Crossroads

Hi there!
This week I am releasing the sound recording and transcript for my post - just in case you prefer one format over the other. ^_^

Welcome back, to this treasure cave of Stress Relief and Relaxation gems. I am Annalise, your host and I’m so glad to have you back here again!

If you are new to this blog, I am a scientist come reflexologist, sharing the joyful and thought provoking path of stress relief and rebalance I am travelling. My hope is that by sharing the gems of knowledge that have helped me so greatly transform my life, perhaps some may resonate and work for you too?

This week I would like to talk about an epiphany I had last week.  It’s an important one, and as I came to understand it, I was filled with joy and a pure sense of freedom.

Every day we make decisions. Lots of decisions. But how often do we give ourselves credit for the fact that we have a choice in each matter?

Building over last weekend, and coming to a climax on Monday last week, I came to a philosophical crossroad. Of late I have been enjoying freedom in my time, while becoming more efficient, more creative, and more joyful by each passing day. It’s felt like a win-win situation on all fronts.

But then suddenly I had someone say something that felt like that old box lid of social and professional pressure slammed back down on me again. My first instinct was to feel like a rebellious child – my inner child was not pleased with this apparent turn of events.

After a while though, the answer dawned upon me. Come what may, I have a choice in every single thing that I do.

·         I choose to go to bed at the time my body wants sleep.

·         I choose what I eat.

·         I choose to go to work each day.

o   Yes – this is a choice too. We choose to do that because most often earning money feels better than not earning money (unless of course you don’t need money, then you have a whole different set of choices available to you as well!) J

It’s really important we remember that we have choice in all matters. Our first and foremost duty is to our own happiness. Once again this comes back to my First Aid principle. If you are able to care for your own happiness, then you will be in a far better place to give and share happiness with others.

I heard a fabulous quote this week, by Abraham (through Esther Hicks) –

“Find a way to make it satisfying, or don’t do it”.

The quickest way to find satisfaction in something is to remember that you have a choice.

From that choice you’ve made, you can then look for the parts that you enjoy doing. Or the feelings that come when you accomplish something. Or the amazing benefits that come to you from the situation. Or the incredible things you see thanks to that situation.

It all carries though, back to one of our leading causes of stress – perception. And that also happens to be our core choice. Do we spend our time looking for the positive aspects? Or do we spend our time looking for the less positive aspects?

Our thoughts colour our lives. Let’s say our daily choice is this:

·         Look for the positive, colourful aspects of life

·         Look for the negative, monochrome aspects of life

Yes, life can still be exquisitely beautiful in monochrome, and there’s just as much to learn from that monochrome perspective. But I would always personally choose the world full of colour and vibrancy; the perspective from where you can see the love and the lesson, not just the hurt and confusion.

My gem for you this week is rather simple, I just wanted to remind you – you are free!

If during the passing of any moment you find yourself feeling frustrated or dissatisfied, take a philosophical step back and look at the situation from a different angle. Look for the choices that have already been made, and those still available to you. I don’t recommend making knee-jerk reactions once you see the choices available, this first step is just the passive appreciation that you have options.

I’ll conclude with this:

Even if you feel like it is your duty to do this dissatisfying thing on behalf of another, that’s not actually what is going on. You are not trapped as you may have originally perceived. Just remember that you do this so that you may feel good in yourself for accomplishing the task. There are many ways to feed and shelter yourself and your family, but of the choices you have seen so far, is this not the path that felt best to you?

J The posts lately have been quite philosophical and deep haven’t they? I am delighting in my journey and study of this side of life and I am thoroughly enjoying sharing this. If however, you have any topics about stress relief and relaxation techniques you’d like me to discuss, please let me know either in the comments section below, Facebook, or a direct email. I welcome and encourage your questions as they allow me to grow in a new direction with your wealth of experience too J

And with that, until we meet again next week, in love and light – be peaceful

Annalise

p.s. As an additional treat, I wanted to tack on a song that makes me giggle every time I hear it. You can find at towards to end of my recorded post in the YouTube link above.