Peace

The quote above is one of my favorites. But do we actually know what having peace in our hearts feels like? I sometimes wonder. I catch myself saying I’m fine when the feeling in my shoulders is tension. Or I hear a client say, I’m the calm one, they are out of balance. And I can tell the energy is not calm. And they have no clue, because we were not taught as kids to pay attention to the messages our body is sending us, nor that we don’t have to believe what we think.

The fact that we have an operating system that is always working on behalf of well-being, both physically and mentally, implies that if we just got out of its way the ship of our being would be righted quite easily. And there’s the rub. Getting out of its way. Do we even notice when we are in its way?

Through a comedy of errors, I ended up having fasting bloodwork done three times in 6 weeks. The first time the person who drew the blood forgot the frozen packs as she sent them off FedEx to the lab. The second time, there was an insurance snafu, and even though I offered to private pay, the insurance was already on record and we could not get the results without jumping through way too many hoops. I am now on the third attempt this week, using a local lab to draw and process the results. Frustration was VERY readily available during the second snafu. As I was gnashing my teeth and being outraged at all of this, I suddenly became aware of how my physical body was feeling. And I laughed, as I remembered that but for my thinking I would be relaxed and interested, not furious.

I’m not saying fury is not an appropriate response.

I’m not saying fury is not an appropriate response. But it turns out it is not one I wish to feel. And that makes all the difference in my life. I know that thoughts keep moving unless I corral them and think about them over and over again, digging a hole into my mental well-being, and trying to think my way out of the issue. I KNOW I am right to be furious and THEY should know I am right. The problem is, it is my well-being that suffers, not theirs. So, I chose to let the fury move on, and what followed was resolve to try another approach to getting these results, plus an incredible softening and freedom in my body. I had the energy for what I really wanted to do which is teach people that they can learn how to tell when their body is relaxed, and when it is not. Funny how few of us notice that as a clue.

So, this week, imagine YOU are the only one who can allow your body to come to calm. That nothing outside of you is causing that tightness under your shoulder, or that shallow breathing. It is all interference with the operating system. No need to identify the thought that is causing the mischief. Just remember to not take anything you think seriously enough to allow it to impact your well-being. Start small, not where you are most outraged. And let me know how it goes. Just noticing the tightness allows it to dissipate, by the way. There is nothing to do but keep noticing until calm shows up again, which it is designed to do. And that’s when ideas ‘out of nowhere’ show up!