Nature has a way of balancing itself when things get out of whack. When we get out of whack with stress, anxiety and panic, getting back into nature can balance us.
As with all of the postings on this blog, I am most likely not going to tell you anything new. You really do know what works for you. You know what does not work for you. No one knows you better than you.Of course, but from time to time, we all get stuck, because we tend to forget, or dismiss the simple remedies. We can feel so bad in our emotional self, that we grab for the huge fix, operations over massages, drugs over counseling. If you think of yourself having a sugar low, although you might think you are feeling so bad physically that you need to eat a 10 course meal, the reality is that eating simply 15 -45 carbohydrates, (preferably from good carbs not processed food carbs), takes care of the problem. Overkill does not help more.
Taking a walk in nature or sitting by a bubbling brook can seem trivial. But it’s not.
Quite often it is not the physical act of getting hit in the head with a two by four that gives us the headache. It is usually the impossible life situation, screaming kids, outrageous demands at work, worrying about finances, relationships, shelter, our next meal that set us off.
We can only do our best. We cannot do any more than our best. It is unreasonable to expect that we can do more than our best. We need to always do our best, but after that, we need to let go.
This has been said in this blog before, but no one wakes up in the morning planning to shoot themself in the foot, on purpose ruining their plans and everyone else’s plans, making sure they can get into and cause as many accidents as they can.
Bad things happen to all of us, indiscriminately. What do you focus on when bad things happen to you? Remember, what you focus on grows. You might need to retrain your mind to become a solution oriented person, which may be a new habit your ego might wrestle with you about, but that is the key to this solution. Focus on the solution. If the problem has already manifested, spinning your wheels and complaining to high heaven, will not take the problem away.
It is not that you are a bad person, or that you are not a perfect person.
Actually, I hope you are not a perfect person. There is no such thing, except me of course, chuckle, chuckle. No, not even me.
Setting ourselves up as if we were perfect, having perfection as our life model, is one way we adversely trip ourselves up. Another downhill trip is trying to follow someone else’s expectations, or what we think are someone else’s expectations of perfection. That’s a big no-no on so many levels.
“Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.” Lao Tzu 600 BC-531 BC. Even 2,612 years ago, philosopher Lao Tzu demonstrated peace through nature.
Notice the order of the seasons, the night that follows the day. Nothing gets taken out of turn. There is no rush for the seasons, no speeding up of time to make the night come quicker.
It we could incorporate these simple lessons into the core of our being. We could become peaceful people again. Stop rushing around, mentally and physically. Can you picture Jesus or the Buddha rushing, dashing from place to place saying, “Hurry up and sit down the listen,” while he continued talking so fast that no one in the crowds could comprehend what they were saying? Sound familiar?
Always do your best. Maybe your best on any given day might be to make sure you get the proper rest, or get adequate sleep, so you do not die before your time. Maybe your best might be for you to really let go of things you cannot control, as if you could anyway. Maybe your best is to let things play out in the natural course of events, rather than try to be everyone’s savior. We already had one of those. It was not you, and it was not me.
Relax and breathe. You will be OK. Worrying will not help, no matter what your situation is. The sun will shine again. Now is not forever. There is a natural rythym to the ocean tide, and there is a natural rythym to your life. Observe your rythyms. Keep what serves you. Let go of what does not serve you. Not everyone is going to agree with your decisions. They do not have to. Your decisions are your decisions. Keep breathing. Keep smiling. It helps.
Namaste