I’m a big advocate of trying to slow down the pace of life, simplifying our lives, being less busy in our moments… but what if you can’t? (I’m a big talker believe me, my life is nothing short of full-out craziness running two VERY BUSY businesses). What if your life can’t be made less busy — are you doomed to a life of anxiety and unhappiness? Sometimes I feel this way with having Kelly’s Bake Shoppe and LettuceLove Cafe in my life and now, a book that is due, a new website, blog posts, recipe creation, Thanksgiving and Christmas is coming!!! OMG, it is sometimes overwhelming with no space to breathe.
I’m going to share with you a very simple tool that might just transform your life. It’s something I’ve been trying in the last couple of months, and I can attest that it works brilliantly when practiced.
This one little method will help you to:
- Be more present in your moment, so life doesn’t rush passed you without you noticing. Breathe in Contentment.
- Enjoy every activity you do more, so life is better all the time. Notice your breathe in that moment to slow you down.
- Feel more relaxed (deep breathing and centred), so every day is as good as a vacation. Why not?
- Be ready to handle anything that comes your way (I’m trying all the time!). Always remember that life changes every second. We need to do our best to adapt and ACCEPT and love what the Universe throws our way.
Not bad for a very tiny method, no? Let’s see my plan:
Busy VS Relaxed:
Normally we have two different modes in life. There’s the busy of our everyday lives, and then there’s the relaxed mode, which happens when we have some unstructured time: vacation, a day at the beach, a spa getaway, some time in the park alone or with someone special.
Relaxed Mode is one where we perhaps think less and feel more. We just soak in the sun, the sounds, the scents and the sensations. This is a child-like time, because it’s the mode that young children are in the most. We do our best to train kids not to be like this, so they can be good workers when they grow up and serve our corporate masters (funny isn’t it how we re-program and change the very essence of who we are supposed to be).
And so we grow up to be in Busy Mode most of the week, and if we’re lucky we get a day or two (this is certainly not me), and maybe only an hour or two of relaxed mode. For me, I try to steal this time one hour before I go to bed and jump in a warm tub. Even when the Internet entices us and drags us in, we have less relaxed mode because the Internet keeps us in our minds and we are totally not relaxed by any means, and we forget about the physical world around us in this virtual reality. We lose touch with the physical world and the physical contact of the planet we absolutely so desperately need to have with other living, loving beings.
How can we change this? How can revert to the child-like relaxed mode back to our everyday lives? It’s not that difficult if you practice. THIS is the key. We want to transform our lives to be ‘in the moment‘ – not to allow it to pass us by.
We all desire this when we are in relaxed mode, we notice the sensations of the wind and the warm sun, the sounds of the wind or water and laughter, the beautiful colours of nature, the smiles around us, even the sand between our toes. This is our connection to Mother Earth and it is what we ultimately will find the most happiness and joy in.
The sensations of our bodies flow into our minds, and it makes us relaxed and happy. We can re-learn this mode of being. Try it now. Be still… Listen to your breathe going deeply in and calmly going out. Be quietly still. How are you feeling…is your jaw tight, is your back slouched, are your hands warm or cold, how about your feet? Are they cool? How does your neck and your head feel? Eliminate any other thoughts in your mind. When you focus on physical sensations, you are entering RELAXED mode (how fantastic!) instead of our Work and Thinking mode. It’s not that you’re completely relaxed, but you’re in the same state of mind as the times you are relaxed like doing yoga or hanging out in a tree fort.
Once you learn to do this, you can do it any time. Do this as you work at your desk, or as you talk on the phone, taking a shower or a bath and the magical feeling of being enveloped in warm water. If you’re eating a lovely meal, taste every mouthful, savour the tastes and the texture and also savour the moment. Do this as you answer emails, running errands, discover your breath all over again. Do this throughout the day and you will be in a constant state of relaxation and joy.
Life will be savoured and LIVED. Sounds awesome to me!
1 Comment
Love this! Isn't it amazing that we have to train ourselves to feel again?!