Do you know how to pull yourself above the muck of stress and panic?
Beyond implosion?
Destruction?
Can you sidestep undermining voices yelling within you; wanting and yet simultaneously not wanting to be in the driver’s seat?
The grip of a fist, tightening around your vital intake of air?
Paralysis. Shut down. Blank.
THE GREAT EQUALIZER?
We all go through it. Stress. Who would have known? We are united by anxiety.
Perhaps it’s the bills? Perhaps it’s your children? Your health? Your unhappy relationship? God knows there are enough bona fide reasons to have that stress trigger flipped.
So when I speak to you here, I know you can relate to me and I can relate to you. In this we are not unique.
I’ve been around that block. Sometimes I seem to be taking a trip down memory lane and I feel like I’m right back where I started. Why can extreme tension still bring me back there?
But picture a world without pressure? I mean, would anything even get done? Stress is part of the energetic tension that drives us both forward and to greatness. Kind of like a hot air balloon with no gas. Not going anywhere, right?
Stress is a vital part of our existence . Yes, it most certainly can be a critical aspect of our death too (Maybe I’ll blog about that if there’s a strong enough internet connection from the other side?). But actually, it’s crucial - it keeps us alive.
Crap? Horrid? Maybe . . . we need to somehow reframe.
ENTER: A NEW POSSIBILITY
If that’s the deal, if stress is simply not going to go away, what can be done to differentiate between positive and negative stressors? What can be done to overcome that aforementioned paralysis and get back to the program of living and thriving and creating?
Like I said, I don’t always get it right. Sometimes I forget what to do too. In the quagmire of too muchness I binge on unconstructive behavioral indulgences. I’m human - and so are you.
But then there are times—increasingly with practice and mindfulness - that I champion the stressful situation and go on to soar; to be productive and grow beyond my wildest imagination. You see, when we are holding on to “stuff,” we are blocking possibilities. Clinging onto fear fills up the space that goodness, calmness and success could be occupying.
Are you ready to join me in carving out a new path? A new stress response? Because that’s the first step.
Paralysis is where we’ve both already been. It doesn’t pay the rent. It doesn’t feed the kids. And it doesn’t foster good health and harmony.
Let’s (lovingly) kick some ass instead. Let’s harness the power that is 100 percent ours. Let’s change our response and move mountains . . . in a breath.
You game?
If you’re still reading, I know you are. And I’m grateful. It means you know you are worth it.
WHERE DO I BEGIN?
Surrender. Surrender to the sound of your breath. Surrender to the beating of your heart.
Get comfortable, close your eyes, and inhale through your nose. Now I don’t care if you’re at your desk, in a public toilet or anywhere else for that matter. Okay, cautionary note: Not to be done while driving or operating heavy machinery. You get the picture, I know.
Aside, we have a kitty, Jessica. She loves to be on anyone meditating. So if you have a Jessica, best she’s somewhere else because a cat climbing all over one tends to be distracting.
BACK TO BUSINESS
I want you to breathe. You’re doing it anyway. Inhale through your nostrils and exhale out your mouth. And as you inhale say to yourself “Breathing in, I breathe in," and exhaling repeat, “Breathing out, I breathe out." That’s it!
