Returning Again And Again: Harnessing the Power Of Vulnerability And Allowing Yourself To Be Received As You are
Episode 28: Returning Again And Again
This episode comes from a place of honest and vulnerability. I share where I’m at and how I’m navigating the more challenging parts of the in-between season. I explore the full range of emotions and hold them with self-compassion and give myself permission to just be.
Episode Details
Summary
In this episode, I’m sharing honestly about a week where I found myself in a bit of a funk. After feeling excitement and momentum around my writing and the possibility of self-publishing, I suddenly felt anxious, frustrated, and out of sorts without one clear reason why.
I reflect on how growth and expansion can require time for the nervous system to adjust, and why moving forward does not always feel light or exciting. Sometimes it looks like crankiness, uncertainty, or needing extra care while the body finds a new sense of balance.
I also talk about the pressure to give everything we care about one hundred percent of our energy. Life does not always allow for that, especially when we are carrying grief, responsibilities, creativity, and many different priorities at once. What we are able to give in this moment is enough.
I also reflect on the importance of community, vulnerability, and having spaces where we can be completely unfiltered. There is something deeply healing about allowing another person to witness what we are experiencing, even when we cannot wrap it in a perfect message or tie it with a bow.
Consistency is not a perfect routine or never becoming derailed. It is the willingness to return to what matters again and again, while remaining flexible and compassionate with ourselves along the way.
This is an invitation to honor wherever you are today. You do not have to be positive all the time, and you do not need a clear explanation for every feeling. Sometimes sharing what is true is enough to help the weight begin to lift.
This episode is for you if…
You’re going through a difficult time and ready to find a release
You want to live a slower life and let go of the pressure to constantly adapt to technology
You’re ready to build community and need inspiration on where to start
You’re learning the value of being witnessed and the importance of connection in your life
You’re in a season full of change and transition
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Welcome to The Shoreline, where we explore the tender in-between seasons of the human experience. My name is Kim, and I'm here to support you as you navigate your next becoming. Here, we don't fix, we listen, we don't rush, we allow. Hello and welcome. If you're new here, I'm so glad that you've made your way to The Shoreline. And if you're returning, welcome back. I'm so glad that you're here. So let's just get into it. I'm going to be real with you. This last week, I have really been in quite a mood. I feel like last week when I shared, I was kind of building momentum and excitement around my novel, and this idea of self-publishing. I talked about kind of just the complexity of grief and really wanting to let go of needing to work an effort to earn things and letting go of, yeah, it needing to be hard in order for it to be valuable. So I felt like I was kind of on this upward trajectory, and for whatever reason, I've just been kind of in a mood. There's no real rhyme or reason for it. I think part of it is that I have been going through a lot of expansion and growth. And as I mentioned before, I've been kind of in a season of completion, letting go of my leadership coach, kind of wrapping up some loose ends. And I think that part of it is that my nervous system is really just adjusting and recalibrating. So I've been kind of working through some feelings of anxiety and just needing to kind of support my body and my nervous system as it kind of finds a new homeostasis and as it recalibrates. And I think as a result, it's kind of shifted my mood and how I've been feeling. The weather has been really up and down. And so I've just been kind of a little bit cranky, which is not the most fun to share. I think that I really want to show up here and be a light and be positive. But what's more important to me is to be real and true and authentic and honest with you. So that's where I'm at. I've been just in kind of a funk and a mood over the weekend. I really tried to move through some of the feelings I was having and just kind of like get out of my environment. So Koshy and I went on some adventures to different parks here in Seattle. And I got to see her run on the beach, which always makes me really happy. And it was nice to really be out in nature and just kind of put my phone away and just be really present and take in the landscape, the birds and the sounds they make, and really just kind of take in all of that goodness for my nervous system. Which I think between that and continuing to like move my body and go to Pilates and strength train and just walking, that has really helped. And also like it's really, I just want to like normalize, like it's okay to be in a funk and to be in a mood. I think that's a very real part of the human experience and being on a growth path and on a spiritual path. Like it's not always love and light. And I never want to portray that it's only good. Because