Tuesday 1 December 2009

The 'I' of the storm


As today progressed it got more and more frantic. I really wanted to ring Debbie because I knew she'd help me find the eye of the storm, that peaceful place of quiet in the middle of chaos. But I didn't have the time!

Luckily, Debbie must have sensed this because she rang me! And I found my centre, the eye of the storm, so to speak! All around me my nearest and dearest are whipped up by various storms at the moment, but I'm committed to finding that calm spot inside myself. I can't change how they feel. I can only (at best) inspire them by example and (at worst!) feel good while others are caught in their dramas.

But it did get me thinking. First, we are never left to cope with the storm alone, there are always others out there who would love to support and help: if only we choose to see them instead of solidering along blindly when a little support would lighten our load easily. Thank you Debbie!

The other thing that it reminded me is that we are never too busy to find peace. As I was running on the 'meet the deadline' treadmill I was consciously thinking, 'this isn't fun, I'm not liking this, how do I make it better... I'll worry that when I'm finished!'

There is great wisdom in the philosophy, 'Do Less, Be More'. When we are do anything half-heartedly (the default outcome of being over-stressed) the result will always disappoint. When we be first, when we are clear on our priorities and when we commit to making feeling good the most important ingredient in our day, we become more effective. Our actions are focused and powerful.

So, the storms may rage around me, but I'm at peace (kinda!) now, my strategy is simple: I'm turning the negatives around... what's the positive this negative is showing me? I can see that what I really want is for my friends to live their lives in harmony with their inner dreams and with their integrity. As soon as I think of them experiencing the freedom that would bring, I automatically feel better. Therefore I'm calm. Therefore I may inspire some calm in them!

Come on into the eye of the storm - it's great in here!

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