Handle with care

When we are fragile. A list of things I've been trying.

Hello you,

There is a phrase in

Emma Gannon

’s new book, A Year of Nothing, that has really stayed with me. I’ve probably said it to myself most days since I read it.

Handle with care

I said it to my therapist when they asked me what I needed from our session.

And I’ve been trying to reiterate this sentiment to people who really, really need it.

Especially one person who has been so present in my heart that it’s like we’ve been sitting side by side; though it’s been our phones connecting us across the acres.

But how do we actually handle ourselves with care? It’s hard to do in such a spiky, harsh and abrupt world.

These are a few things I’ve been trying;

• Journaling - aka splurging whatever is on my mind into my notebook or a Google doc

  

• Watercolours - not for the end product but as a form of relaxation (thank you Emma Jane Lefebvre)

• Going to the sea - I am so lucky that the coast is accessible to me

• Poetry - I’ve always felt like I wasn’t a poetry gal. I’m glad that’s changing. I’ve even tried writing my own.

• Acceptance - I am overwhelmed and need a break. There. I feel very fortunate that I am so supported in life and work that I can do this.

What comes to mind for you when you hear handle with care? Is there something you could do today or this week? Even something ‘tiny’?

You don’t need to earn it.

My inner critic is telling me that this list is obvious, silly and indulgent. But I don’t have to listen…

There are so many people who need and deserve to be handled with care and are not. This is unjust and unfair.

But I hope that being gentle with myself will ripple out.

Just because we’re not children anymore, doesn’t mean we stopped needing to be handled with care.

Janelle x