Tuesday 29 March 2011
Monday 28 March 2011
Wake up call (Dutch post)
Een klein lief meisje stond onder een luifel.
Ze had juist boodschappen gedaan in de supermarkt, met haar mama.
Ze zal ongeveer 6 jaar oud zijn geweest, dit prachtige roodharige sproetige beeld van onschuld.
Het stortregende buiten.
Je weet wel, dat soort regen dat goten en afvoerputjes doet overstromen, zo haastig om de aarde te raken, dat het geen tijd had om de straal zachter te zetten.
We stonden allemaal onder deze luifel aan de ingang van de supermarkt. We wachtten, sommigen geduldig, anderen 'geïrriteerd', omdat de natuur de toch al zo haastige dag danig in de war had gegooid.
Meestal word ik wat dromerig als het regent. Dan geniet ik van het geluid, met het denkbeeld dat de hemel zoalle vuil en stof van de wereld afspoelt. Herinneringen van 'rennen en spetteren' als een 'kind' zo zorgeloos, spelen in mijn gedachten, als een welkome onderbreking van een voorbije dag met al zijn zorgen en stress.
Omstandigheden, of mensen kunnen je geld, je materiële bezittingen en je gezondheid wegnemen.
Maar niemand kan ooit jouw dierbare herinneringen wegnemen...
Ze had juist boodschappen gedaan in de supermarkt, met haar mama.
Ze zal ongeveer 6 jaar oud zijn geweest, dit prachtige roodharige sproetige beeld van onschuld.
Het stortregende buiten.
Je weet wel, dat soort regen dat goten en afvoerputjes doet overstromen, zo haastig om de aarde te raken, dat het geen tijd had om de straal zachter te zetten.
We stonden allemaal onder deze luifel aan de ingang van de supermarkt. We wachtten, sommigen geduldig, anderen 'geïrriteerd', omdat de natuur de toch al zo haastige dag danig in de war had gegooid.
Meestal word ik wat dromerig als het regent. Dan geniet ik van het geluid, met het denkbeeld dat de hemel zoalle vuil en stof van de wereld afspoelt. Herinneringen van 'rennen en spetteren' als een 'kind' zo zorgeloos, spelen in mijn gedachten, als een welkome onderbreking van een voorbije dag met al zijn zorgen en stress.
Haar stemmetje was zo mooi toen ze de hypnotische trance onderbrak waar we allemaal in gevangen zaten.
'Mama, laten we door de regen rennen,' zei ze.
'Wat ?' vroeg Mama.
'Laten we door de regen gaan rennen!' herhaalde ze.
'Nee, lieverd. We wachten tot het minder wordt' antwoordde mama.
Het kind wachtte een minuutje en herhaalde:
'Mama, laten we nu door de regen gaan en rennen.'
'We worden doornat als we dat doen,' zei mama.
'Nee, dat zullen we niet, mama. Dat is niet wat je vanmorgen zei,' sprak het meisje terwijl ze aan haar mama's arm trok.
'Vanmorgen? Wanneer zei ik dan dat we door de regen konden rennen en niet nat zouden worden?'
Het meisje zei kalmpjes: 'Weet je het niet meer? Dat je met papa praatte over zijn kanker en je zei:
'Als we hier samen doorheen komen, dan komen we door alles heen!'
Iedereen was opeens muisstil.
Ik zweer dat je niets anders meer hoorde dan de regen.
We stonden allemaal muisstil.
De volgende minuten bewoog niemand en ging ook niemand weg.
Mama dacht even na over wat ze zou antwoorden.
Sommigen zouden het weg lachen of haar voor gek uitmaken.
Sommigen zouden misschien zelfs negeren wat ze zei.
Maar dit was het moment van bevestiging in een kinderleven.
Een moment van onschuldig vertrouwen, dat wanneer het gevoed en verzorgd wordt, zal bloeien in geloof in de goede dingen en hoop in het leven.
'Lieverd, je hebt gelijk.
Laten we door de regen rennen.
Als het zo moet zijn dat ze ons vanuit hierboven nat laten worden, wel, dan hadden we misschien juist een wasbeurt nodig,' zei mama.
Daar gingen ze.
