Growing Wiser

Spring is here, at least for a moment. There are sprouts in the yard, birds are flocking, and hollyhocks are reaching for the sky. Ahhhh. I have been longing for those warmer days again. Soon.

I have also been thinking a lot about stress as things in my life get processed. They Roared is in its final (or, perhaps final, final, or final, final, final edit? I have lost count. When I see the word edit, I see an infinity sign next to it!). The dust is settling a bit, and with that settling has come the realization that I have allowed myself to be super stressed for too long. It is insidious and just creeps in slowly, almost imperceptibly, until it has a stranglehold on me.

A wonderful recording of an interview with Elissa Epel by Tammi Simonds at Sounds True awakened me even more to how stress has been held in my body, especially over the past year or more. Dr. Epel speaks about how stress actually affects our biology on a cellular level, the aging process, and the neurological system. On some level, I knew this, yet life goes on at a dizzying pace and I forget, until I get physically ill, or just stop functioning properly.

Dr. Epel talks about awareness being the key. We need to be mindful of what we are doing/feeling. Identify what the stress is, where it is, and why. By being aware of our breath, slowing, and being mindful, we can ease it. Meditation, yoga, and taking time to be mindful will help us ease or remove stress. (Great interview on Sounds True - available online at no cost - link below). https://resources.soundstrue.com/podcast/elissa-epel-the-stress-prescription/?utm_source=Z-Customer%20Service&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=N230423-Epel-Warrington%20%2801GYB3EED5XK1DW93VHCSNYV03%29&triplesource=klaviyo&utm_klaviyo_id=LH4XwW&_kx=qZjbV1D3plJsDlhgm7PPwni5_d40DQzsuNiat67_2zg%3D.JMDgaq

All that said, I think I have been learning to let go, be in more moments of mindful awareness, and accept things I can’t control. Slowing down! There have been short times of accomplishing this, but life seems to draw me right back into the frenzy and resulting stress. A work in progress, but focusing on the breath, slowing down, mindful awareness - being in touch with what I am feeling and why - I am not stuck, I can and am making this work.

Life is good! I am finding more beauty and deeper awareness, changing my mindset, and celebrating the sacredness of each day more and more. Stress is real, we all have it and we can truly do a lot to get rid of it! Here’s to a new season, a new mindset, and better health! Cheers.

This is by Donna Ashworth and really speaks some truth - because it is time! Enjoy.

IT’S TIME

There comes a day, somewhere in the middle of every woman’s life, when Mother Nature herself stands behind us and wraps her arms around our shoulders, whispering

“It’s time.”

“You have taken enough now. It’s time to stop growing up, stop growing older and start growing wiser and wilder.

There are adventures still waiting on you and this time, you will enjoy them with the vision of wisdom and the companionship of hindsight, and you will really let go.

It’s time to stop the madness of comparison and the ridicule of schedule and conformity and start experiencing the joys that a life, free of containment and guilt, can bring.”

She will shake your shoulders gently and remind you that you’ve done your bit. You’ve given too much, cared too much, you’ve suffered too much.

You’ve bought the book, as it were, and worn the t-shirt.

Worse, you’ve worn the chains and carried the weight of a burden far too heavy for your shoulders.

“It’s time” she will say.

“Let it go, really let it go and feel the freedom of the fresh, clean spaces within you. Fill them with discovery, love and laughter. Fill yourself so full you will no longer fear what is ahead and instead you will greet each day with the excitement of a child.”

She will remind you that if you choose to stop caring what other people think of you, instead of caring what you think of you, you will experience a new era of your life you never dreamed possible.

“It’s time” she will say…

“to write the ending, or new beginning, of your own story.”

Donna Ashworth from ‘to the women’