Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Leaving The Twhirl Behind

Have you ever felt like you just want out of the twhirl? Perhaps it's a conversation at the water fountain or that you are just tired of dealing with people who see the glass half empty. Maybe something has triggered you, and you find yourself focusing on the junk rather than the possibilities.

With all the changes happening around us it's no wonder that many people are feeling this way. From our struggling economy to the increase in our need to "pack" our days full of activity just to get ahead, you may be feeling the pressure.So often in our lives, we find ourselves in situations that don't feel good, and our natural instinct is to "react" rather than stay in a place of choice. We may engage in an argument that doesn't serve us, or jump to conclusions that aren't based in truth.

No matter how or when it happens it is important to remember that it doesn't have to be that way.It is important not to forget that you have the power to take a step back and decide if and how you want to participate in what is going on around you. Each of us has the ability to choose to be a part of something or not. We can choose not to get involved in situations that take us off track.

We have the power to decide where to place our energy & how we will focus on taking action in ways that work in our lives.So the next time you want out of the twhirl, remember to do the following:·

Take a step back and determine what it is in your life that is taking you off track·

Explore where you are wasting time & energy in ways that are not healthy or empowering·

Choose to change the way in which you participate in the activities, relationships and thought processes that aren't serving you Most importantly, know that you have the ability to participate in your life in a way that will move you forward and have you reaching your dreams; all you have to do is make a conscious choice to do so.

At some point in our lives we have all had our favorite pet, once you’ve experienced this nothing else ever compares. Last night, for whatever reason I was thinking back to my favorite pet, he crosses my mind from time to time, and is always nice remembering him. My favorite pet was Burt, a big ole chocolate lab, which was the offspring of the “Hooper” of “Hooper’s Sporting goods” Burt was beyond a dog, way beyond a dog, he had been through obedience training, but he was born smart, he was one of the rare animals who seemed to understand everything, and even in his older years he celebrated life, remained playful, and had such a wonderful loving spirit.

On hot summer days I would see Burt in the yard trying to make the best of a day with no breeze and little relief from the heat, and out of guilt or sympathy whichever was the case, I would drop everything Grab a Frisbee, drop the tail gate on the truck, and without hesitation in he would go. We would drive down to the lake, and I would sail that Frisbee out across the water and no matter how far it went Burt would happily swim for it and return it ready to go again. I could take him any where he was so obedient and well behaved that I never had to worry how he might respond in any situation.

We would sometimes spend hours at the lake, whenever we left we would drive up to this drive in restaurant called Blue’s it was a dive, that was open seasonally, and all they offered was curb service or a picnic table, I always ordered two cheeseburgers, one for me and one for Burt, he would start barking and going nuts the moment he saw the restaurant, he would watch as the car hops came in and out waiting for his turn, I used to watch him in the rear view mirror, and I felt kind of bad when they went in another direction because he looked crushed, but I think he always knew his time was coming.

Occasionally the car hop was brave enough to hand Burt his burger, but most of the time I had to hand it through the back glass, and in one gulp it was gone.

I always used to think those were the best days of Burt’s life, but last night for the first time I think I realized, those were actually the best days of my life. Days spent with Burt were days where my companionship was appreciated, days where I was the recipient of nothing but gratitude, approval, and acceptance. Every decision I made was the right decision as far as Burt was concerned.

My point in sharing this is it is entirely possible to experience the best days of your life anytime you choose, but you do have to choose, I don’t think they just happen. I mean there are days that just occur as a matter of happenstance, and they turn out to be one of the best days of our lives and it’s always nice when that happens. But what’s even nicer is when we learn to create the best days ever as a matter of choice.

If I were your employer, and you had been working especially hard, and I said you know Mary I’ve noticed how hard you’ve been working lately, and I would like to pay you to take a day off, you would gladly accept that.

I can’t imagine Mary saying “ I love my job sooo much I’m going to forfeit my paid day off and just work instead” Where the real question comes in is not whether or not you would accept the paid day off, but what would you do with it? How many of us would seize the opportunity to make it the best day ever?

What I suspect we would do is anything but unplug, in our minds we would be thinking that we were doing what we wanted to do, but I think in reality we would be doing what needed to be done, could be laundry, could be washing the car, and while it is true we would feel fairly good be paid for accomplishing things that needed to be done, I don’t think that our spirit would benefit as much as if we did what we truly wanted to.

When was the last time you did, for an entire day exactly what you wanted to? Some would say well, I do what I want to everyday, so if you’re thinking that ask yourself this question, was yesterday one of the best days of your life? No? Why not?

Guys, I could tell you to take a day for yourself, but I wonder how many people would actually know what taking a day for yourself would mean? I mean for years I thought my days with Burt were the best days of his life, and I didn’t realize they were some of the best days of my life, because I didn’t recognize what the best day of my life would be like.

I have taken it upon myself to design an outline in order to describe what could become one of the best days of your life. It could be spontaneous but I think it would be better if planned. So start by writing your itinerary, what time you will begin and what time it will end, fill this day with yourself, make this day about everything that you like to do, or think you would like to do.

Leave your cell phone at home, or turn it off. Disconnect from anything and anyone that will rob you of the time you have set aside for your day, perhaps you might pack a picnic, if you choose to spend your best day away from your house, not what you have in the fridge, but whatever is your favorite lunch, go to your favorite place, or all your favorite places, and determine how much time you will spend at that place, or go to a place that you always thought you would like to go, I mean you have the whole day, plan it in advance, and really plan it around you, and what you want to do, once you have your itinerary stick to it, but most of all enjoy every single second, all you are really doing is spending time away from any controlling factors that could cause you not to have the best day ever.

This is different than thinking you always spend days with yourself; in this case you are looking for exclusivity, having the day all to yourself.

I have decided to take a sick day…a sick of everything day, or maybe I could call it taking a Burt day, maybe a me day, it doesn’t matter what I call it, or what you want to call it, what matters is that we take one.

I choose Friday, Friday is a good day it’s our community day, the day that is all about you, so it’s a perfect day to plan the best day ever. I can’t make you take it, but I can say if you have a long list of things that need to be done, and it seems that you never get it done, then I would think you could be overwhelmed.

There is no harm in stealing a day out of many to disappear, or hide from the World, you deserve it. I think everyone would be quite surprised how good they would feel, and how much clarity they would gain by truly unplugging from anything and everything for one day.

I believe that we are turning a corner, and very soon are going to become very busy, I think now is the perfect time to take a breather and realign ourselves with our thoughts, our goals, and most of all our purpose, and these are all things we can expect to become much more clear to us, if we can capture the opportunity to dedicate one day to what is important to us.

No comments:

Post a Comment