe you take a doona dive for awhile or connect with a professional to discuss and process the strong headwinds or clouds during a stormy emotional season. For me, writing is also a salve- an emotional shelter, a way to express thoughts, feelings and emotions.
When it comes to building emotional shelter, I certainly appreciate and support any or all of the abovementioned however to effectively build long-term emotional shelter we need to create a shelter that is not dependent on others or external resources that may not always be available when we need them. How do we do that?
Meditation – Your inner world where you can find and enjoy peace and quietude -where the mind becomes calm and your thoughts and emotions can settle.
“A calm mind is your greatest resource to enhance your ability to manage and calm your thoughts and emotions and to navigate the unsettling waters of today’s challenging world.” – Louise Crosby
When you create a regular pattern of meditation and mindfulness into your daily life, you will equip yourself with an invaluable resource, an Emotional Shelter that has little or no dependence on any external influences and one that you can utilise almost anywhere and anytime.
Let’s all be mindful to be a source of safe emotional shelter for others.
How and where do you build emotional shelter? I’d love to know so do share your thoughts and suggestions and in the comments below.
