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Care of Souls

The Shadow.

Books irritate, series bore, the body is stone – and around you, everyone's life seems to boil.

The Shadow

This post has no lesson at the end, and that's why it belongs here. Bella lost her job the moment she learned she was pregnant – on paper, a gift of free time; in practice, a slow slide into emptiness. Chores on autopilot, books irritating, everyone else's life seemingly boiling while hers stands still. Her word for it is exact: a shadow.

She doesn't diagnose it – hormones, depression, or simply a season, she honestly doesn't know. What she does is rarer: she describes it truthfully and keeps two sentences within reach – I believe I'll get through, and everything passes. The Creative Process says where such stretches belong: the fog and the empty days are not gaps in the process. They are the process. Something is ripening in them, invisibly.

If you've ever stood in that fog, this post will feel like company. That's all it promises – and it's a lot.

🌸 The shadow

Sometimes life leads us into situations where everything seems mistimed. You think: if only this had happened a little earlier or a little later – it would have been easier, clearer, more right.

I lost my job at exactly the moment I learned I was pregnant.
And on one hand – that's good, isn't it? I can fully live this period, feel the changes, listen to my body, sleep as much as I want. And above all – no stress from work.

But on the other – I've worked all my life. Almost without breaks. Only the pandemic and rare stretches of illness ever stopped me.
And now it's as if I'm on maternity leave, but the “mom duties” haven't started yet.

So here I am – home alone. No work, no tasks, no company.
At first it was fine – the nausea and sleepiness kept me busy. Then it was even good – cooking, cleaning, reading, watching something light.

And then – emptiness.
All the chores on autopilot. Books irritate me. Series have gone stale.
It seems everyone around you has a life that's boiling, and you've frozen still. You are – a shadow.

Interest in everything disappears. No wish for friends, no wish to go outside. The body is stone, eyes full of tears, inside – apathy and silence.
As if the fire has gone out.
As if you're the shadow of a person who lost her I somewhere.

And beside me – a loving husband, care, support… And joy – none.

I don't know how to find the way out.
Maybe it's hormones. Maybe depression.
Maybe it's simply a season like this.
But right now – it's heavy. Very.

I believe I'll get through. Everything passes.
But right now… I am – in the shadow.

Translated from Russian
by Bella

Thank you for reading.

If her words reached somewhere mine don't – good. That's what this blog is for. Take what fits and leave the rest.

– Jan

Where this comes from:

The original post
This post on Telegram, as Bella published it – in Russian.
С нежностью к себе
Bella's channel on Telegram – all of her posts, in Russian.

Read more

The Creative Process
How inspiration becomes manifestation – the creative process as a living dance between intuition and expression, heart and mind.

Post by post:

As It Should Be
The next post
Off the Needle
The previous post

If you're new here: these posts come from Bella's Telegram channel «С нежностью к себе». What this blog is, and why – read more here.

Care of Souls
Bella walks the same way in a completely different voice – diary-honest, from the middle of life. Selected posts from her Telegram channel, translated from Russian.