Do my cranky pants make me look small?
I’ve been noticing how the world these days is going through a case of crankiness. I’ve heard it from delivery people…from family members…even watching New York Gov. Cuomo yesterday where he seemed to be tired, annoyed and ready to rumble. LOL Of course, it’s no surprise considering all that we are collectively going through. The stress is palpable. It’s like we have had it up to here with everything going on around us and with our seemingly inability to be able to manage our own lives during this pandemic.
Crankiness can also be contagious. This morning, I caught myself being pulled into this energy-sucking state and I just had to stop and chuckle. I thought, “What is this about? What am I giving my power away to?” It seems like we’re all in survival mode these days…just waiting and hoping for the day when things will all be better, and this virus will release us from bondage…but what about in the meantime? How do we navigate our lives through this time?
As I pondered these questions, I was taken back to a time when I had asked myself similar questions. It was about 18 years ago, when I had just walked away from a successful 26-year career in the corporate world to start my own business as a marketing and public relations consultant working with non-profit organizations. Those of you who may be entrepreneurs know how difficult a start-up can be and how you can go through most of your savings, fast. I was working hard to get established and trying to acquire clients. It was not happening for me…even though I felt I was following my heart and had the expertise I needed. It seemed like the harder I worked the less I got in return. I felt like a mouse on a wheel…getting no where fast. The time had come when the savings had been exhausted and no clients on the horizon. It was a very dark and sad time. I felt totally vulnerable, exhausted and fearful. I had run out of ideas, time and money.
On one of those dark days, I asked myself what it was, in that moment with what I had at the time, that would bring me Joy. I sat with that for a while and then took myself on a long walk. It was one of the first, lovely, really warm days of Spring. On my walk I stopped into an ice cream parlor and purchased a couple of scoops of peach ice cream for my walk. As I walked, I noticed (as for the first time) the beautiful flower container gardens along the street… the lovely front yard gardens decorated with quaint garden statues… the scrumptious fresh peach flavor of my ice cream… the feeling of the warm bright sun on my face… the lyrical bird songs… a few bunnies and squirrels…the gorgeous clear sky. And in those moments…on that walk…something shifted. I was filled with profound Gratitude…gratitude that I was born with the senses to take it all in… the legs to walk and experience it. In that moment of self-nurturing…and honoring what would bring me Joy with just the “ordinary” around me …I released the fear that I had been tied to…and the energy shifted in a most profound way. Two days later, I acquired my first client. The following week, I acquired two more…and the rest was history. Joy and Gratitude are powerful states of being…and things can change in the blink of an eye when we release the fear.
Nothing blocks your power more than fear, which also breeds scarcity. And I’ve found that nothing brings me back into my power more than Gratitude and Joy…particularly in the “ordinary”. Brene Brown writes: “…I realized how may of us have bought into the idea that something has to be extraordinary if it’s going to bring us joy. In I thought It was Just Me, I write, ‘We seem to measure the value of people’s contributions (and sometimes their entire lives) by their level of public recognition. In other words, worth is measured by fame and fortune. Our culture is quick to dismiss quiet, ordinary, hardworking men and women. In many instances, we equate ordinary with boring or, even more dangerous, ordinary has become synonymous with meaningless’.”
My experience was Gratitude/Joy, self-care and nurturing is one that I keep close to my heart. Since then, here are a few of the things I’ve discovered along the way…
- …that I feel most empowered when I am centered in Joy
- …that Gratitude and Joy walk hand in hand
- …to try not to make decisions or operate from a place of fear
- …to choose my thoughts wisely…they are investments that determine where I will choose to abide…. choose the good ones.
- …that the alchemy of kindness changes lives
- …to honor and act upon the Wisdom and messages of my heart…no matter what.
Like with most things, some days I’m better at this than others. May you be in Gratitude and JOY!