We stonden allemaal te kijken en te glimlachen, toen ze daar vooruit sprongen tussen de auto's door, en jawel, door de plassen. Ze hielden hun boodschappentassen boven hun hoofd. Ze werden doornat.
Maar ze werden al snel gevolgd door anderen, die schreeuwden en lachten als kinderen, onderweg naar hun auto's.
Ja, ik ook.
Ik rende en werd nat. Ik had ook een wasbeurt nodig.
'Mama, laten we door de regen rennen,' zei ze.
'Wat ?' vroeg Mama.
'Laten we door de regen gaan rennen!' herhaalde ze.
'Nee, lieverd. We wachten tot het minder wordt' antwoordde mama.
Het kind wachtte een minuutje en herhaalde:
'Mama, laten we nu door de regen gaan en rennen.'
'We worden doornat als we dat doen,' zei mama.
'Nee, dat zullen we niet, mama. Dat is niet wat je vanmorgen zei,' sprak het meisje terwijl ze aan haar mama's arm trok.
'Vanmorgen? Wanneer zei ik dan dat we door de regen konden rennen en niet nat zouden worden?'
Het meisje zei kalmpjes: 'Weet je het niet meer? Dat je met papa praatte over zijn kanker en je zei:
'Als we hier samen doorheen komen, dan komen we door alles heen!'
Iedereen was opeens muisstil.
Ik zweer dat je niets anders meer hoorde dan de regen.
We stonden allemaal muisstil.
De volgende minuten bewoog niemand en ging ook niemand weg.
Mama dacht even na over wat ze zou antwoorden.
Sommigen zouden het weg lachen of haar voor gek uitmaken.
Sommigen zouden misschien zelfs negeren wat ze zei.
Maar dit was het moment van bevestiging in een kinderleven.
Een moment van onschuldig vertrouwen, dat wanneer het gevoed en verzorgd wordt, zal bloeien in geloof in de goede dingen en hoop in het leven.
'Lieverd, je hebt gelijk.
Laten we door de regen rennen.
Als het zo moet zijn dat ze ons vanuit hierboven nat laten worden, wel, dan hadden we misschien juist een wasbeurt nodig,' zei mama.
Daar gingen ze.
We stonden allemaal te kijken en te glimlachen, toen ze daar vooruit sprongen tussen de auto's door, en jawel, door de plassen. Ze hielden hun boodschappentassen boven hun hoofd. Ze werden doornat.
Maar ze werden al snel gevolgd door anderen, die schreeuwden en lachten als kinderen, onderweg naar hun auto's.
Ja, ik ook.
Ik rende en werd nat. Ik had ook een wasbeurt nodig.
Omstandigheden, of mensen kunnen je geld, je materiële bezittingen en je gezondheid wegnemen.
Maar niemand kan ooit jouw dierbare herinneringen wegnemen...
Vergeet daarom niet 'tijd' te maken om momenten vast te houden en elke dag herinneringen te creëren.
Voor alles en voor elk ding onder de hemel is er een seizoen en een tijd.
Bewaar de zonnige dagen voor donkere momenten.
Een vriend zond mij deze boodschap om mij te herinneren aan 'het' leven en de waarden in het leven...
Samen een glaasje wijn, of gewoon iets fris, een gezellige BBQ met familie, buren en vrienden, een terrasje, genietend van dagelijkse dingen
En beetje humor...
Ik hoop dat je het apprecieerde.
IK HOOP DAT JE STEEDS DE TIJD NEEMT OM OOK DOOR DE REGEN TE RENNEN !
Ze zeggen dat het een minuut duurt om een speciaal persoon te vinden, een uur om diegene te waarderen, een dag om van hem/haar te houden, maar een heel leven diegene te vergeten.
Néém tijd om te leven!
Hou contact met vrienden, je weet nooit wanneer je elkaar nodig hebt.
Aangezien van het 'concert des levens' niemand een programma heeft.
Voor alles en voor elk ding onder de hemel is er een seizoen en een tijd.
Bewaar de zonnige dagen voor donkere momenten.
Een vriend zond mij deze boodschap om mij te herinneren aan 'het' leven en de waarden in het leven...
Samen een glaasje wijn, of gewoon iets fris, een gezellige BBQ met familie, buren en vrienden, een terrasje, genietend van dagelijkse dingen
En beetje humor...
