Awareness – I love this word.  For me it’s what has changed my life.  Well, not that my life has changed so much necessarily, but how I look at my life has changed.  Well okay, maybe it has changed my life!

Awareness has made me see things more clearly.  It’s the awareness I have of my breath and the awareness of what’s going on in my head that has given me the freedom to live easy.  It’s awareness that has given me the freedom to live stress free.  Yes, I said it…stress free!  Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not perfect.  I do have moments of stress, but it’s just for a moment.  When I become aware that I’m stressing, I stop.  I realize what’s going on in my head (I’m making up crazy scenarios of what I think is going to happen but never does), and then I decide what to do.  I can either keep freaking out, or I can change my thoughts to more positive ones.  I can choose to shift my thoughts so I relax.  For example, I think about the love I have for my kids or all the things I have to be grateful for.   However, if the situation that is stressing me out has a really strong pull on me (I’m sure there’s lots of that going on in this “bad” economy…that’s another blog topic!), and I can only think of my loving kids for so long (haha) then what I do is I keep coming back – coming back to my breath, coming back to my happy thoughts, coming back to my awareness.  Eventually, you realize that the stressful situation is either out of your control or something that you can act on (when the time is right).  BUT, either way you must become aware of how that stress has a hold of you (how are you reacting to it?).

If it’s something that is out of your control, then that’s just it.  You become aware of that fact and then you let it go.  If it’s something that you can act on, then staying aware will keep you in your positive thoughts (if that’s what you choose).  Those positive thoughts are crucial because that’s what will give you the inspiration for your actions.

There’s also an awareness of how you feel.  Physically, you become aware of how your body feels (this is where I plug my yoga classes).  My body holds a lot less tension because I’m aware when I have my shoulders scrunched up to my ears, or when I’ve got worry wrinkles on my forehead.  But then there’s also this awareness of how you feel emotionally.  When you get down to it, there’s really only two emotions, good or bad.  So if you can always get back to feeling good (positive thoughts feel good), your life becomes easier.  Believe it or not, life really is simple!  It really is easy!  It really can be stress free!

It just takes practice.  Awareness takes practice!  It’s a continual remembering to be aware.  So the more you practice being aware, the more you remember to do it.  The more you remember to do it, the more it becomes a part of your life.  The more it becomes a part of your life, the better your life becomes.

If you want to live a stress free life like I do, awareness is one of your best friends!

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I love it because little kids are absolutely living in the present moment, you can learn so much from them, and them from you (be careful of this one!!).

Since little ones don’t understand time, they have no stress and are always happy (as long as all their needs are met!).  They are totally playing in the moment – living in the moment.  My kids play well by themselves (fortunately!), but I’ve noticed that if they need my attention I can either completely give it to them or I can be there but have my mind elsewhere.  If my mind is on something else I’ve noticed that they need me longer.  If I am there for them completely, in the present moment with them, then the amount of time they “need” me is less.  If I’ve got things to do around the house, jewelry to make, or a blog to write I am able to get those things done if I just spend a little quality time with them.  It makes them happy, I feel great, and in turn I’m more productive.  It’s such a relief for me too because in that moment there’s absolutely nothing lacking…I have no stress and life is perfect!

Lately, my sweet Max (he’s 3) has been teaching me to let go.  His new saying is “but it’s okay”.

“Max, you’ve got food all over your face.” – “yeah, but it’s okay!”

As he’s hitting his brother with a stuffed animal (Miles is mildly laughing) – “Mommy, it’s okay”.

We’re running late for school – “but it’s okay!”

And what’s really cool is that as soon as he says that, I relax and say you’re right IT IS OKAY.  Sometimes we get so caught up in looking perfect, always doing things right, and everything being a certain way but does it really matter?  Can we just let go and have fun?  Because ultimately, it is okay!

Kids watch, learn, and sense our energy too.  The more rushed I am to get out of the house, the more uncooperative they are.  If I’m relaxed and calmly explain how we need to leave immediately, they listen and work with me.  The way I do something, they do too.  For example, I always rinse off the tooth brush and tap the brush on the counter before putting it up.  Max does this too, and can point out that his Daddy doesn’t.

I also came to the realization that Max got his new expression (it’s okay) from me.  I say it quite a bit – like if he drops his food, or can’t find a toy.  So it comes full circle!  I’m teaching him that it’s okay and he’s teaching me the same.  How awesome is that?

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