Time and time again, we struggle through something that just takes us to an edge and we can't seem to find a smile if we were paid a million dollars because we get caught in our discomfort! Life came and shook us up and we suddenly take ourselves so seriously, we forget that at the end of the day, we are still breathing, still eating, still watching TV, still petting the cat and talking to our children.
Life is short. As I grow older, days seem to get shorter too! When I was 12, I remember days sometimes seemed so long and Christmas just seemed like it would never come! Now, a new wisdom has embraced my days. I can sometimes find myself experiencing the 'not so pretty' side of myself when I am running out of time, or I can't get something the way I want it or things just don't seem to be lining up in an easy way. And then, bang... I'm frustrated or overwhelmed or just in plain ol' discomfort.
And then yesterday, while fully-whelmed with so much to do I stopped, shook my head and smiled at what was before me. I sat down . . . and noticed my body change it's feeling and I began to giggle...and I thought, "Why not smile?" Why take the familiar route of discomfort when there is lots to do? What would happen if I changed my mind? . . . You know, when you just think you are never going to get through it and never feel calm again!? And then, instead of your eyebrows turning down, your lips pursing, your body tightening as you watch your thoughts of negativity take over, and your surroundings are slowly becoming very inconvenient, that you turn the corners of your lips up towards the sky and allow the universe to help you through? Do it now. See what happens. What did your body do?
Suddenly, the stress finds a way to slide off my body. My thoughts are unable to hang onto the grid of unhappiness, and my body drops its tension. It is impossible to frown. And I started to laugh at the absurdity!
All I did was raise the corners of my lips! And that took me to a giggle . . . and I reclaimed that being wild sometimes means taking a different approach to the same ol' same ol. Sometimes, instead of responding in the usual way and following yourself down into the trenches . . . sometimes... it's really fun and a wee bit wild to take the lead to somewhere new in the landscape of yourself. And sometimes it comes in the tiniest form of turning the corners of your lips up to the sky and finding your self in a little giggle for no apparent reason at a time when you least expect it. I caught myself!
I am amazed by how simple it can be to change your path . . . and how complicated we sometimes make it.
How do you do it? How do you giggle in your discomfort?
1. Notice what you are doing that is making you uncomfortable
2. Name your feeling. (I am sad, overwhelmed, worried or . . . ? )
3. Make a decision to have a different response.
4. Smile. And if you can't, just begin by turning the corners of your lips up to the sky!
5. Let your self follow your body prompts as it shifts gears into a new wild rhythm.
6. Surrender ...
7. Let your Self giggle!
If you found this little wild tidbit of thought useful, share it with your friends and family.
copyright 2011 Elizabeth MacLeod
3 comments:
Love it Elizabeth... my grandpa always said no matter how hard life gets if you can't laugh at it then your doing something wrong ;)
Just spent some time reading older posts. Thank you, Wild Woman. They are getting better and better and more fun... or am I listening differently? LOL? Maybe both! Thank you!
wonderful!! I do this all the time and it's truly a breathe of fresh air to be in those moments of discomfort and find a way to shift your own energy... it's an art & skill indeed. Thank you for sharing this! I really enjoy your writing.
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