– Thomas Moore
We all go through rough spiritual patches when we feel lost, alone, unsure of ourselves, and even hopeless and disillusioned. Though it may seem at those times like it would be impossible to feel even worse, there is a way we can make those hard times even harder: by judging ourselves as failures for feeling the way we do. This is especially common among those of us in the helping professions like healers, counselors and therapists, for we tend to expect ourselves to be unfailingly happy, healthy, and available to help others. The more we beat ourselves up for feeling bad, the more we keep uncomfortable emotions at an arm’s length, which prevents us from consciously dealing with them and adds self-condemnation to an already heavy mix. It’s okay to feel down, discouraged and lost sometimes; indeed, it’s a sign that we’re fully awake, and are still questioning, changing, learning and growing.