I was at the park this morning taking a stroll with “my girls” Stella and Trinity, which for me, brings an immense amount of joy and laughter in my life. These two really make me take a moment and reflect on how important mindfulness is in life, they have no care in the world and the only thing they are focusing on is their wrestling match with one another. Gnawing, gumming, chewing away at one another while feeling the wet grass under neath their fur. They love each another and that makes me smile. 🙂 They are living in this moment. They’re not focusing on what has to be done in 5 minutes or how they’re going to make it to tomorrow, they are living in that moment. Most importantly, they are free, careless and having fun. Which brings me to something I want to share with you….
Lately, I find myself trying to find a sense of balance in my life. Do you ever feel that way? Like you can become so absorbed in your work world that you will often times miss out on those free, happy and careless moments? I think we try so hard to live in this fast-paced life and try to keep up this insanely ridiculous pace because we feel like we have to. I don’t know about you, but I often times make myself take a step back and ask, “why am I going, going, going and what am I trying to accomplish by doing so?” Is it because I feel like I have to for a more defined sense of self worth? Or even for others to not view me as lazy because we are suppose to be busy, right? Possibly. On the flip side, sometimes when I’m truly honest with myself I’m running from something. I’m so in tune now with my emotions, feelings and the connection of the two that I can now hit my internal “stop” button quite quickly. Don’t get me wrong, it’s taken me a long ass time to get here and it’s still a struggle.
Honestly, at times, I’m not really in the mood to deal with my emotions.
I’ve come to see that if I take a moment, just to stop, reflect and really take a step back and look at it from a third party point of view, I’m able to see what’s going on. It’s almost like you’re someone else for a moment because you literally have to take the emotions out and be objective before you can see what’s going on. Haven’t we all felt that?
It’s almost like that Tasmanian Devil in Looney Tunes, right? We spin so quick because we’re afraid of slowing down.
I want us to ask a few simple questions when we find ourselves “spinning”,
- “Why am I creating unneeded chaos right now?”
- “What’s going on where I feel the need to hurry to the next thing.”
- “Am I trying to run from something deeper?”
My experience more often than not, I’m trying to run from my feelings or intuition. Because let’s be real, sometimes it just downright sucks to have to deal with them.
Speaking from experience, if I constantly stay busy, busy, busy then I don’t have to deal with the deeper issues or have to face my intuition head on. It’s like I’m scared to know the answers when deep down, I already know them, I’m just too frightened to face them. We have the answers, it’s a matter of listening.
How about we start with some baby steps, okay? For today, let’s try and take 5 minutes to sit in silence and see what comes up in us. Whether that be in our commute to work, a quick step outside from our desk or on our couch. Now, I’m not saying to steep in your emotions, especially if they begin to feel overwhelming or unmanageable. All I’m asking is to just take a small tip off the iceberg and allow yourself to feel and be. They can be relishing on happy thoughts or creating a safe place to feel a small bit of vulnerability. If you find that you’re stuck or feeling scared then just stop. I don’t want you to feel too overwhelmed with your feelings that you don’t know what to do with them.
I assure you I’m in your corner. I’ve got you and it’s okay to feel and not run. These little moments go a long way, and life begins to have a bit more light and less dullness. I can’t wait to hear how you did. Be like my pups and live in the moment and be, I promise it’s okay!
Sending lots of love and encouragement to you! You’ve got this…
xo,
Kim 🙂