Ik hoop dat je het apprecieerde.
IK HOOP DAT JE STEEDS DE TIJD NEEMT OM OOK DOOR DE REGEN TE RENNEN !
Ze zeggen dat het een minuut duurt om een speciaal persoon te vinden, een uur om diegene te waarderen, een dag om van hem/haar te houden, maar een heel leven diegene te vergeten.
Néém tijd om te leven!
Hou contact met vrienden, je weet nooit wanneer je elkaar nodig hebt.
Aangezien van het 'concert des levens' niemand een programma heeft.
Saturday 26 March 2011
Tuesday 22 March 2011
Monday 21 March 2011
The Road Not Taken
by Robert Frost
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim
Because it was grassy and wanted wear,
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I marked the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I,
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
Thursday 17 March 2011
40 Ways to Let Go and Feel Less Pain (by Lori Deschene)
Eckhart Tolle believes we create and maintain problems because they give us a sense of identity. Perhaps this explains why we often hold onto our pain far beyond its ability to serve us.
We replay past mistakes over and over again in our head, allowing feelings of shame and regret to shape our actions in the present. We cling to frustration and worry about the future, as if the act of fixation somehow gives us power. We hold stress in our minds and bodies, potentially creating serious health issues, and accept that state of tension as the norm.
Though it may sound simple, Ajahn Chah’s advice speaks volumes:
“If you let go a little, you will have a little peace. If you let go a lot, you will have a lot of peace.”
There will never be a time when life is simple. There will always be time to practice accepting that. Every moment is a chance to let go and feel peaceful. Here are 40 ideas to get started:
Let Go Of Frustration with Yourself/Your Life
1. Learn a new skill instead of dwelling on the skills you never mastered.
2. Change your perception—see the root cause as a blessing in disguise.
I like this idea. I am not too sure about the blessing in disguise, but putting it in a different perspective really helps. Wonder, a year from now, what role this situation will play in your life. Will you even remember it? Try and step outside yourself and see it through someone else's eyes. Doesn't quite look the same then, does it? But then again, it's easier said than done, especially when you feel very involved in the situation
3. Cry it out. According to Dr. William Frey II, PH.D., biochemist at the Ramset Medical Center in Minneapolis crying away your negative feelings releases harmful chemicals that build up in your body due to stress.
Doesn't work for me, I can't seem to let go when I cry, so all it does is give me puffy eyes and a headache. Working on that though :-)
4. Channel your discontent into an immediate positive action—make some calls about new job opportunities, or walk to the community center to volunteer.
5. Use meditation or yoga to bring you into the present moment (instead of dwelling on the past of worrying about the future.)
Huh, me and meditation? Let's say I am looking at that from behind a picket fence. Used to be a wall, so improvement!
6. Make a list of your accomplishments—even the small ones— and add to it daily.You’ll have to let go of a little discontentment to make space for this self satisfaction.
Tried this, but I find it very hard as something that may feel as a (small) accomplishment at the time, may seem worthless a couple of days later, which makes me judge myself in the wrong way. Not labeling is one of the things I am working on - hard!!!
7. Visualize a box in your head labeled “Expectations.” Whenever you start dwelling on how things should be or should have been, mentally shelve the thoughts in this box.
8. Engage in a physical activity. Exercise decreases stress hormones and increases endorphins, chemicals that improve your state of mind.
Works!
9. Focus all your energy on something you can actually control, instead of dwelling on things you can’t.
Again, this first needs a switch in your state of mind, or you'll keep going back to your frustrations... at least I do.
10. Express your feelings through a creative outlet, like blogging or painting. Add this to your to-do list and cross it off when you’re done. This gives you permission to shift your focus after the activity.
Let go of Anger and Bitterness
11. Feel it fully. If you stifle your feelings, they may leak out and affect everyone around you—not just the person who inspired your anger. Before you can let go of any emotion you have to feel it fully.
12. Give yourself a rant window. Let yourself vent for a day before confronting the person who troubled you. This will diffuse the hostility and give you time to plan a rational confrontation.
A Dammit Doll!!!
13. Remind yourself that anger hurts you more than the person who upset you, and visualize it melting away as an act of kindness to yourself.
