Can You Say It Better?

As I sit in traffic, running late for an appointment I find myself starting to get tense. I hear myself saying things like “I’m never going to make it on time, why is everybody going so slow, I should have left earlier, I hate traffic!” I feel frustrated, impatient, and stressed.

After remembering the idea that “what I feel becomes real”…I think, let’s put it to the test. I readjust myself in my seat; I sit a little taller, turn the news off, and take a long, deep breath. I try to say it better. I begin with…”okay, traffic sucks but at least we are moving. I’m not usually late. Someone will be at the studio when I get their. I’m not alone in the car so I can use the HOV lane. I am going a little faster than the speed limit so I actually might make it just in time. I do enjoy driving especially with the tall cup of tea sitting beside me. I have perfect timing!

My shoulders drop, my breathing is relaxed, I feel myself smiling and feeling relieved.

It turns out somehow I arrive with time to spare. I didn’t have to rush or worry.  Again I feel relief. Ahhhh. Feeling happy is one thing, but, wow relief turns out to be a powerful feeling that attracts an easy going reality.

So my challenge to you is to take pause when you’re feeling overwhelmed, rushed, resistance, stressed, tense, short of breath, or without enough time. Can you say it better? Is there a way to redefine the moment you’re in to make it feel just a little better than it did before? Practice, my friends, and notice the magic that unfolds before you. Ahhhh

“Your hand opens and closes, opens and closes. If it were always a fist or always stretched open, you would be paralysed. Your deepest presence is in every small contracting and expanding, the two as beautifully balanced and coordinated as birds’ wings.” Rumi