“How are you?”
A seemingly simple question, and yet the answer often eludes me.
Am I annoyed? Or is life AWESOME?
Depends on my point of view.
Over the holidays, I bonked. Too much sugar, wheat, activity, presents, lights. I went down into that grumpy, annoyed, low-energy place. It was not pretty.
I know the fastest way out of an emotional funk is through it. So I plopped myself down in a comfy chair and let it rip. I gave myself full permission to vent about how much my life sucked. Plenty of reasons poured onto the page.
When I was done, I sat and breathed into what I was feeling. A sad little tear trickled from the corner of my eye. And I felt immensely better. Not awesome, but also not annoyed.
When you are feeling annoyed, stuck, frustrated, down [fill in the blank]…
Step 1: Acknowledge and embrace what you feel.
Give yourself full permission to be in the discomfort. Journal. Walk. Breathe. Bathe. Talk to a trusted friend. Whatever it takes.
About a week later, Jamie and I were getting ready to do our New Year’s Eve ritual. We reflect on the year and set our intent for the New Year – focusing on how we want to feel and often making some sort of vision board. (Mine for 2015 is the image above.)
Then I stumbled across a suggestion from Kate Northup. First acknowledge what’s good in your life now. So Jamie and I played the “AWESOME Game” which goes like this.
Him: “You know what’s AWESOME? Living in the mountains at a slower pace is AWESOME. What’s AWESOME in your life?”
Me: “You know what’s AWESOME? Having two healthy, happy children. What’s AWESOME with you?”
Pretty soon we were wildly grinning and giggling as we traded tales of just how AWESOME our life is.*
Step 2: Find your AWESOME.
Play the AWESOME Game and see life through the eyes of AWESOME. Notice the good and share it.
As the game wound down, I realized that almost all the items on my AWESOME list were also the very same items I had written down on my life sucks list. How could this be?
Is our local grocery store, which is not my beloved Whole Foods, annoying or AWESOME?
For months, I trudged around the store grumbling about the organic produce that they wrapped in plastic, the hard to find micro-sections of organic foods lost within the gargantuan aisles, and all the junk food that was tempting to buy with a hungry 7 year old in tow. This grocery store was annoying!
Then I caught myself. I live in a rural area with a grocery store that is chock full of food, ready to take home to feed my family. How AWESOME is that? Millions of people around the world would be so grateful to have a store like this, let alone the food in it.
And this store stocks a decent selection of organic foods. AWESOME! I have the power to decide which foods I do and do not want to buy. Cool! And there is also a wonderful local health foods store, The Local Grocer, which has many hard to find organic/natural items if I need them. Totally AWESOME!
My choice in how I want to see the grocery store – or my world. Annoying or AWESOME?
This past year has been challenging on so many levels. I often struggled with the mind-bending paradoxes of our new life. Were we financially abundant because we had shelter, food, warmth and a lot less debt than in our old life? Or a financial mess because we didn’t have a lot of income? Was I blessed with all the new budding friendships I was making? Or completely lonely and pregnant because I no longer had my support network and community around me?
Annoyed…AWESOME…annoyed…AWESOME…
The more I gave myself permission to surrender and feel what is (step 1), the faster I was able to authentically and organically shift into how I enjoy being and seeing life (step 2). And that’s AWESOME.
So how am I these days? More and more, I’m AWESOME, thanks for asking.
And you? When you are feeling annoyed, overwhelmed, or otherwise down, what tools do you use to return to a space of feeling better or even AWESOME? Leave a comment please.
And if you want a wonderful community to share your AWESOME with, you can find your attitude of gratitude here.
Comments