Get centered and ease the drama of daily life
I just finished a book project – or at least the really hard part.
My daughter is at a friend's house. My husband at work and for the first time in nearly five months I'm alone at home without a deadline looming.
I'm trying to regroup and get centered again I'm letting things settle. My thoughts, my energy. I'm taking deep breaths. Becoming present in my body.
I think balance is a myth in this life, but centering is essential.
Nothing is ever even-Steven. There are weeks when work requires more attention than family demands. Then, there are weeks of birthday parties and doctor's appointments and t-ball games, and work doesn't get all the attention.
Of course, you tend to it all, but your focus and intensity shifts back and forth depending on what needs to happen and when.
Marriage is like this too. There are weeks when I've got to step up and work harder to connect with Mr. J because he's working long days or not feeling up to snuff. Then, he steps into gear when I'm feeling uninspired.
Life goes back and forth like this. It is fluid.
Centering in the moment
But there is never a time when life is suspended in perfect balance. And I'm fine with that. I think people work too hard to balance it all. Instead, your greatest power comes from centering in the moment.
When things are completely out of whack – you aren't connecting with your partner, work is demanding and the remote doesn't work and you have nothing for dinner – you can still root yourself in the moment and find peace.
Centering is about stepping out of the eye of the storm. You can feel the storm raging all around you, but you are unaffected, aware, focused, and mindful. You are present in the moment which allows you to separate from the stress and become conscious of your personal power. Then, you can take inspired action to move forward without creating more drama around the daily routine.
For example, when I center myself, I am able to gain some perspective over my long to-do list. I can step away from the stress of deadline – though it still looms – and find moments for peace and fun and expansion.
I become conscious of who I am – a person who loves her work and meets her deadlines. I become aware of the sensations in my body and the moment – instead of creating "what if" scenarios around unfounded anxieties.
When you become centered, it's a conscious pause that roots yourself back in the reality, back in your body. It won't solve the world's problems, but it insures that you don't create more. And it eases stress by helping you to become conscious of what is, rather than tied into some doomsday scenario.
This gives you strength, energy, and awareness to deal with whatever is happening, more gracefully.
In Wednesday's post, I'll tell you how to do it.
In the meantime, if you're ready to tap into your passions and connect with your life's purpose, please sign up for Live the Life You Are Meant to Live — a new e-class from the Daily Om. Start whenever you're ready and each week — for eight weeks — you'll receive a new lesson in your in-box that will help you tap into the best side of yourself. Join us!
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