Hi friends! Today's blog post comes to you at a perfect moment in time. I have been Miss Texas for about 4 months now, and it has been the busiest 4 months of my life. While I feel so incredibly lucky to do what I love every single day, I will be the first to admit at times it can be a really hard job. I have realized it is so important for me to stop every once in a while and allow myself to rest. That is why I am so excited to be sharing these words from Senior Life Coach, Elise Dean! I hope you enjoy!
In today’s world, we are busy. We are distracted. We are coping with hard feelings. We are keeping up with the pressures from society, comparison to our friends, and expectations from our families. We are navigating life and the twists and turns it takes. It’s a lot and the burden is heavy.
Everything in life is pulling us in different directions, away from the NOW. Away from the present moment. That’s how we lose ourselves. The connection and relationship we have with ourselves is the most important one. We take so much care to nurture our relationships and friendships with others, but are we doing the same for ourselves?
Mindfulness is taking care and time to come back to your home base. To re-center yourself. To ground yourself. YOU are your constant in life and we have to slow down to be able to reaffirm ourselves in that.
I love the quote,
“If you are depressed you are living in the past. If you are anxious you are living in the future. If you are at peace you are living in the present.”
― Lao Tzu
So how do we find our peace?
Living in the present. BUT it’s really hard to do that when we are being pulled in a million directions from the moment we open our eyes in the morning till the moment we get into bed. And maybe even then the thoughts don’t turn off. Cue the anxiety.
Mindfulness is so individualized so it’s going to look different for everyone but I want to encourage you to write a “Master Mindfulness List” and keep it close. The purpose of this list is to serve as a little reminder to take that time to slow down and channel back into your peace. Your peace never goes away, it’s always in you. We just get disconnected from it when life takes over. No one is going to force you to get back in touch with your peace. That’s your responsibility.
To get started, close your eyes and think of when you are most peaceful. What’s going on? What are you doing? What is the environment like? Who are you with?
Your “Master Mindfulness List” should be a list of all the things you can do to take a break from the craziness of life and recharge your battery. It could be meditating, it could be a walk outside, it could be a nice long bath. Everything on this list should be FREE of distractions. So close the computer, turn off the tv, and put your phone on airplane mode. Everything that needs to get done will be there for you when you get back.
When we are practicing mindfulness, we are setting an intention for ourselves. That you are willing to shut the world out to take care of yourself so you can get back out there with all that you have. We have to come up for fresh air! It’s an opportunity to connect back in with your deep knowing and intuition. So much clarity comes from sitting in that space. If you are overwhelmed with life or you are unsure of the decision you need to make, take a break and practice mindfulness.
I’m going to challenge you to commit to doing 1 thing off your list a day! Make a challenge for yourself to be intentional about putting your focus on your peace! Where focus goes, energy flows – remember that! GOOD LUCK!!!
Elise Dean, Master in Counseling, Senior Life Coach