Last Friday I woke up and had my day all planned. And then – life happened.
Three of my clients cancelled their coaching session which was unusual. After the third cancellation I decided to sit, relax and meditate. It felt so good that I thought ‘why not call this day a day off’? So I did. I had my own retreat.
The ironic part? At my yoga class the night before I had pulled an inspiration card that said ‘Retreat. Take time to be in silence and relax.’ When I read the card my mind thought, “Retreat? That would be nice but you are too busy right now to go on a retreat.”
Totally unplanned by me. But the Universe had its own plan.
I meditated more and also took time to reflect and write about the past several months – how I have grown, and what I have accomplished, and there was a lot to acknowledge.
It made me realize how I don’t take enough time to stop and appreciate all of the wins and growth. My mind is always on to ‘what’s next’.
When I took this time to reflect, my mind became clear and empty. Anything I was trying to figure out melted away. I felt completely fulfilled in the moment.
I meditate and journal all of the time, but for some reason, I was deeply touched by this particular experience. Something so simple had such a profound impact.
I also wrote this Mindful Monday message. Up until Friday every time I went to sit down and write I was completely blank. Then on Friday the idea popped into my head to write about my day of retreat and the words flowed on the page with ease. Interesting huh.
This experience has shown me that when I trust and allow everything to unfold naturally, things fall into place and life flows beautifully.
When I don’t trust and I try to force things to happen (even when doors are closing), it stresses me out and peace is nowhere to be found, and I am quite possibly blocking amazing opportunities and growth.
In any given moment we have a choice to be open and receive or to apply force and push away.
This includes allowing our thoughts to come and go and accepting our emotions or feelings and our experiences. Having said that, sometimes it’s not easy to accept, especially when something is really painful. It is a process.
And this is why I have a daily mindfulness practice.
When I take time every day to meditate, be still, get grounded, and take good care of my body, it enriches my life in so many ways and I was shown this on Friday very clearly.
It is a commitment. It takes discipline. And it is worth it 100%.
Because we can’t control things on the outside. Even though we think we can or we try really hard, we can’t.
The only thing we can control is how we respond to what life presents to us.
And when we can go with the flow life is a lot sweeter. It is empowering.
Until next week,
Diane