Seeing Into the Mind of One MJLewis

Read on for just a tiny piece of the large puzzle I am working on...

These last few months I have had more on my mind than most of the entire last year. I've always strived for perfection. Perfection in whatever my hands find to do. I was raised this way and it has stayed with me. Some would say it was closer than any friend I've ever had.

Actually, I think most of us are this way, whether we believe it to be, or not. We want to grow and flourish in whatever we find to do. Yes? Whatever our lives consist of, we want it to be the best it can be.

Yet balance is so important in life. To expect instant gratification is to hold onto so many things, while hoping nothing is going to drop. Hoping that others see us. Hoping they confirm our existence, because we, ourselves, wonder if we are important. To anyone. I know, it's childish thinking, but so many adults walk this earth just needing to be seen. And I know why. But this is not about that.

It's my opinion (I have one...so do you), in order for a well balanced life, we must take a step back from our overwhelmed normal days and find a place of peace that will allow some things to just drop, without trying to catch them, if it means we will be able to hold other things more closely.

This may look like not saying yes to everything, but saying yes to only a few very good things. And in this revelation comes the battle of the mind. It will show us all the reasons why this line of thinking is just a bunch of misguided crazy thoughts. It will tell us to stay the course, then throw the "what ifs" at us. We prepare our lists of pros and cons, just to throw them out and begin again. And again...

I am not overwhelmed at this stage of my life. I have been overwhelmed, in years gone by, in my growing years...but not today. So you could say I believe myself to be bit of an expert on this matter. I came here to say that too much of anything brings with it the impossibility to balance any of it, and it will become a place of chaos. Not peace. And the family suffers as we continue living on this merry-go-round. At some point we must remember that only we, ourselves, determine who want to be. We find our peace, our comfort, our existence, when we find our Creator. The perception that we need to please others so they will find us pleasing, is a myth. A lie, of sorts. Once we realign with God, we will find balance and then be able to release the unimportant things we have believed to be important.

Soooo...Spring is looking at us this very moment. It's so close we can feel it, see it, anticipate it. It's the perfect time to breathe in and exhale. The perfect time to let go of the unnecessary, so we can hold the really important close.

Today, you have seen into a tiny nook of my mind, which I believe to be stable. Mostly...

and here you will find me, always...in Mary's World.

Conquering Stress

"MANAGING" STRESS

If you know me, even just a little, you know that my brain seems to challenge me and will focus on an issue that may be affecting me or someone I love. Or those I come in contact with who are willing to share a part of their day with me. Issues can weigh hard on me if I allow them.

Much of humanity seem stressed to the max, these days. The phrase one will most often hear from a doctors office is, "You need to manage your stress levels." Personally, I don't think that's even a possible thing one can do. Maybe a better phrase would be, "You need to consider eliminating something you are now being held responsible for, that isn't imperative you do." Then, possibly, your stress levels would diminish somewhat. Still...I doubt it. There will always be something that we feel responsible for that requires maybe a little too much of our attention. And what would one eliminate anyway? If you have a family, that alone can swallow most of your day. And we certainly can't eliminate the only thing that puts food on the table. Our work is vitally important.

But, the good news is this. We CAN manage our peace of mind. That, in and of itself, will cause stress to diminish to a level we didn't think possible. Or, at the very least, not destroy our health.

Maybe the situations that happen within a 24 hour period of time can be seen as opportunities instead of obstacles. Doesn't our state of mind determine how we deal with daily happenings? I know. I know... Too many "opportunities" can be piled way too high on our backs and will cause our focus to switch back to obstacles, feeling our hands are tied and that we just can't get ahead.

Maybe we could change our perspective. Here are a few things that have helped me when I'm feeling overwhelmed, or stressed. Hopefully, they can help you, too.

1) Where did I wake up this morning? Was it in a free world, or was it in a world with severely limited resources? Also, consider the fact I DID wake up.
2) Did I wake up with a roof over my head? If I did, I have a lot to be grateful for.
3) Do I have my own transportation, aka/car or truck? Many don't.
4) Do I have employment? Many don't.

Synopsis: We've been taught to focus on what's going wrong in our part of the world (in our personal lives), instead of what's going right. I'm not saying we should stick our heads in the sand and ignore the difficulties, the facts of living life, but to choose to see the light that is all around us while we're walking through the dark.

Maybe gratitude is the answer to conquering stress...

As always, here you will find me...in Mary's World