As we carry out this self-imposed quarantine to minimize the spread of the Corona virus, I’m trying to walk every day. Movement is so important to total well-being, not just physical exercise. Not halfway through my walk one day last week, I received my spiritual lesson for the day.
I had checked the weather before I left and thought it said 50 something degrees. I put on my winter coat and made my first lap. I was warmer than usual, so I dropped my coat off at my house and continued my walk with just a sweatshirt for warmth.
Without a coat, I couldn’t believe how much lighter I felt. My arms wanted to move and swing. I stretched them over my head and kept moving them all around. I felt so light and unrestricted. Unrestrained. It’s been winter so of course I’ve been walking in some form of coat for months. I forgot what it felt like to walk unencumbered.
Previously, I had no awareness that I was feeling restrained. Heaviness and restriction had become my new normal to the point I didn’t even notice.
Maybe it's time to ask ourselves, “What are we carrying spiritually and emotionally right now that is so heavy, but it’s been our “normal” for so long that we can’t even remember what feeling light feels like?”
It’s time to lose the excess weight! Take that coat off and put it down. Peel off the extra layers so that who you are can really move. It's time to feel light and springy again, no pun intended. But hey, spring is here, so let’s get with it.
There are various ways to take inventory to help us realize what’s bogging us down so much that we don’t even consider it “extra weight” anymore.
One of the things I do in my coaching program,
A Life Worth Having is help people create their own “Wheel of Fortune.” (See photo below, underneath the painting of the week.)
This exercise helps to visually examine if we are experiencing a rocky road or a smooth ride. After ranking various aspects of our lives, we see where we’re in balance and where we’re not. That’s one way to find out what could be weighing us down.
Another method is to ask ourselves some questions:
Where am I most happiest?
Where do I spend most of my energy and how does that make me feel?
What do I worry about that isn’t mine to worry about?
Where do I tend to meddle in business that isn’t mine?
How many of you have “grown children” up there on that list? Me too! Ugh! As always, I’m speaking to myself first.
Someone gave me a checklist recently to help me assess something that was troubling me, where I felt unsure about injecting my two cents:
Does it need to be said?
Does it need to be said by me?
And does it need to be said now?
Some days I’m pretty sure I go looking for trouble! That keeps me from having to look at myself and where I need to grow.
Another great piece of advice I try to remember when I’m bothered about a situation:
Take a mental snapshot of it. If I’m not in the picture, then it’s none of my business.
Ouch! Sure, I can still offer help and be kind in those situations, but it isn’t my burden to carry and everyone may be happier if I keep my opinions to myself.
Finances are often a big stressor, and especially right now in these uncertain times. If the bills are paid today, perhaps they’ll be paid again tomorrow? Or maybe an unexpected solution will appear? How would it feel to believe that to be true?
We can “what if” ourselves to death and ruin today. Let’s not do that!
I hope you will take some time to figure out how you can get some of your excess weight off. It’s time to feel unrestrained and lighter.
Last week, I felt so good becoming instantly lighter that I started skipping down the street without any regard to what the neighbors might think. I have video to prove it but have decided it’s too soon to share after jumping in rain puddles and showing that to the world. Maybe later...
If you hear about someone who looks like she lost her mind, flailing her arms and body while walking around her neighborhood, it could be me again, or somebody who has read this. Try it, you might like it! Either way, I hope you have a light, springy and wonderful day.
