Take a Deep Breath

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Today, I decided to take a walk out in nature after having been down with a cold and being cooped up in my place for little over a week. I was miserable to say the least. Stepping outside, I realized that there was a chill in the air so I put on a thicker jacket and made my way to the fields and open spaces. Freedom from my thoughts was what I was seeking as it suddenly dawned on me that the cold had not only robbed me of my strength by my good mood as well. Normal? Well, I was going to mend, come hell or high water!

I found myself all alone out in the open with only the birds and a duck or two for company. The fields looked empty having been robbed of their normal output of corn, potatoes and whatever else the farmers had thought was a necessity for human or animal consumption. The wind picked up speed and I pulled my jacket closer around me. Is it that time of year again? The time when summer takes leave and fall comes in almost on silent feet? It is one of my favourite seasons and I felt myself relaxing. Summer with its blazing heat and all that comes with it especially the “sweat it out” part was never my cup of tea.

I kept my eyes focused but on nothing in particular. It was just wonderful to be out in familiar territory and I noticed that the apples were halfway harvested which meant we still had a while to go before fall walks in and takes its rightful place.

It seems that nature has a way of taking care of itself. It knows when the sweet apple blossoms should show up, they then give way to apples and when not picked, fall to the ground and make way for the next season to begin with very little fanfare. Humans know about progression too but we often fight it every step of the way. Why is that? Perhaps fighting is in our nature and God forbid if something becomes too easy. Nope, we can’t have that.

I spent the week bundled up feeling miserable and to make matters worse, I decided to take a look at all the things that were not so right in my world. Take it from me, never do that when you’re not feeling well. It’s the easiest way to stumble, fall and go to the depths of depression. That’s exactly what happened. Suddenly all the progress I had made the last few months came to a screeching halt and I was crying, “Poor me!” in no time at all. Add to that the constant nose blowing and nothing tastes quite right feeling and you’ve got the picture I think. Self-pity is often self-serving and it does its job well.

I went from a simple cold to my whole world is messed up! How did that happen? Well, humans have a knack for botching things up. We can take something small and blow it out of the water. Building mountains out of molehills is my expertise BUT I might let it go for a while and than I reel it back in as I am doing now.

The sun feels great on my face and the world is righting itself back into normalcy again. Taking a deep breath, I make my way back thanking nature for having come to my rescue again. It’s going to be an amazing day.

“The difference between a mountain and a molehill is your perspective.” Unknown

AND

“A molehill can only become a mountain if you give it the power to grow.” Unknown

PEACE

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It is Sunday, a day of rest and rejuvenation from a week of stresses and unrest. I woke up with good intentions this morning. Finding peace is my goal for today, more precisely, inner peace that is.

“It does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble or hard work. It means to be in the midst of those things and still be calm in your heart.” Unknown

And this is exactly the problem. Chaos and noise shatters my idea of peace. My mind is like rush hour 24/7 and when I find the time to gather inner peace, it has taken flight and I am left with unrest, anxiety and an inability to calm down no matter how hard I try. Sleepless nights follow and I wake up to another day of more of the same.

Now I am arming myself with what is needed to stop the constant chatter within my mind. I liken it to a monkey jumping around with no real goal in sight. Recently, I started the age-old practice of meditation. Five minutes was too much at first. I felt my whole body rebelling against this new concept that was trying to break into what it was accustomed to and that is total and utter chaos! After a while of consistently practicing this method of inner peace, I could feel my body say, “Come on in. I like you!” Slowly I progressed to 10 minutes and now I am doing 40 minutes a day. Unbelievable but the benefits are seen and felt and I am sleeping better.

7 Benefits of Meditation

Calms the nervous system

Decreases brain fog

Enhances memory

Boosts attention and focus

Slows down aging (this one I like a lot!)

Improves sleep

Regulates mood.

Sukhasana

What’s not to like right? Furthermore, it doesn’t cost a thing. Just a quiet space, focus and take off and in time, the “inner monkey” is tamed and he or she takes a step back and lets the calm and peace take hold, and you my friend will be headed to nirvana. Well, it is not that easy, mind you. It takes time and YOU wanting peace above all else.

Deep breathing is another easy tried and true method of shutting out the world, of going inside yourself and within minutes or to a count of ten breaths and there it is, instant peace and relaxation. The benefits are plenty.

It helps to:

lower blood pressure and heart rate, reduces stress hormones in the blood, balances levels of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the blood, improves your immune system functions, increases physical energy and it increases calm and well-being.

There you go. Another fast and easy way to get to that goal of inner peace. However, the human mind tends to retaliate because we don’t want easy do we? We moan, cry, throw tantrums and refuse to take the bull by the horn and say, “Look you, I am no longer putting up with you (stress, anxiety) ravaging my body. It’s time for you to get going!”

Simplify your life. We complicate with so many unwanted things that cause tremendous stress. Relationships that tear us down instead of build us up. Quite often we hide behind a curtain of insecurities that it is hard to see the path ahead. Bravery and courage is needed to tear down that invisible curtain. Get rid of the things that are weighing you down and you know what they are if you are honest with yourself. Finally, free your mind so that peace and tranquility can reign supreme and that folks is my goal for today. If I make it that is to be seen. Fingers crossed but I am going to do more than that to achieve my zen-like state of mind.

“Peace is a day-to-day problem, the product of a multitude of events and judgments. Peace is not an ‘is,’ it is a ‘becoming.” Haile Selassie

“Peace is a daily, a weekly, a monthly process, gradually changing opinions, slowly eroding old barriers, quietly building new structures.” John F. Kennedy

“But achieving a sense of inner peace is real. It’s out there. You just have to be willing to walk past the darkness, and even past the light, to find it.” Hannah Hart

“Do not let the behavior of others destroy your inner peace.” Dalai Lama

This one is important because we do allow people to influence our moods and how it affects our inner being. If they lie, treat you badly or take you for granted, DO NOT let the after-effects seep in and gnaw at your insides. Let it go…..easier said than done I know.

I wish you PEACE.