Slow Down
Somewhere in life we all received the memo that being busy meant we were being productive. Always having something to do and rushing off to the next thing made us important is some way. Our presence was needed at everything we were invited to and on top of that we made up more for us to do to fill any moment that wasn't filled. Somewhere we believed the hype that busy meant we were doing the right thing.
Here's the secret .... it's not!
If you are always busy and always rushing then you are missing the point in life. You aren't enjoying anything because your head is racing "what's next". Well what if there was no next? What if this moment was the most precious thing about today and you are missing it because right now your list of what you need to do is racing through your head. So allow yourself right now to just stop. Look around you.You are enough because you are here. Take today to be in the present moment. Slow yourself down. Don't rush by people mumbling "hi, how are you" and not waiting for a response before you move on. See people. Hear people. Respond. Laugh. Joke. Smile. Breathe. Then say no to half of what you are invited to. Here is your new memo, the one that gives you permission to slow your life down and enjoy it. The one that says don't believe the hype about being busy. We made that up. That's not real but this moment, this one is. So choose to do things differently and redefine what busy looks like to you.
Blessings
Life can be complex, challenging, painful, and relentless at times. Life can also be miraculous, joyful, beautiful, forgiving, and hopeful. It can also be both at the same time. Life is a roller coaster full of twists, turns, high moments and moments where you feel you are plunging to the ground ... but it's life that is our greatest lesson. Everything that appears in our life, both the wonderful and the painful, are all blessings. Everything that is happening to us and around us is put there to stretch and grow us in ways we couldn't even imagine were possible. The key is that we recognize what the lesson is and learn from it, do things differently, and start being grateful for even those tough times; for it's in those times we learn how to lean in to other people to help get us through or even find a strength within us we didn't know existed.
Blessings are all around. Be open enough to see them, embrace them, and live taking each lesson with you along the way.
Pain
In order to grow the most you must walk through the pain. Walking through the part of your life that is the most difficult and no longer serving your highest self is the toughest work you will ever do but by far the most eye-opening and soul inspiring work that one can & should do. Pain teaches us what we are made of. It shows us the depths of our resolve and strength. It swings open new possibilities once the old has been closed for good. As the saying goes, pain is inevitable but suffering is not. You can choose to look at pain as your greatest teacher and know that when the lesson is done, the pain will lift and be replaced by absolute peace. Use your pain to grow you, not keep you in a state of torture - that's not what it is meant for. Stop using excuses not to do the work to walk through the pain. It is your time to become the master of your sea.