at the end of the day, like we are having a human experience. And part of that is feeling all the feelings, not just the fun ones, you know, annoyance, frustration, anger, like it's all part of it, right? And so I just want to be really honest and true with you about like, what is actually happening in my life. And emotional landscapes are complex. I've talked about this before, especially as it relates to grief. And I think I've really spoke about it in terms of like holding joy and sadness together. But frustration and anger are there too. It's part of the grief journey. And I think that is really important to share. Like sometimes I just feel as much as I do feel that I'm right where I'm supposed to be. I'm on my path. Like some days I wake up and I just feel really annoyed and frustrated and I kind of wish I could go back or just wish that things were different or easier. And I really just want to honor those desires that I have in the moment because it's all part of it and it's all really welcomed. And so it doesn't always feel exciting and fun to share that. But I think it's important to talk about the frustration, to talk about feeling kind of agitated and just moody. And what I noticed in myself is that I wanted to really place it somewhere. Like I wanted to say like this happened and that's why I feel this way. But really like nothing happened. I think that it's just part of the larger shift that I'm going through and the understanding that yes, while I'm kind of wrapping up an in-between season, I really am in a longer transition and a longer in-between. There are some loose ends that are related to my dad's passing that are going to take time. And I really won't be through it for at least a few years. And I think that that contributed to just feeling frustrated of wanting things to be different or wanting to feel more free or like I can focus all of my energy on what I want to focus on. And my reality is that I have a lot on my plate and I'm focusing on a lot of different things right now. So nothing really gets my 100 percent. I think that sometimes I wish that all I could do is, you know, just wake up and like focus on my novel and put everything that I have there. But that's not really how life works. And I think especially when you are a creative person and multi-passionate, or you're an adult who's juggling a lot, you don't always get to give something 100 percent. And I think what's frustrating is that you can, when you care about something, you want to give it your all, and sometimes you just can't. And that's okay. I just want to say like, that's okay, and like you're doing a great job, and what you can give is what you can give. You have to really meet yourself where you're at, right? And so that's what I'm going through right now is like, there are things that I want to give 100% to, but I'm being pulled in a lot of different directions, and all I can give is all I can give, and that's enough, and I just want to really honor that. While also continuing to create space for joy, for ease, for flow, I remember my intuition, my inner voice, a few weeks ago just randomly told me to roll with the punches, and it was talking about that specific day, or at least that's how I took it in the moment, and it really helped me navigate that day that was full of a lot of unexpected twists and turns. Like nothing really went according to how I planned it, and there were things I wanted to do that didn't get done, and I think that had my inner voice not said that, I would have been really frustrated by the day and really annoyed that I didn't get more done. But because I kind of knew already that things were not going to go the way that I intended them, because my inner voice had roll with the punches, I was able to approach it from a lighter perspective and just kind of hold it with humor and be like, well, yep, my inner voice was right. It said roll with the punches and that's what I'm doing. And it does feel like maybe I'm in like a season of that, of just my goal is to be really consistent with my projects, with the podcast, with my novel. But that may not always be able to happen. And I think consistency really is about returning again and again, even when you're derailed. It's not about having a perfect routine and everything going according to how you planned it. I think consistency really is about integrating that flexibility and saying, like, you know, sometimes life will get in the way, and that's okay. But consistency means I will come back to this, and I will not forget about it. And there are times when I'll be able to execute a perfect routine and revisit it over and over, and other times I won't. But I have that longer term vision in my mind, and I'm holding that, and I will return again and again. That's all we can do, right? Is just try to be consistent and remain flexible, and hold ourselves with compassion, and trust that you're on your path, and I'm on my path, and we're all just doing our best, right? That's all you can do, is show up and honor where you're at, and, you know, time will pass, and things will shift, and already I can feel myself kind of coming out of my mood, and I'm noticing that as much as I didn't want to share this with you, sharing it is making me feel lighter, and it really is this beautiful release. So thank you so much for listening and