Finding Peace
How to create calm in the middle of the storm...
Our family recently made a big move to a new location. Lots of change...different house, different yard, different neighborhood, different views, different grocery stores, different markets, different drives....same unstable emotions! :)
I've had to pinch myself several times in the past weeks to really hone in on the moment. Some of my future truth journal entries are actually materializing into physical form and I'm beyond grateful and excited! Why oh why then have I found myself experiencing stretches of unease and unhappiness? All is well in my household...in my little bubble...but there is so much turbulence...so much heaviness and uncertainty present in my family and heck...in the whole pandemic world we must now learn to operate in...so much that it becomes a challenge to simply focus on my personal peace of mind.
When you have peace of mind ~ you are in your highest state of function as a BEING ~ You are in WELLBEING - Jim Fortin
When I began this growth journey, this was my driving force...how do I attain the ultimate life of serenity...how do I maintain peace of mind? I've written a lot about the power of thoughts on our circumstances and I truly believe this is the answer. Our mind is the powerhouse of creation...it houses all operating functions including the very important belief systems that control our attitudes and behaviors. Having the awareness of this incredible power available to every human is enough to create the results we desire in our lives.
The way to be happy is to just be happy - it's a factory reset - Jim Fortin
I often wonder if that 'happy-go-lucky' vibe is a special gene some humans are lucky to be born with!:) Well, Jim Fortin teaches that we are all programmed from birth to be happy....it's in our factory settings! Think about it...aren't all babies literally little bundles of joy? Once their basic needs of eating, sleeping, pooping, and cuddling are met, they are little carriers of pure light! As we get older, life circumstances barrel in and start to shape our belief systems, and sadly sometimes dulled or fully diminish the bright joyous light innate to us. Over time, we forget how to be happy! Knowing that we have the ability to reset our happiness is a very comforting fact that wraps me in hope and enthusiasm!
I've been having to reignite this happiness gene very often these days by using the power of my thoughts. I'm getting better with more practice and beginning to truly appreciate the fact that we are all capable of being the annoying 'happy-go-lucky' person we secretly admire and wish to emulate :) When I start spiraling in the storm of negative emotions...of worry and fear and sadness...I pause, take a breath, acknowledge the darkness and its source, and literally think myself back into the light! I remind myself that we are 'the thinker of our thoughts and proceed to intentionally steer my thoughts out of the storm. I sometimes talk to myself (internally and unashamedly out loud :)...telling me to quit dwelling in the negative, to get my butt in gear, focus on the positive, and be happy! I list all the blessings I am grateful for, I write in my journal, I walk in our beautiful neighborhood, I stop to take a picture of a blade of grass glistening in the setting sun...I focus on the NOW...and truly live into it.
I've found that oftentimes when I've put in the effort to arrive at my beloved peace of mind...guilt chooses that moment to blow its heavy unwanted gusts into my calm. How can I have the audacity to be happy when my brother is fighting for his life when my parents are worried sick...when there is so much heaviness everywhere? After a couple of breaths, my heightened awareness kicks in, showing me that the guilt is my emotional mind taking the helm....my analytical mind reminds me of the good, the lightness, the joy I can bring my boys, my husband, my family, when I'm in a happy place. How can I be the source of light if my light has gone out? We should never feel guilty for accomplishing something so pure, so good, so worthy of us...To let in the light...to be the light for yourself and others, is the purpose of life itself!
xoxo,
Jess
Photos by mama & boys