A Soft Place to Fall

“Your ordinary self is enough.” Carol Orsborn, author/speaker

I recently spoke at a national women’s conference and had a wonderful conversation with a woman from South Africa who leads groups for domestic violence survivors in PA. We really connected around how important it is that we all have a soft place to fall: a space or place or relationship where we can show up completely ourselves-- “warts and all!”

For me, my soft places to fall are when I’m connecting with my wonderful spiritual Master Mind group (I meet twice a month with four other wonderful coaches), when I’m walking with my dear friend/neighbor in the cool evenings after kids have gone to bed, when I spend time with my sweet mentor who holds a big, big space for me, when I go to my favorite Hatha yoga class on Monday morning, when I get to spend precious time one-on-one with close friends enjoying tea or hiking, and when my husband I carve out quiet time late in the evening to connect and *really* listen to one another.

Where are your soft places to fall? Who can you come to or where you can show up 100% you and share what's on your heart/mind, no matter how wacky or off-balance you feel? Where can you go where you know you’ll be accepted unconditionally? Where the listener has no agenda other than to support, love and hold a space for you to experience whatever you’re going through in the moment?

When I first became acquainted with the concept of self-care and learned that it’s much more than pedicures and massages, one of the most loving things I started to do for myself was to release self-criticism and judgment. And to allow myself to receive support, be less than perfect and show up authentically and very, very human.

This week, reflect on how you can be more kind to yourself (enjoy this self-kindness exercise) and where your soft places to fall are? Often the support is already present, we just have to let down our defenses to allow ourselves to really be seen—warts and all.

P.S. Join thousands of women every month who are meeting in small intentional self-renewal circles around the US and experiencing a soft place to fall. Interested in living more intentionally every day? Check out Live Inside Out or becoming a fan on the Live Inside Out Facebook page. Want to taste a self-renewal circle? Don’t forget to sign up for the free June 11th for our PRG “Sampler.”

The Journey, a blog about coach/author/entrepreneur Renee Trudeau’s personal journey to life balance and living life from the inside out, comes out weekly. Subscribe here. For more information on Renee’s upcoming events, click here.

Photo: Renee Peterson Trudeau, lavender farm on the Olympic Peninsula, WA.