Have you ever felt disconnected from the world and even the people you love? We are surrounded by machines but we are creatures who need to interact with one another. A machine cannot give us the warmth that we crave. Touch is such an essential part of the human experience. It is restorative and it connects you to other people. Hugs are fantastic! Find someone to hug! Smile. Take a moment and do something silly.
Your body craves to touch the earth, to smell the air, to feel the wind. We are inside so much of the time! Whether I want to or not I have to spend time outside at least twice a day so that my dogs can do their business. It doesn't matter how cold or hot, wet or dry the weather is because we are going to take a walk one way or another. I've learned to embrace those moments as my time to convene with nature. I look at the sky, the moon, the stars and in the morning the dew on the grass, the deer grazing and my dogs sniffing everything possible!
Another thing I try to do is actually touch the earth. When I stand near a tree I make sure to gently place my hand on it and connect with its energy. Everything is made of energy and you can feel it if you just clear your mind and allow the connection to unfold. There are a lot of unkind phrases for people who revere nature so much but there is absolutely nothing wrong with taking your shoes off and feeling the mud on your toes. In fact, it has now been scientifically proven that hugging a tree is good for you!!! Shocking? Not really! We have so much in common with trees, plants, insects and animals so that is why we must share this vast earth together.
I'm a big advocate of taking even a few minutes a day to be outside. This time you should get out there and hug a tree, speak to a plant or a bird, marvel in the colors around you and touch nature!
For more information on tree hugging check out the article below.
http://www.themindunleashed.org/2013/07/tree-hugging-now-scientifically.html
Showing posts with label embrace. Show all posts
Showing posts with label embrace. Show all posts
Monday, October 28, 2013
Monday, October 21, 2013
Success
I read an amazing article comparing successful and unsuccessful people. It pointed out the basic differences between these two types of individuals. Clearly, success means different things to each of us but I took it at face value and analyzed the points made.
Successful people have a sense of gratitude while unsuccessful people have a sense of entitlement. I wake up every morning with a grateful heart. It might sound cheesy but it has transformed the way that I view life. I am happy to be alive and to have the opportunity to experience another day. I've heard people on the opposite side of the spectrum always say things such as "why is this happening to me?" "why can't I catch a break?" "it's his/her fault that I didn't get X". I'm not expert but this is not a healthy mentality. I believe that success means that you can own up to your own mistakes and failures. You can find the beauty in everything even though it seems that your life has become a constant abyss of darkness. I'll get in to this more later. I am in NO way stating that this is an easy thing to do.
Successful people exude joy and embrace change while their counterparts fear change and constantly criticize others. I could see why this would make someone happy or unhappy. If you are always putting other people down and are unable to move forward in your journey then you are holding on to some sort of resentment and fear. Exuding joy is infectious. People love to see smiles and hear laughter. There's always something to smile about. ALWAYS.
Successful people keep a to do list and a journal that helps them to set goals and develop life plans. Unsuccessful people don't set goals and think that they know it all. I'm beginning to see a theme here.
It looks like successful people know what they want, are willing to accept change and failure and pick themselves back up again. This is not to say that a successful person is an automaton. They can embrace their feelings but also let them go! Unsuccessful people on the other hand have difficulty letting go of the past, hold grudges and want other people to fail. They are hard on themselves and on others. How can anyone be successful if they can't be happy on a very basic level?
Successful people have a sense of gratitude while unsuccessful people have a sense of entitlement. I wake up every morning with a grateful heart. It might sound cheesy but it has transformed the way that I view life. I am happy to be alive and to have the opportunity to experience another day. I've heard people on the opposite side of the spectrum always say things such as "why is this happening to me?" "why can't I catch a break?" "it's his/her fault that I didn't get X". I'm not expert but this is not a healthy mentality. I believe that success means that you can own up to your own mistakes and failures. You can find the beauty in everything even though it seems that your life has become a constant abyss of darkness. I'll get in to this more later. I am in NO way stating that this is an easy thing to do.
Successful people exude joy and embrace change while their counterparts fear change and constantly criticize others. I could see why this would make someone happy or unhappy. If you are always putting other people down and are unable to move forward in your journey then you are holding on to some sort of resentment and fear. Exuding joy is infectious. People love to see smiles and hear laughter. There's always something to smile about. ALWAYS.
Successful people keep a to do list and a journal that helps them to set goals and develop life plans. Unsuccessful people don't set goals and think that they know it all. I'm beginning to see a theme here.
