Gathering Ourself

"All emotions are pure which gather you and lift you up: that emotion is impure which seizes only one side of your being and so distorts you."  ~ Rainer Maria Rilke

      I enjoy days when my thinking is clear. I feel inspired, energized and my words just seem to flow naturally. This is my "in the zone" time. But then there are the low-energy days when I am slow moving and my mind is cloudy. On those low-energy days I feel unfocused and it's a challenge to get things accomplished.

       It is natural for life to ebb and flow. There are the peaks and valleys. There are gray days and sunny days, and it is all part of life. The bottom line is in order to create a shift in our sulkiness, we need to honor our low-energy moods and accept them as part of the nature of who we are -- then we are better able to manage them. If we adjust our definition of what "normal" is, and practice accepting the highs, the lows and everything in between as "normal", we can feel empowered regardless of what the day brings or what our mood is.

        As Claude Monet, the French impressionist painter said, "It's on the strength of observation and reflection that one finds a way." It is difficult to be unaffected by low feelings, such as loneliness, fear, self-doubt or even laziness. When faced with these feelings or when you feel depleted, begin to seize the moment to show yourself some attention and spend time exploring and rediscovering who you are and what you want. Reflect on how kind, loving and caring you are to yourself. Observe your tendency to accept, ignore or reject any of your unique qualities; your strengths or weaknesses. Notice when you get caught-up judging and resenting yourself for feeling depleted. Your self-criticism discourages you even more, and further, observe when you over-use your energy being stuck in useless thoughts.

 

        The poet, Rainer Maria Rilke, beautifully expresses how we can get caught up in our destructive thinking. "All emotions are pure which gather you and lift you up: that emotion is impure which seizes only one side of your being and so distorts you."

       As Albert Einstein said,"Life is all about choices. How many people are trapped in their everyday habits: part numb, part frightened, part indifferent? To have a better life we must keep choosing how we're living." To make choices that feel right, it takes a willingness to unconditionally accept whatever life is at that moment, and then personally be responsible to gather yourself when you feel unfulfilled. Sometimes our mind complicates things, so choose your thoughts and words wisely and then act accordingly. The ability to know and understand ourselves, enables us to fully choose how we want to express who we are and how we live each day. Seize your moments. Encourage yourself to create a life that feels good.