I slipped the thin soft cotton top over my head, smiling at the memory long ago from the Del Mar Fair, where I found this great t-shirt. The image of the woman is faded to the perfect shadow, grey on black. Looking in the mirror, I was stunned that I couldn’t pull up her name. I was staring at the image, from Breakfast at Tiffany’s, looking at the iconic actress whom I love, and drawing a blank on her name.
“Whoa, Julie honey… it’s okay. Your brain is letting you know how much love you need to give yourself. You are obviously more stressed out than you realize – and… take off the shirt if you can’t think of who it is!”
A few minutes later, wearing a different soft black t-shirt, as I was applying mascara in my 20x magnifying mirror, I blurted out, “Audrey Hepburn! Oh, thank God!”
I was getting ready to teach, taking my Wednesday morning mindfulness and meditation class on a guided visualization journey, so I made a note to write about this experience later in the day.
When it came time to jot down this story, I had to google “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” to discover Audrey Hepburn’s name again! Wow! I guess I have my work cut out for me, relaxing into loving myself and giving myself compassion for what happens to my memory when my nervous system is under stress.
Interestingly, when I relax into loving myself, and stop striving to make myself feel better, I usually do feel better.
