Beauty That Surrounds Me

The green against the clear blue sky. What a contrast of colors. Different shades of green appear from dark to light and reflective to dull. The sun hits them as if to highlight a new hue every few moments.

Birds run and play, flying from one branch to another. Landing on a high wire they are suspended far above the ground. The occasional butterfly flutters past as the dragonfly hovers above the fence. Ever so vigilantly, the bird flies to the ground searching, hopping and looking around.

The air is still with the occasional slight movement of a tree leaf high above the tree. White flowers stretch out as buds from their branches. Purple flowers reach for the ground from what once was a bush taken under by frost.

Sounds from near and far drift by as a rustle of wind caresses my face. A bird chirps, then a few birds answer in return. A truck is near by while people chat as if is no tomorrow exists. A dog barks his voice into the background.

The air is warm and somewhat heavy. The shade from the sun is a momentary escape. The morning dew glistens on the grass as if a wake up call of nourishment has arrived.

The water is clear and calm. Reflections fill the edges as if someone painted what is there. It looks deep but yet it is shallow. The random vibration of ripples appear as if it is a magic trick to be played. The water is calm, but yet it acts as if it is full of movement and life.

Just sitting here and taking this all in is a like a breath of fresh air. It feels like a daily reset button in life. My body senses the lightness, connectedness of the flowing moments. I gaze at the morning sunlight caressing the landscape. My mind feels full in appreciation and awe.

May I carry this moment through my day. May I continue to feel safe and secure. My thankful heart rejoices in all the beauty that surrounds me. It is abundant.


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Keeping It In Perspective

Sometimes life can throw them at you hard and fast and if you don't duck quickly enough, you get slammed in the face! Really, it can! I know - many of you probably already know that. Sometimes though, it just feels like a tidal wave or a hurricane has slammed ashore in your life.

In the past week, I've been hit several times with some major stressors and each one stung a lot. All of the situations were out of my control but yet they impacted me directly and with gusto! Different people, different frameworks and different situations lined up and attacked at once it seemed. Believe me, at one point I was ready to run for cover, yet there was no place to run to.

I tried to deal with each situation as best as I could but the accumulation affect began to make the little things grow into much bigger things. One event hit me so hard that it really made me extremely angry. The minute I felt the anger, I was feeling the need to literally vomit my guts out. A headache raged on and my abdomen was so bloated that moving around or sitting was excruciating. For the rest of the night and into much of the next day, I physically didn't think I was going to make it. And of all days, I had a task to perform that went almost 15 hours from beginning to end. So now, I'm not only dealing with the anger and physical ills but I'm feeling exhausted, stressed, tired, etc.

Yet, I am listening to my body and hearing it say to me that I need to stop, regroup and hit that reset button. So here's what I'm doing.

1) The things that I can take care of and do what I need to do, I'm working on. If it is beyond my control, I'm just trying to say, it isn't my concern for now and I have to trust the system in place.

2) The things that needed immediate attention for me to stand up and be accounted, I had conversations with the person stating to them that their way of doing business was a very bad practice. After all, I lost a serious amount of business income because of a decision they made that strongly impacted me. While they didn't like me confronting them and it may impact further income, I had no choice really because they would have just walked all over me in the future.

3) The things that were just too consuming and toxic at the moment had to be put off. After all, I can only do and deal adequately with so many things at one time. I've learned that I don't have to solve everything with others at one moment. Sometimes we need to regroup and reassemble in order to move forward. That's what I'm doing.

4) I'm trying to take time off and just rest and give myself some downtime. While I can't just run off and get away from phones, email and other responsibilities, I can limit myself for a day or two. My body is screaming for the rest and is hitting the reset button whether I like it or not. So I've got to follow what my body wants or there will be hell to pay!

5) I plan on getting the creative side of me out and just allowing myself to bask into the calmness and groundedness and centeredness of it all. Allow myself to go in to that place that is peaceful, calming and soothing and to connect with the higher side of myself.

Sometimes perspective on stresses and issues in life is very difficult to keep. Sometimes we get bombarded like in a game of dodge-ball that we have to find a corner to hide in or catch the balls coming at us. Whatever we do, there are times when we really just need to stop and find a way to catch our breath, regroup and hit the reset button.

If you're stressed and feeling bomarded, it is time to take a moment and do a reset in life. Don't keep trudging through everything because you think you have to. If you stop and rest a little, you'll fuel your body back up to take on everything coming at you. If you exhaust yourself, you will be taken out by the dodge balls!


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