I believe that the biggest cause of stress is when a person has turned into a human doing and forgot the human being part. When a person is trying to force solutions, figuring things out, making things perfect, incessantly. But there’s a time for doing and a time for being. There’s a time for activity and a time for resting. There’s a time for giving and a time for receiving.
It’s about balance. Whatever this means for each person, individually.
The journey to balance can be bumpy, especially when juggling a lot, dealing with busy schedules and monkey mind (monkey mind is a Buddhist term for restless and uncontrolled mind, read more here).
My personal and professional Reiki practice have shown me that the rewards can be peace, clarity, and resilience. There’s peace in feeling centered and grounded, even in times of challenge. I’ve witnessed clients find a sense of comfort and inner safety, get unstuck, and realize that they have choices.
When I read the book The Creative Act by Rick Rubin this sentence blew me away:
“Attuned choice by attuned choice, your entire life is a form of self-expression.”
We’re all creators of something. People create homes, families, stories, businesses, livelihoods, experiences, communities, organizations, opportunities, day in and day out, all over the world.
The possibilities are endless. When we look at creativity, the ability to create, from this perspective, it’s not limited to art and to a “chosen few.” By being human and alive, we can bring something to existence that hasn’t been before. It could be as simple as a thought, a conversation, a letter, a solution to a problem… or in the ways we deal with stress.
I believe that we all came here for a reason. That we were all given our individual talents and passions to help one another and to contribute to this world. When we are good at something and it comes with ease, we are meant to do it. To serve a purpose. Everybody is valuable and everything we do is of value.
Yet, the sense of self is so tied up with who we think we should be, what others expect of us. Our inner GPS, our intuition, gets stifled. Early on in life, we begin to follow the program of schooling, education, how we and life should be, how things have always been done.
But we are not meant to do things like others. We are all born unique. Our cells, characters, skills, talents, passions, dreams, desires, and ambitions were given to us. Us only. No one else was given the combination that makes you YOU. We are meant to sing our own songs, write our own stories, to express our uniqueness… in the way we live our lives.
When we are not in alignment with ourselves, we are in trouble. Dis-ease and imbalances occur. The scale / weight shifts, but not in our favor. We spend so much time trying to make things work, fit in, do things right, be perfect. But we deplete ourselves, our resources, our time, our energy, and our lifeforce.
Showing up for oneself and giving ourselves what we need, takes courage and willingness, discipline, and persistence. I choose to show up, for myself, today and every day. Even when I’m kicking and screaming. Especially then. What do you choose today?
May you experience PEACE, CALM, and LOVE – today and every day,
Andrea
About Andrea Deierlein & Thrive Reiki, LLC: Andrea's work specializes in helping people transform the pain of life challenges and daily adversity through the practice of Reiki. She helps people struggling with stress, anxiety and overwhelm, to relax, calm down and breathe again. Focusing on stress management and the mind-body-connection, her clients shift out of survival mode, build focus and resilience. Connect with her on www.thrivereiki.com or follow her on Instagram @andreadeierlein