There are a number of habits that I’ve accumulated over the last few years that really cause me a lot of stress. I find myself consistently getting more and more anxious as I think about performing these unhealthy habits. Every now and then, I’ll manage to see through the fog of this anxiety and realize, I don’t even have to feel this way. I don’t have to do any of those things if they are causing me distress. I’m the only one making myself do them. It’s a strange realization to have, but it gives me so much relief.
I don’t know if this type of thing is common with other people, if it has to do with anxiety, or autism, or OCD, but it could also just be me. Either way I’ve been trying to remind myself when I notice I’m getting all wound up inside, that there isn’t anything wrong. I am only upset because I’m having to meet my own unreasonable demands and expectations. And I’m the one I have to answer to in the end. I don’t have to put this pressure on myself at all.
What a weight off my shoulders! I feel I’m able to breathe more deeply just thinking about it. It’s bizarre to think that I can so easily forget that I am the one in charge of my life. There are so many things that I get to choose each day, each moment, that I take for granted. I’ve let my past self continue choosing for me. Even when those choices no longer serve me.
I often find myself taking things too seriously. Taking this life too seriously. It is easy to lose sight of the true purpose I’ve chosen for this life. In the end, all the really matters to me is to be as good of a person as I can, and to enjoy myself in the process. That’s it. Easy enough. Nothing else matters. I don’t have to be perfect. I don’t even have to achieve anything necessarily. I just have to live my life in a way that makes me and those around me happy. Everything else is just extra.
So at the end of the day, there is no need to stress. All I have to do is do my best with what I have every day. Nothing more, nothing less. And we are all capable of that much. I want to practice listening to my inner wisdom, my intuition, my body, my breath, my heart. It seems I’ve lost touch with them all long ago. There is a silence inside of me. Important voices that have withered after not being heard for so many years. I want to remember that I don’t have to be afraid. I can trust myself. I can trust in this universe to guide me, to always place me exactly where I need to be. Everything is as it should be. Always. And I am lucky enough to be a witness to it all. To be a part of it.
It has been a revelation to realize just how important our focus is in this life. Something so seemingly small compared to the vastness of this existence. Yet it has the potential to change absolutely everything. What an amazing power we have all been given. The power to choose where we place our focus. Even though it can be hard, we always have that choice. And we can practice this power. We can learn to strengthen that ability to choose, our ability to focus on what we want to focus on.
I will continue to use my meditation as exercise. An exercise for the engine that creates my reality. Because in the short time that I have on this earth, I want to be able to choose. I won’t waste anymore time stirring up my own self-inflicted suffering. What a silly thing to do! When there is so much beauty, so much love, so much to be grateful for with that energy inside of me instead.
Protect the Innocent 