Every moment is an opportunity.  We don’t choose how we feel about something.  But we can choose how we respond to how we feel.  First, it is a good idea to notice and name how we feel.  Is it anger, shame, pain, guilt, fear?  Next it helps to breathe into and accept how we feel.  After that we can journal, call a friend, punch the bed, go for a walk, pray, or any other non harmful action that helps us experience that feeling as fluid and fleeting rather than stuck and consuming.  Then we can take note if we have been able to let a little bit of the feeling go.  Have we been able to come to some peace?  If we are still activated, then we can go through the process again.  Why?  Because every moment is an opportunity to make peace with life instead of fighting life.  To make peace within ourselves and with others.  To deepen within ourselves and move more fully into love and compassion.  Those are the things that make our relationships rich and deep, and our lives more satisfying.  Those are the things that make life worth living.  Today, I will notice whether I can experience difficult emotions as opportunities to connect with myself and others and I will notice that I can have some influence over how I respond to my feelings.

The Importance of Rejection

One of the most painful experiences is the sting of rejection.  It can start the wheels spinning – “Am I good enough? Is there something wrong with me?  Have I done something wrong?  Am I worthless?”  Those questions are important ones for us to recognize and face.  When they come, it would be good if we could welcome them as opportunities to re-attest to our value and worth.  Value and worth is something we are born with, but can forget that we have.  Sometimes we imagine them as something we earn, or as flexible points depending on how we have performed.  And then, when we are questioning ourselves, we might get that spinning head, short breath, difficulty concentrating feeling.  And then… we can become aware that this is an opportunity to practice calming, comforting, and reassuring ourselves.  This is an opportunity to practice knowing who we are with an unwillingness to turn on or abandon ourselves.  This is also an opportunity to engage in a human experience that we can draw from when connecting with others.  Everyone has had the experience of feeling rejected.  What makes the difference is the ability create connection with self or another out of that “negative” event.  Today, when I notice rejection, I will use it as an opportunity to reach for connection with myself or another.

I was just reading this morning about honoring natural rhythms in our bodies.  Specifically, I was reading about female rhythms.  There are indications that males have rhythms, but the research is nowhere near what we have for females.  According to author Christiane Northrup M.D., many women experience an energy boost, with a desire to be creative and focus outward during the first two weeks of the menstrual cycle, followed by two weeks of a turning inward to notice what holds deeper meaning, what makes one feel more emotional, and a noticing of things that may be dissatisfying.  She recommends that women not ignore the intuition they get during those second two weeks, but use it to make meaningful improvement in everyday life.  Don’t let those dissatisfying things build up.  Today, I will not tune out my inner wisdom.  Rather, I will use it to continue to shape my life in an ever more meaningful direction so that I can be happy and share my happiness with those around me.

Aren’t we all!  Yes, but I mean the site, not me.  Well, me too.

Thanks for visiting.  I hope to have interesting and meaningful content soon.