for holding this with me. I really appreciate you, and just want to honor your capacity to hold what I'm going through as well. And yeah, it just feels really nice to have this space and to have this connection with you. And I am so grateful for the consistency that I've built with The Shoreline. And it's actually been something that has been bringing me so much joy. Like, I genuinely get excited to sit down and record. And I've been really excited about just figuring out ways for more people to join us. And it's just it's honestly the highlight of my week. So I just, again, want to say thank you so much for listening, for being here with me, for navigating the in-between with me. It feels like such a special and sacred place. So thank you. And I hope that you feel that connection as well, and that it adds to your life, because that's what my intention is. I really want to just be a space, and for The Shoreline to be something that really adds value to your life. And I think that more than ever, I've been really focused lately on local community, and you're a part of that as well. I think that community building is something that is so important and so needed. And especially when it feels like life and technology is moving really fast. I've just been feeling more and more like I want to be mostly offline, and I'm just focusing on how I can build real human connections. That's what is important. I've been really lucky to be in a neighborhood that is really community focused, and I feel grateful to know all my neighbors. And even if that weren't the case, I think that I would try to make an effort to build those connections wherever I'm at. And so I hope that you can take that in, and maybe you're starting to build connections wherever you're at and build that community, because that's what's important. I think it is really important that we, as humans, can all connect and share our experiences with one another, because there's so much richness there. To have your experience witnessed, and to be able to learn from someone else, it's this really beautiful exchange. And as I just mentioned, with feeling so much lighter, just sharing where I'm at, like there is such a value in just allowing someone to witness you and your experience. And I want to acknowledge that it can feel really scary and vulnerable to do that sometimes. And I think we all have a tendency to gloss over what we're really going through, what we're really going through. But I promise you that whoever is in front of you wants to genuinely know how you're doing and what you're going through. And vulnerability is such a gift. I always feel so honored when someone shares their heart with me and when they are open and honest about what they're going through. It just means so much to me. I remember earlier this week, I was texting my friend, and when I was really in the depths of my mood, I was like, I don't always feel like I can be myself, or I was like, I just I don't feel really seen. And she shared that it was our friendship. And, you know, I'm one of very few people in her life where she can be 100 percent unfiltered. And I just felt so honored that she. Felt comfortable enough to be completely herself with me. And it felt like such a gift that I will not take for granted. And I hope to to be that for other people as well. And I want to lead with vulnerability and openness and just share, share my heart and share like the truest part of me, because that's where true connection really forms. And so again, thank you for allowing me to show up as I am. And I hope that you have those spaces where, where you feel like you can be 100% yourself and be the most authentic, unfiltered version of you. And if you don't feel like you have those spaces yet, I would encourage you to, to try out leading with your heart and with vulnerability and to see where it takes you. Because I'm sure that there are people in your life who really do want to get to know you and who want to see all of you. I hope that we can all continue just to be more ourselves in this world as we navigate this experience. And yeah, that's, that's what I have to share with you. I was hoping to kind of wrap everything up in a really nice message and a bow, but it doesn't always happen like that. And I just want to be real and myself. And this is where I'm at in this moment in time. And so I hope that you have enjoyed listening and you're taking something away from this conversation. And I just want you to know that if you're feeling stuck in the foggy middle or you're exhausted from having to always figure it out alone, you can explore The Shoreline private coaching sessions. You can find more information or schedule time to chat with me on my website. All of that information is in the show notes. And truly, I just want you to know that you're not alone. I'm here with you. And I hope that you take good care of yourself while the waves carry you closer. Know that your next version is already waiting on the shore.
If you’re feeling stuck in the foggy middle and exhausted from having to always “figure it out” alone, I want to invite you to…
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Kim Kogane is a writer and intuitive guide helping you navigate the tender in-between seasons. She lives in Seattle, Washington with her dog, Cauchy, and three cats. Learn more about Kim.
