Day 21.

I can’t believe it’s been 3 weeks since I started this challenge.  Life goes by way too fast, which is why there’s no point in stressing, worrying, doubting, complaining, etc.  It’s all a complete waste of time.  Just think how different your life would be without doing all those things.  How different would your life be if you enjoyed every moment…if you took in all the little things that life offers you at that moment (good and “bad”) and were just totally grateful for it?  That’s what this challenge has helped me realize.

I’m understanding that what I consider problems or issues or stress or crazy situations is just my perspective of it.  When I shift my perspective to a more positive one, I get different results.  If I just shift my perspective to a grateful one, it changes the entire circumstance.

This challenge has made me feel better, and I’m so grateful for that because I know that feeling good is what it’s all about.  Don’t we all just want to feel good?  Doesn’t our life basically boil down to that one statement…I want to feel good!

When I would get irritated with toys strung all over the house, I would think how grateful we are to have all these toys.  When I want to honk & cuss at the car in front of me for not going fast enough, I would think how grateful I am for being safe and how grateful I am that I get to go wherever it is that I was headed.  When I had to make a choice, I was grateful that I get to make a choice and that I have options.  When I didn’t feel like making dinner, I was grateful that I had food to make, that I had a house to cook it in and clean dishes and gas to heat it.

This feels good!

This gratitude challenge has made me stop, take the time, and write about my gratitude.  I’m so thankful I did.  It puts things in perspective.  I realize more and more everyday just how great I have it, just how great my life is.  It has given me peace, and allows me to just relax and take it all in…to enjoy the now moment.

This feels good!

As you know (or maybe you don’t), I’m a HUGE believer in the Law of Attraction, where like attracts like.  When I have a feeling of appreciation it’s an energy that I radiate.  That energy is drawing to itself more energy of the same quality, so more things are coming into my experience for me to be appreciative of.

This feels good!

The challenge ends today, but I will never stop being grateful.  I will continue to write in my gratitude journal, and I will continue to be open to receive more good things in my life.

WOW – THIS FEELS GOOD!

(And thank you so, so much to everyone that reads my blog!)

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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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