Awareness – Page 33

Repeat after me “I’m too blessed to be stressed!” There, didn’t that feel good? If you rolled your eyes or your thoughts immediately went to all the things putting pressure on you, it’s time to start counting your blessings not your stressings!

In this world of information overload it’s easy to get overwhelmed and stuck in those things that cause stress in our lives. In our personal lives there are deadlines to meet, children to take care of, demanding bosses, relationship issues and for many money is tight to put it mildly. Add to that your interactions on social media like pets who need to be saved, prayer requests and social or political action that simply cannot just wait.

It seems that everything needs to be done right now and although we’ve been blessed with technology beyond what anyone could have imagined a few, short 10 years ago to help us we are even more stressed than ever. Stress and worry seem to consume even the best of us leaving our minds racing and our bodies with a sense of unease. There is a whole new meaning for the “rat race”. Stress is “equal opportunity” and no one is totally immune. That said, let’s break down what stress really is so you can start counting your blessings!

Stress plain and simple is your energy and focus outside of you. It is your thoughts and attention on the tasks you have to complete IN THE FUTURE, the fear of what MAY OR MAY NOT happen in the future or the fear a task will not be completed. Stress is your body’s way of reacting to challenges and one reacts to those challenges in a variety of ways. Stress and overwhelm are a part of everyone’s life and more than ever before we all have a lot on our plates (an understatement for me).

The biggest challenge tends not to be what is stressing you but getting “stuck” and working hard to “get rid of” the stress. When you are working hard or feel stuck you are in resistance; And what you resist you become. When you are in effort (and or resistance) you can be sure that energy is going to stick around for quite some time. Yes there is a lot to do, challenges to overcome and deadlines to be met but when you start focusing on your blessings and allowing everything to simply BE you move through the challenges faster and possibly even with grace and ease.

Shifting your focus can be as easy as looking around you and counting your blessings. You are blessed If you’re reading this to have a computer or device to read it. You are blessed if you have a place to stay and food on the table. If you have friends or even just one friend you are blessed. If you have clothing, you are blessed. Why not start a list of all the blessings in your life and pay particular attention to your immediate surroundings because there are blessings around you now!

Ask yourself if worrying about getting something done will get it done faster? Ask yourself if stressing over an outcome changes it? Ask yourself if anything in the past you worried about came to pass and if it did was it even half as bad as how stressed you were about it at the time? Ask yourself how effective and efficient you are when you let the stress get the best of you. Now find some amusement and give me a good belly laugh at what you just noticed!

Think of it this way, if you’re staring intently or have your eyes clamped shut worrying that the storm might sweep you away you will surely miss the rainbow showing you that light is still present behind the clouds. Yes, there are things to do, people to see and responsibilities to be met but everything WILL get done and you WILL get through whatever comes your way. Take comfort in your blessings for you are indeed blessed. In fact if you start counting those blessings you will find YOU’RE TOO BLESSED TO BE STRESSED!~Shine Your Light Debbie

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“To ‘know Thyself’ is considered quite an accomplishment.” ~L. Frank Baum, The Marvelous Land of Oz

As a soul each of us has a purpose and our very own yellow brick road. The road I speak of is not a myth, story or movie yet not unlike the Wizard of Oz, it is the path we walk on this journey we call life.

The path we walk is filled with joyful experiences, challenges, forks in the road and occasional road blocks to help us gain experience. It is the journey of a lifetime! Road blocks, challenges and forks in the road are there to help us heal and come back to ourselves and the path we chose before we took this human body.

We are bound to meet untruths that are deeply hidden within our psyche and some of these we falsely believe to be our own truth. One of the biggest challenges is to find out which of our “beliefs” is really our truth or someone else’s. It is what we believe to be true about ourselves which causes us to make a mountain out of a small stepping stone. To help you uncover the false beliefs you hold imagine if the scarecrow, tin-man and lion are inside of and a part of you.

You will run into these characters often as you skip down your yellow brick road and you may have noticed that every time you do, you momentarily stop your journey. The scarecrow represents your thoughts and intellect. The tin-man represents your identity and self-worth; And the lion represents your empowered self. The part of you that is certain, brave and courageous.

The Scarecrow (Thoughts and intellect)

“The Scarecrow watched the Woodman while he worked and said to him “I cannot think why this wall is here nor what it is made of.” “Rest you brains and do not worry about the wall,” replied the Woodman, “when we have climbed over it we shall know what is on the other side.”~ L. Frank Baum, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

Think about this character for a moment. He spent his whole life “thinking” he didn’t have a brain and wasn’t smart. He believed this so strongly it became his truth when in reality, it was someone else who once told him he wasn’t smart enough to do anything but scare away crows from the field. What beliefs do you hold that have kept you stuck in the corn field? Did someone once tell you, you weren’t smart enough or your grades weren’t good enough to carry out and fulfill your dreams? The thing I love about the scarecrow is that he stopped “thinking” and just started walking down the yellow brick road with Dorothy.

He used his intuition to walk beside her with the faith and knowledge that he would find what he was seeking which, in the end, he discovered was already there. What “thoughts” of doubt creep in while you are walking your path? Do you over analyze everything? Are you seeking something which you already have or did someone once rain on your parade and tell you, you weren’t smart enough to accomplish your goals?

The Tin-Man (Identity and self-worth)

No, my head is quite empty,” answered the Woodman; “but once I had brains, and a heart also; so, having tried them both, I should much rather have a heart.”~L. Frank Baum, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

How passionate the Tin-man for wanting a heart! Perhaps he believed he didn’t have one because he felt unworthy because he hadn’t done enough good deeds. Many believe they are un-lovable or at some level feel unworthy. They have difficulty loving themselves or lack passion because they are not recognized or identify self-worth with being loved by another. What do you believe about yourself? Do you love yourself and all that you are? Do you identify with someone else’s picture of what love is or think you don’t have love all around you and inside you? Your ability to love and your self-worth is not defined by your good deeds or giving to others although it’s very noble to do so.

Sometimes the best thing to do is empty your head and allow the love in your heart to grow and grow until it surrounds you like a bubble. What you believe about yourself is what you show others unconsciously. If your belief is that you are separate, you will be separate. If you believe you are not worthy until…(you do this or that) you will spend a lifetime identifying with a very false belief. If you are seeking to find love outside of you, look inside first!

The Lion (Your empowered self)

“True courage is in facing danger when you are afraid…”~L. Frank Baum, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

Everyone encounters fear on their journey but when you truly believe in yourself and face your fears you have courage and bravery to move past them. You are stronger than you think! If you believe you will be defeated you certainly will be! If you let fear of failing in the past take over, you’ve just given over all your personal power to the fear. Fear is very real but how much of that fear is based in reality? Are you still afraid to ride a bike because when you first took off the training wheels you fell down and scraped your knee? No! You got back on that bike and continued riding down the road. Each time you face your fears and get back on the bike, so to speak, you empower yourself more and more.

The path to self empowerment is to face your fears and obstacles and overcome them. Do not believe the voice in your head that says you are not strong enough, brave enough or courageous enough for that is the fear speaking. What you believe about your strength is what you give strength to!

Smoothly following your yellow brick road is as much about about knowing yourself and where your beliefs come from as walking the path. What you encounter on your path as an obstacle is something to help you learn more about yourself and just like in the Wizard of Oz you will find that what you thought you didn’t have is already there inside you! Happy Trails!~Shine Your Light Debbie

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