Being kind to myself... again: huh! But yes, this is very true. Most of the time the anger has other reasons though, like being hurt in someway. It can be healing to figure out if there is an underlying emotion and to acknowledge it and if you want or need to, to deal with it.
14. Use Psychologist Steven Stosny’s HEALS technique to prevent impulsive action, which will only prolong the negative feelings.
15. Take responsibility. Many times when you’re angry, you focus on what someone else did that was wrong—which essentially gives away your power. When you focus on what you could have done better, you often feel empowered and less bitter.
This doesn't work for me, it only makes me be harder on myself for not preventing that something went wrong in the first place. What does happen often is that when I get angry at people, I am often not angry at them, but at myself concerning what I think I am angry at them for... Confusing? Okay, an example. If I have to do something, but I am postponing it (yes that does happen, especially when I don't really want to do it) and someone points out to me that it needs to be done, I can get angry at them. Whereas in reality, I am not angry at them, but at myself for not doing it. Yeah...
16. Put yourself in the offender’s shoes. We all make mistakes; and odds are you could have easily slipped up just like your husband, father, or friend did. Compassion dissolves anger.
We are all human... Some just a bit more than others ;-)
17. Metaphorically throw it away; i.e., jog on the beach with a backpack full of tennis balls. After you’ve built up a bit of rush, toss the balls one by one, labeling each as a part of your anger. (You’ll need to retrieve these—litter angers the earth!)
Again: Dammit Doll!
18. Use a stress ball, and express your anger physically and vocally when you use it.Make a scrunched up face or grunt. You may feel silly, but this allows you to actually express what you’re feeling inside.
19. Wear a rubber band on your wrist, and gently flick it when you start obsessing on angry thoughts. This trains your mind to associate that type of persistent negativity with something unpleasant.
Started to use something similar: wearing a wristband that I put on the other writs when I feel I am getting stressed or upset. Changing sides makes me stop and focus on the what and why and the underlying feelings. Which often are not as big a deal as they seem to be before I took my small break from them.
20. Remind yourself these are your only three options: remove yourself from the situation, change it, or accept it. These acts create happiness; holding onto bitterness never does.
I like this one, but again, it is pretty hard to do at times.
Let Go Of Past Relationships
21. Identify what the experience taught you to help develop a sense of closure.
22. Write everything you want to express in a letter. Even if you choose not to send it, clarifying your feelings will help you come to terms with reality as it is now.
23. Remember both the good and the bad. Even if appears this way now, the past was not perfect. Acknowledging this may minimize your sense of loss. As Laura Oliver says, “It’s easier to let go of a human than a hero.”
24. Un-romanticize the way you view love. Of course you’ll feel devastated if you believe you lost your soul mate. If you think you can find a love that amazing or better again it will be easier to move on.
25. Visualize an empowered single you—the person you were before meeting your last love. That person was pretty awesome, and now you have the chance to be him or her again.
26. Create a space that reflects your present reality. Take down his pictures; delete her emails from your saved folder.
27. Reward yourself for small acts of acceptance. Get a facial after you delete his number from your phone, or head to the local bar after putting all her things in a box.
28. Hang this statement somewhere you can see it. “Letting go is love. Holding on is attachment.”
29. Replace your emotional thoughts with facts. When you think, “I’ll never feel loved again!” don’t resist that feeling. Instead, move on to another thought, like “I learned a new song for karaoke tonight.”
30. Use the silly voice technique. According to Russ Harris, author of The Happiness Trap, swapping the voice in your head with a cartoon voice will help take back power from the troubling thought.
Let Go Of Stress
31. Use a deep breathing technique, like ujayii, to soothe yourself and seep into the present moment.
32. Immerse yourself in a group activity. Enjoying the people in your life may help put your problems in perspective.
True
33. Consider this quotation by Eckhart Tolle: “Worry pretends to be necessary but serves no useful purpose.” Questioning how your stress serves you may help you let it go.
Easier said than done, but something to aim for :-)
34. Metaphorically release it. Write down all your stresses and toss the paper into your fireplace.
35. Replace your thoughts. Notice when you begin thinking about something that stresses you so you can shift your thought process to something more pleasant—like your passion for your hobby.
Even recognizing that you are starting to think about it again helps, even if you still think of it after recognizing it. It removes you from your thoughts for a moment.
