Slow down and Breathe.

If I were my own best friend I would remind myself to…

slow down and Breathe.

The black ink text:  there are days when I am so overwhelmed and scared of where my life is headed that I can barely even find the time to BREATHE. or pause. or stop. or look up. or look down. at all. or think a single coherent thought that does not run into another coherent barely (becoming less so) thought… then there is a break.  A MOMENT.  A Pause. AND  A  BREATH   of fresh air.  or even just air.   and the fear subsides a little bit.   with BREATH.  and I feel less overwhelmed. with all of it now. breath holds space.  Hold on.   BREATHE.  But life is like the ocean and it crashes back down over me but I’ve caught my breath now.  I can tread a little loner.   Hang on.   and BREATHE.   Hang on.

The penciled text (in between the lines): keep breathing. tread water. keep going. you can do it. you can do this. keep breathing. look forward. look up. you are strong. you are powerful. you are blissful. breathe. breathe. READ the SUBTEXT. know where you stand. know who you are. try to think and feel and be in the world. be free. breath. in/out. over and over and be here. be here. breathe. breathe. be. breathe. slow down and read between the lines. pause. breathe. swim. breathe. stay afloat. breathe.

***I wrote and drew this on a day that was utterly chaotic, overwhelming, emotionally charged and very long. I remember coming home, sitting down and having no idea how to process what had just happened. I started by free-writing what had been foremost in my mind. Then I went back with pencil and scribbled in between the lines what I had been trying to tell myself all day.

I realized after I drew this that I do this a lot. I have the “front-and-center” thoughts that tend to dominate what I am doing. Then there are the subtle, quiet, underlying thoughts in the background. These “background” thoughts tend to be focused on staying calm, slowing down, giving myself space. I am working on bringing those “background” thoughts more to the forefront. I wonder how that will change my attitudes and relationships with the world and those around me?

Do you have different internal dialogues in your head? Have you ever sat down and written them out on paper? Are you talking to yourself in a positive voice or a negative one??