It looks like successful people know what they want, are willing to accept change and failure and pick themselves back up again. This is not to say that a successful person is an automaton. They can embrace their feelings but also let them go! Unsuccessful people on the other hand have difficulty letting go of the past, hold grudges and want other people to fail. They are hard on themselves and on others. How can anyone be successful if they can't be happy on a very basic level?
Tuesday, October 1, 2013
Embrace Your Suffering
A year ago I fought every fiber in my existence because I did not want to experience pain, loneliness, anger and sadness. I tried to mask it with every weapon that I had. Typically my methods of distraction were in the form of working several jobs, watching movies, doing extra chores, helping everyone else with their problems and sometimes I would even partake in some alcoholic beverages.
All these activities only further pushed these negative feelings further down in to the pit of my stomach. I kept rejecting and ignoring them but then I would start feeling intense anxiety and panic. I didn't sleep well and I was always on the verge of mental breakdown. All this because I could not allow myself to FEEL.
Why do we do this? Clearly, it is very unpleasant to go through the emotions involved in the basic things that make us sad or angry. You witnessed your husband or wife cheating on you, you lost a loved one, you are recovering from an assault or any other jolting life event. Who wants to go through all that hurt?
Most times we are told to just move on, let it go or simply not talk about it. This is extremely unhealthy! You are just reinforcing the notion that everything is fine even though it's absolutely not fine. So what if everything is NOT fine anyway? We are human beings and as such we are allowed to feel. We are supposed to feel.
Not every day is beautiful or perfect. Things happen and they change our lives profoundly.
What I believe is that in order to move forward in your life journey, you must be able to embrace your suffering. You are not weak if you cry or if you need to scream your anger to the wind. We are taught to suppress and not just let out those feelings. Instead, embrace those feelings, admit how much they hurt or how angry they make you. Analyze the situation to see what it is that makes you feel the way you do. Allow yourself the time to properly address the issue and when it feels right, move on!
Take one more step and each time your negative, sad emotion comes back to you. Take a deep breath, visualize the issue and imagine releasing it in the wind. Let the beautiful sky take your troubles away. My visualization typically includes a very blue sky, puffy white clouds and a warm breeze. I write my trouble on a piece of paper, fold it up and lift my hands to the sky. The wind naturally takes it away and I thank the universe for helping me through the difficult state of mind.
I want to reinforce that tragedies may happen in our lives and some people will take longer to recover from them. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that. It is not a sign of weakness. My point is that the sooner you embrace the loss, sadness or anger then the sooner you are able to embrace the suffering and move forward on your journey.
Namaste.
All these activities only further pushed these negative feelings further down in to the pit of my stomach. I kept rejecting and ignoring them but then I would start feeling intense anxiety and panic. I didn't sleep well and I was always on the verge of mental breakdown. All this because I could not allow myself to FEEL.
Why do we do this? Clearly, it is very unpleasant to go through the emotions involved in the basic things that make us sad or angry. You witnessed your husband or wife cheating on you, you lost a loved one, you are recovering from an assault or any other jolting life event. Who wants to go through all that hurt?
Most times we are told to just move on, let it go or simply not talk about it. This is extremely unhealthy! You are just reinforcing the notion that everything is fine even though it's absolutely not fine. So what if everything is NOT fine anyway? We are human beings and as such we are allowed to feel. We are supposed to feel.
Not every day is beautiful or perfect. Things happen and they change our lives profoundly.
What I believe is that in order to move forward in your life journey, you must be able to embrace your suffering. You are not weak if you cry or if you need to scream your anger to the wind. We are taught to suppress and not just let out those feelings. Instead, embrace those feelings, admit how much they hurt or how angry they make you. Analyze the situation to see what it is that makes you feel the way you do. Allow yourself the time to properly address the issue and when it feels right, move on!
Take one more step and each time your negative, sad emotion comes back to you. Take a deep breath, visualize the issue and imagine releasing it in the wind. Let the beautiful sky take your troubles away. My visualization typically includes a very blue sky, puffy white clouds and a warm breeze. I write my trouble on a piece of paper, fold it up and lift my hands to the sky. The wind naturally takes it away and I thank the universe for helping me through the difficult state of mind.
I want to reinforce that tragedies may happen in our lives and some people will take longer to recover from them. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that. It is not a sign of weakness. My point is that the sooner you embrace the loss, sadness or anger then the sooner you are able to embrace the suffering and move forward on your journey.
Namaste.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)