36. Take a sauna break. Studies reveal that people who go to sauna at least twice a week for 10-30 minutes are less stressed after work than others with similar jobs who don’t.
Get me a sauna and I will use it!
37. Use this clever technique by Peak Personal Performance to fully digest and release your stress about a situation.
Actually this move is part of a series that realigns your energy steams - balancing yourself is great!
38. Organize your desk. According to Georgia Witkin, assistant director of psychiatry at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, completing a small task increases your sense of control and decreases your stress level.
Not just your desk, but also your home and life. Try and get rid of what takes your energy and fill it with what gives you energy. Not a small task, but one that brings peace to your mind and soul.
39. Use it up. Make two lists: one with the root causes of your stress, and one with actions to address them. As you complete these tasks, visualize yourself utilizing and depleting your “stress supply.”
40. Laugh it out. Research shows that laughter soothes tension, improves your immune system, and even eases pain. If you can’t relax for long, start with just ten minutes watching a funny video on YouTube.
So so so true!!!
It’s a long list, but there’s much left to be said! Can you think of anything to add to this list—other areas of life where we need to practice letting go, and other techniques to start doing it right now?
We replay past mistakes over and over again in our head, allowing feelings of shame and regret to shape our actions in the present. We cling to frustration and worry about the future, as if the act of fixation somehow gives us power. We hold stress in our minds and bodies, potentially creating serious health issues, and accept that state of tension as the norm.
Though it may sound simple, Ajahn Chah’s advice speaks volumes:
“If you let go a little, you will have a little peace. If you let go a lot, you will have a lot of peace.”
There will never be a time when life is simple. There will always be time to practice accepting that. Every moment is a chance to let go and feel peaceful. Here are 40 ideas to get started:
Let Go Of Frustration with Yourself/Your Life
1. Learn a new skill instead of dwelling on the skills you never mastered.
2. Change your perception—see the root cause as a blessing in disguise.
I like this idea. I am not too sure about the blessing in disguise, but putting it in a different perspective really helps. Wonder, a year from now, what role this situation will play in your life. Will you even remember it? Try and step outside yourself and see it through someone else's eyes. Doesn't quite look the same then, does it? But then again, it's easier said than done, especially when you feel very involved in the situation
3. Cry it out. According to Dr. William Frey II, PH.D., biochemist at the Ramset Medical Center in Minneapolis crying away your negative feelings releases harmful chemicals that build up in your body due to stress.
Doesn't work for me, I can't seem to let go when I cry, so all it does is give me puffy eyes and a headache. Working on that though :-)
4. Channel your discontent into an immediate positive action—make some calls about new job opportunities, or walk to the community center to volunteer.
5. Use meditation or yoga to bring you into the present moment (instead of dwelling on the past of worrying about the future.)
Huh, me and meditation? Let's say I am looking at that from behind a picket fence. Used to be a wall, so improvement!
6. Make a list of your accomplishments—even the small ones— and add to it daily.You’ll have to let go of a little discontentment to make space for this self satisfaction.
Tried this, but I find it very hard as something that may feel as a (small) accomplishment at the time, may seem worthless a couple of days later, which makes me judge myself in the wrong way. Not labeling is one of the things I am working on - hard!!!
7. Visualize a box in your head labeled “Expectations.” Whenever you start dwelling on how things should be or should have been, mentally shelve the thoughts in this box.
8. Engage in a physical activity. Exercise decreases stress hormones and increases endorphins, chemicals that improve your state of mind.
Works!
9. Focus all your energy on something you can actually control, instead of dwelling on things you can’t.
Again, this first needs a switch in your state of mind, or you'll keep going back to your frustrations... at least I do.
10. Express your feelings through a creative outlet, like blogging or painting. Add this to your to-do list and cross it off when you’re done. This gives you permission to shift your focus after the activity.
Let go of Anger and Bitterness
11. Feel it fully. If you stifle your feelings, they may leak out and affect everyone around you—not just the person who inspired your anger. Before you can let go of any emotion you have to feel it fully.
12. Give yourself a rant window. Let yourself vent for a day before confronting the person who troubled you. This will diffuse the hostility and give you time to plan a rational confrontation.
A Dammit Doll!!!
