The evening settles softly around me.
Beyond me, green leaves move in the Caribbean breeze, catching light and releasing it again. Somewhere there is ordinary life—the sound of a vehicle passing, somebody preparing dinner, a telephone ringing, another day making its way toward night.
And there I am.
A woman who has spent years teaching, serving, creating, loving, believing, building, beginning again.
A woman who knows how to show up.
Perhaps a little too well.
Because somewhere between showing up for the work, showing up for people I love, trying to make things happen, trying to create financial security, being kind when I was tired, and sometimes quietly hoping that the love I offered would find its way back to me—
I noticed something.
I was missing myself.
Not dramatically.
There was no great collapse.
I was simply giving away little pieces of my attention until my body began whispering:
Come home.
And lately I have been listening.
There are moments when I remember the words of Scripture: God has not given me a spirit of fear, but of power, love and a sound mind—words that also call me toward discipline and self-control.
And suddenly power looks different.
Power isn’t always pushing.
Sometimes power is stopping.
Love isn’t only what pours from me toward another.
Sometimes love turns around and comes looking for me.
And a sound mind isn’t pretending everything is perfect. It is being present enough to recognize what is happening within me and wise enough to respond.
There, I experience something I can only describe as sweet love.
I begin falling in love with myself again.
Not narcissism.
Not isolation.
Not I don’t need anybody.
Something much more tender:
I am here, and I will not abandon myself.
What may be happening in the body?
This is where wellbeing becomes practical.
When we are continually pursuing security, money, success, acceptance, approval or reciprocated love, the body can remain in a state of heightened activation. The nervous system is constantly receiving information about whether we are safe, threatened, connected, overwhelmed or able to settle.
Stress itself isn’t the enemy. Our bodies are designed to mobilize when necessary.
The difficulty comes when mobilization becomes our normal way of living.
We push through exhaustion.
We ignore hunger.
We postpone rest.
We remain emotionally available when we are depleted.
We say yes while something inside us is saying no.
We keep reaching toward something—or someone—hoping that finally receiving it will give us permission to relax.
And the body keeps the conversation going.
Tight shoulders. Shallow breathing. Restlessness. Fatigue. Irritability. Difficulty settling. A sense that we must keep doing.
Coming back to ourselves can interrupt that pattern.
Not because breathing, resting or meditating magically removes life’s responsibilities, but because these practices can help us move from automatic reaction toward greater awareness and choice.
That is wellbeing education.
It is learning to recognize what is happening within us and developing practices that help us respond differently.
And then there is the spiritual body
I also understand this experience through the chakra system.
Chakras belong to spiritual and philosophical traditions originating in India. I don’t present them as anatomical structures or medical diagnoses. I use them, as I have throughout my own metaphysical work, as a framework for self-discovery and reflection.
And lately, three centres speak particularly strongly to me.
💚 The Heart Chakra — Anahata
The heart centre invites me to examine love, compassion, connection, grief, forgiveness and our capacity both to give and receive love.
For someone accustomed to pouring outward, heart work can ask an uncomfortable question:
Can I include myself in the love I so freely give?
Opening the heart does not mean removing boundaries.
Quite the opposite.
Love without self-abandonment may require boundaries.
I can love someone and choose myself.
I can appreciate what was beautiful without demanding that it become something else.
I can receive tenderness without handing over ownership of my wellbeing.
And I can allow love to circulate rather than constantly travel in one direction.
That is sweet love.
💛 The Solar Plexus — Manipura
The solar plexus is traditionally associated with personal power, will, agency and our capacity to act.
And this one interests me deeply.
Because I have often associated power with doing more.
Push harder.
Make another call.
Create another programme.
Try another strategy.
Help another person.
But personal power can also sound like:
Enough.
I choose.
I decide where my energy goes.
I can change direction.
I don’t have to continue something simply because I invested heavily in it.
I don’t have to earn belonging through usefulness.
I don’t have to persuade anyone to recognize my value.
This is not passive power.
It is self-directed power.
🧡 The Sacral Chakra — Svadhisthana
And then comes the sacral centre—associated in chakra traditions with emotion, creativity, pleasure, sensuality, desire and our relationship with receiving.
Oh, this one.
Because wellbeing cannot only be about managing stress and preventing illness.
We are also allowed to enjoy being alive.
Good food.
Music.
Movement.
Beauty.
Creativity.
Sensuality.
Laughter.
Rest.
Nature.
Desire.
A beautiful dress.
The pleasure of your own body.
The satisfaction of creating something.
The sweetness of intimacy.
The delight of wanting something simply because it brings you joy.
Pleasure doesn’t have to be the reward we receive after everything else has been accomplished.
Sometimes pleasure itself is nourishment.
Nourishment is bigger than food
As a Food & Nutrition educator and health coach, I can talk about nourishment in terms of what is on our plates.
And that matters.
Our bodies require food, water, movement, sleep and appropriate healthcare.
But years of working in health and wellbeing have made the word nourishment much larger for me.
I can eat a beautifully balanced meal and still be emotionally depleted.
I can take supplements and still have no boundaries.
I can exercise faithfully while living in relentless internal pressure.
So I have learned to ask:
What is feeding my life?
What conversations nourish me?
What relationships allow reciprocity?
What environments help my body settle?
What am I consuming mentally?
When did I last experience uncomplicated pleasure?
Am I resting?
Am I creating?
Am I receiving?
Am I eating in ways that support my body?
Am I allowing myself quiet?
And perhaps the most revealing question:
What am I continuing to feed that is feeding on me?
That is a wellbeing question too.
A small practice: Come Back to You
You don’t need an elaborate ritual.
Sit somewhere comfortable.
Put one hand over your heart and, if comfortable, the other somewhere around your abdomen.
Allow yourself several natural breaths.
Then ask:
Body — what do you need?
Wait.
Heart — what are you holding?
Wait.
What am I hungry for that food cannot satisfy?
Wait.
Where is my energy asking to return to me?
Don’t force an answer.
Your first practice may simply be learning to hear yourself again.
Then choose one nourishing action.
Drink the water.
Eat the meal.
Take the walk.
Make the appointment you’ve been postponing.
Rest.
Pray.
Journal.
Dance.
Turn the telephone off.
Say no.
Ask for help.
Sit beneath a tree.
Create something.
Receive pleasure without explaining it.
Do the thing your body has quietly been requesting while your mind has been busy managing everybody and everything else.
Because coming back to yourself isn’t necessarily one magnificent spiritual awakening.
Sometimes it is a hundred small acts that say:
I am listening now.
And perhaps that is where power, love and a sound mind meet.
Not in fear.
Not in frantic pursuit.
But in the growing capacity to say:
My body needs me.
My energy needs me.
My soul needs me.
I need me.
And I am here.
Tuesday Teaching Reflection
Where have you been pouring so much of yourself outward that something within you is asking you to come home?
Continue the conversation with me
I explore these conversations more deeply every Wednesday in The Wellbeing Leadership Experience with International Internship University (IIU)—a live experience exploring wellbeing, self-awareness and what it means to lead and live without continually losing ourselves in the process.
You are welcome to join me.
Rev. Joslyn Farray Pierre
Educator • Wellbeing Educator • Ordained Minister
Health Coach • Author • International Speaker
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