Getting closer to well-being - this was the goal of the June series of live shows conducted on the nikalab IG profile by Ewelina Stępnicka. In the following weeks, in 4 live meetings, Ewelina led us through joint considerations of what influences our sense of well-being. The entire series of meetings aroused many emotions, provoking reflection and encouraging self-care.
part 1 LIFE
The introduction to reflections on life was a poem by Portia Nelson "Autobiography in Five Chapters":
I'm walking down the street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. I fall into it. I'm lost... helpless. It's not my fault. I'm taking forever to dig out.
I'm walking down the same street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. I pretend I don't see her. I fall into it again. I can't believe I'm in the same place. But it's not my fault. I'm going to be out for a long time again.
I'm walking down the same street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. I see her. But here I am again... it's a habit. My eyes are open. I know where I am. It's my fault. I'll get out immediately.
I'm walking down the same street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. I avoid her.
I'm walking down a different street.
During the meeting, by interpreting subsequent chapters of the poem, Ewelina explained the difficult process of gaining awareness and the ability to leave those spaces in life that do not serve us - to be able to build completely new, valuable habits and approach to ourselves, others, the world, and our body. and health.
At the end of her reflections, Ewelina shared with the participants a reflection on self-care: “Life is a journey through chapters. It is not as black and white as we would like. We won't jump through the chapters, and there are holes in the roads of life. The poem is a reminder of humility. We change and develop until our last breath. A holistic approach to yourself, your life and your health is essential. Taking care of yourself doesn't take a moment.
Sometimes it's good to take a step back. The body is an amazing tool - there is so much we already know about it, and there is so much we don't know. Many things depend on us and what we do with it. Moments in everyday life made up of many responsibilities have spaces and gaps in which we can take care of ourselves. Let us be with each other, facing each other, in every chapter of our existence on planet earth.”
The recording of part 1 LIFE from the series "Let's read about love..." by Ewelina Stępnicka can be found here .
part 2 FAILURES
“This is a lesson about difficult moments when we need comfort” - this is how Ewelina started the second live meeting, then proceeded to read the poem “Arise, sister, arise!” by Rebecca Campbell.
“The poem is about being on your own side, about allowing yourself to really feel your emotions. Seeing yourself. It is meant to give you the courage to face life in difficult times and believe that life still has a lot to offer. See what happens when you don't give up. Failure is when you don't try - otherwise, stumbling is just an attempt, another attempt.” - said Ewelina, encouraging us to always support ourselves in difficult times and stay on our side.
The recording of part 2 FAILURE from the series "Let's read about love..." by Ewelina Stępnicka can be found here .
part 3 BODY
In the third part, Ewelina introduced the topic of approaching your body and taking care of it.
“What is your first instinct when your body is sick? Do we have patience with him then? Or do we blame our body, want to heal it as quickly as possible and lack patience? Do we listen to the body or do we command it? Do we give him time to heal?” - Ewelina asked these important questions to the participants at the beginning. The starting point for reflections on what our conversation with the body looks like and what it should look like was a fragment of a poem from the book "The Body House" by Rupi Kaur:
“It's important to realize that our body communicates with us all the time. It is also important not to deceive ourselves, to stay in the truth of our emotions," said Ewelina during her reflections, emphasizing the importance of what we can influence in the context of our body: "We have control over our everyday life. And what we can do for our body. Every moment we are in our body, we decide what we will do and what we will give to this body.”
Ewelina ended the meeting about how to treat her own body with the punchline "Only love makes sense, everything else is exhausting" and an encouragement to "look around your body, with a flashlight of patience and hear it."
The recording of part 3 BODY from the series "Let's read about love..." by Ewelina Stępnicka can be found here .
part 4 LIGHT
In the last, fourth part of the series of meetings "Let's read about love..." Ewelina touched on the topic of consciously or unconsciously turning off your own light, encouraging you to "allow yourself" and to discover your potential in the world.
The meeting began with the reading of a poem by Marianne Williamson from the book "Return to Love":
Marianne Williamson
Ewelina pointed to ourselves as the source of our own well-being and inspiration for others, and the need to cultivate the inner light: "In addition to taking care of our body and mind, on the way to health, let us make sure not to extinguish the fire that burns within us."
“Don't belittle yourself. Turn to face yourself and those who are inspired by your light. We do not suppress our light in front of others. We love ourselves when the body is sick and when it recovers," said Ewelina.
The meeting ended with encouragement for a daily affirmation: "I want to see what will happen when I allow myself to shine - what will happen to my body, mind, spirit."
The recording of part 3 BODY from the series "Let's read about love..." by Ewelina Stępnicka can be found here .