13. Remind yourself that anger hurts you more than the person who upset you, and visualize it melting away as an act of kindness to yourself.
Being kind to myself... again: huh! But yes, this is very true. Most of the time the anger has other reasons though, like being hurt in someway. It can be healing to figure out if there is an underlying emotion and to acknowledge it and if you want or need to, to deal with it.
14. Use Psychologist Steven Stosny’s HEALS technique to prevent impulsive action, which will only prolong the negative feelings.
15. Take responsibility. Many times when you’re angry, you focus on what someone else did that was wrong—which essentially gives away your power. When you focus on what you could have done better, you often feel empowered and less bitter.
This doesn't work for me, it only makes me be harder on myself for not preventing that something went wrong in the first place. What does happen often is that when I get angry at people, I am often not angry at them, but at myself concerning what I think I am angry at them for... Confusing? Okay, an example. If I have to do something, but I am postponing it (yes that does happen, especially when I don't really want to do it) and someone points out to me that it needs to be done, I can get angry at them. Whereas in reality, I am not angry at them, but at myself for not doing it. Yeah...
16. Put yourself in the offender’s shoes. We all make mistakes; and odds are you could have easily slipped up just like your husband, father, or friend did. Compassion dissolves anger.
We are all human... Some just a bit more than others ;-)
17. Metaphorically throw it away; i.e., jog on the beach with a backpack full of tennis balls. After you’ve built up a bit of rush, toss the balls one by one, labeling each as a part of your anger. (You’ll need to retrieve these—litter angers the earth!)
Again: Dammit Doll!
18. Use a stress ball, and express your anger physically and vocally when you use it.Make a scrunched up face or grunt. You may feel silly, but this allows you to actually express what you’re feeling inside.
19. Wear a rubber band on your wrist, and gently flick it when you start obsessing on angry thoughts. This trains your mind to associate that type of persistent negativity with something unpleasant.
Started to use something similar: wearing a wristband that I put on the other writs when I feel I am getting stressed or upset. Changing sides makes me stop and focus on the what and why and the underlying feelings. Which often are not as big a deal as they seem to be before I took my small break from them.
20. Remind yourself these are your only three options: remove yourself from the situation, change it, or accept it. These acts create happiness; holding onto bitterness never does.
I like this one, but again, it is pretty hard to do at times.
Let Go Of Past Relationships
21. Identify what the experience taught you to help develop a sense of closure.
22. Write everything you want to express in a letter. Even if you choose not to send it, clarifying your feelings will help you come to terms with reality as it is now.
23. Remember both the good and the bad. Even if appears this way now, the past was not perfect. Acknowledging this may minimize your sense of loss. As Laura Oliver says, “It’s easier to let go of a human than a hero.”
24. Un-romanticize the way you view love. Of course you’ll feel devastated if you believe you lost your soul mate. If you think you can find a love that amazing or better again it will be easier to move on.
25. Visualize an empowered single you—the person you were before meeting your last love. That person was pretty awesome, and now you have the chance to be him or her again.
26. Create a space that reflects your present reality. Take down his pictures; delete her emails from your saved folder.
27. Reward yourself for small acts of acceptance. Get a facial after you delete his number from your phone, or head to the local bar after putting all her things in a box.
28. Hang this statement somewhere you can see it. “Letting go is love. Holding on is attachment.”
29. Replace your emotional thoughts with facts. When you think, “I’ll never feel loved again!” don’t resist that feeling. Instead, move on to another thought, like “I learned a new song for karaoke tonight.”
30. Use the silly voice technique. According to Russ Harris, author of The Happiness Trap, swapping the voice in your head with a cartoon voice will help take back power from the troubling thought.
Let Go Of Stress
31. Use a deep breathing technique, like ujayii, to soothe yourself and seep into the present moment.
32. Immerse yourself in a group activity. Enjoying the people in your life may help put your problems in perspective.
True
33. Consider this quotation by Eckhart Tolle: “Worry pretends to be necessary but serves no useful purpose.” Questioning how your stress serves you may help you let it go.
Easier said than done, but something to aim for :-)
34. Metaphorically release it. Write down all your stresses and toss the paper into your fireplace.
35. Replace your thoughts. Notice when you begin thinking about something that stresses you so you can shift your thought process to something more pleasant—like your passion for your hobby.
Even recognizing that you are starting to think about it again helps, even if you still think of it after recognizing it. It removes you from your thoughts for a moment.
36. Take a sauna break. Studies reveal that people who go to sauna at least twice a week for 10-30 minutes are less stressed after work than others with similar jobs who don’t.
Get me a sauna and I will use it!
37. Use this clever technique by Peak Personal Performance to fully digest and release your stress about a situation.
Actually this move is part of a series that realigns your energy steams - balancing yourself is great!
38. Organize your desk. According to Georgia Witkin, assistant director of psychiatry at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, completing a small task increases your sense of control and decreases your stress level.
Not just your desk, but also your home and life. Try and get rid of what takes your energy and fill it with what gives you energy. Not a small task, but one that brings peace to your mind and soul.
39. Use it up. Make two lists: one with the root causes of your stress, and one with actions to address them. As you complete these tasks, visualize yourself utilizing and depleting your “stress supply.”
40. Laugh it out. Research shows that laughter soothes tension, improves your immune system, and even eases pain. If you can’t relax for long, start with just ten minutes watching a funny video on YouTube.
So so so true!!!
It’s a long list, but there’s much left to be said! Can you think of anything to add to this list—other areas of life where we need to practice letting go, and other techniques to start doing it right now?
Tuesday 15 March 2011
Gone at Last
Once in a while from out of nowhere
When you don't expect it, and you're unprepared
Somebody will come and lift you higher
And your burdens will be shared
When you don't expect it, and you're unprepared
Somebody will come and lift you higher
And your burdens will be shared
Resolutions
I never used to believe in New Year's resolutions. Well, I still don't, not really. I mean, I can see why New Years: a new year, a new start. But too often I have the feeling that people make them just to make them: not because they genuinly want to change something. Or maybe they believe they do... I guess that in my mind any day is the right day to make a change in your life. But since the wanting to change some things and New year kind of conincided for me, I did make three this year and though keeping them is a challenge, reminding myself of them now and then feels like getting back on the right track...
1 Eat better
2 Sleep better (as in a better sleeping pattern - hopefully the sleeping itself will improve as well)
3 Own my own happiness
They seem fairly easy, but believe me, they are a challenge to me :-)
Anyways, writing them down here and looking at them again is another step forward!
1 Eat better
2 Sleep better (as in a better sleeping pattern - hopefully the sleeping itself will improve as well)
3 Own my own happiness
They seem fairly easy, but believe me, they are a challenge to me :-)
Anyways, writing them down here and looking at them again is another step forward!
Monday 14 March 2011
The Odd One Out
That is a bit how I felt tonight. Is it just me who cares about how things are organized? Everyone else seems okay with the more or less 'let's see how it goes' state of mind...
Guess that is another lesson learned though: don't care so much...
And as for something I really do have to learn: how to express my frustration without accusing someone, or becoming personal. Any tips anyone?
Guess that is another lesson learned though: don't care so much...
And as for something I really do have to learn: how to express my frustration without accusing someone, or becoming personal. Any tips anyone?
Sunday 13 March 2011
A happy day
A Saturday in March. On the ANWB website I had seen they had a sale, so I decided to go and have a look. Found a skirt that I had tried on twice before already but never bought because it was too expensive. At 1/5th of its original price I figured that it did have my name on it! Then, browsing along, I found a more dressy coat than they usually have and tried it on: not bad. Pretty good actually. Figuring out the price gave me a tiny shock though: only € 25???? Mine!!! (Finding out what the original price was gave me a slightly larger shock - € 300????) Essentially buying some great stuff at 1/10th of it's original price (I know, I know, I'd never have bought it at those prices, but let me have my good feeling!)
Then off to an outdoor store where I almost accidentally found a pair of flip flops and a pair of summer sneakers.
Let's be clear here: it's me we are talking about - I hardly ever go into town on a Saturday and I never am this successful buying stuff - the world is turning around on me!
And to finish it off I got myself a pot of tulips and a vase with candy striped tulips: Spring is here, and I am feeling great! :-)
Then off to an outdoor store where I almost accidentally found a pair of flip flops and a pair of summer sneakers.
Let's be clear here: it's me we are talking about - I hardly ever go into town on a Saturday and I never am this successful buying stuff - the world is turning around on me!
And to finish it off I got myself a pot of tulips and a vase with candy striped tulips: Spring is here, and I am feeling great! :-)
Friday 11 March 2011
The perfect heart
A young man was standing in the middle of the town proclaiming that he had the most beautiful heart in the whole valley. A large crowd gathered and they all admired his heart for it was perfect. There was not a mark or a flaw in it.
But an old man appeared at the front of the crowd and said,
“Your heart is not nearly as beautiful as mine.”
The crowd and the young man looked at the old man’s heart. It was beating strongly but full of scars. It had places where pieces had been removed and other pieces put in … but they didn’t fit quite right and there were several jagged edges. The young man looked at the old man’s heart and laughed.
“You must be joking,” he said. “Compare your heart with mine … mine is perfect and yours is a mess of scars and tears.”
”Yes,” said the old man, “Yours is perfect looking … but I would never trade with you. You see, every scar represents a person to whom I have given my love….. I tear out a piece of my heart and give it to them … and often they give me a piece of their heart which fits into the empty place in my heart but because the pieces aren’t exact, I have some rough edges.
"Sometimes I have given pieces of my heart away … and the other person hasn’t returned a piece of his heart to me. These are the empty gouges … giving love is taking a chance. Although these gouges are painful, they stay open, reminding me of the love I have for these people too … and I hope someday they may return and fill the space I have waiting. So now do you see what true beauty is?”
The young man stood silently with tears running down his cheeks. He walked up to the old man, reached into his perfect young and beautiful heart, and ripped a piece out. He offered it to the old man.
The old man took his offering, placed it in his heart and then took a piece from his old scarred heart and placed it in the wound in the young man’s heart.
It fit… but not perfectly, as there were some jagged edges.
The young man looked at his heart, not perfect anymore but more beautiful than ever, since love from the old man’s heart flowed into his.
(Read on Paul Coelho's website)
But an old man appeared at the front of the crowd and said,
“Your heart is not nearly as beautiful as mine.”
The crowd and the young man looked at the old man’s heart. It was beating strongly but full of scars. It had places where pieces had been removed and other pieces put in … but they didn’t fit quite right and there were several jagged edges. The young man looked at the old man’s heart and laughed.
“You must be joking,” he said. “Compare your heart with mine … mine is perfect and yours is a mess of scars and tears.”
”Yes,” said the old man, “Yours is perfect looking … but I would never trade with you. You see, every scar represents a person to whom I have given my love….. I tear out a piece of my heart and give it to them … and often they give me a piece of their heart which fits into the empty place in my heart but because the pieces aren’t exact, I have some rough edges.
"Sometimes I have given pieces of my heart away … and the other person hasn’t returned a piece of his heart to me. These are the empty gouges … giving love is taking a chance. Although these gouges are painful, they stay open, reminding me of the love I have for these people too … and I hope someday they may return and fill the space I have waiting. So now do you see what true beauty is?”
The young man stood silently with tears running down his cheeks. He walked up to the old man, reached into his perfect young and beautiful heart, and ripped a piece out. He offered it to the old man.
The old man took his offering, placed it in his heart and then took a piece from his old scarred heart and placed it in the wound in the young man’s heart.
It fit… but not perfectly, as there were some jagged edges.
The young man looked at his heart, not perfect anymore but more beautiful than ever, since love from the old man’s heart flowed into his.
(Read on Paul Coelho's website)
Thursday 10 March 2011
Tough stuff
An intense chat with the shrink today. I guess in a way I felt it coming, so I was more or less ready for it. That didn't make it any easier though. The two main things today came down to were me realizing that what I do is not who I am and that my ability to foresee things, to analyze situations and plan a way out of them if necessary, is a quality and it is okay to be aware of that. No new concepts to you perhaps, but believe me, for me they are. I'll brood over them for the rest of the day I think, but in a more or less good way.
Step by step...
Step by step...
Let the Sun shine!!!
No sunshine outside (well, there is, but the yellow ball of happiness itself is hiding behind some layers of clouds), so I figured I'd create some myself :-)
Have a sunny day!!!
Tuesday 1 March 2011
You can never run out!!!
I have a lot to say, but can't really find the words... I guess this shows how I feel though :-)
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