It has been very well documented that stress and those with exorbitant amounts of stress in their life have a greater chance of acquiring high blood pressure, heart disease, cancer, obesity, and many other dis-eases.  A couple of very intelligent friends of mine once asked me, “Is your life REALLY that stressful, or have you gotten into the habit of allowing the stress to consume you?”

I wasn’t sure what they meant, or if they were crazy at that point.

My entire life, I have enjoyed a full life; on a schedule to fit it all in.  I don’t like to sit still, I want to be moving and doing at full speed.  I’ll have time to rest, when I die, right?

Enter an entirely new thought, a new concept for me. (I am still using my calendar and my schedule, but the stress is different – for me.)

We live our lives surrounded by stressors.  Some of which we can choose to eliminate, some of which we cannot eliminate.  We live our lives surrounded by other people. Some of which we can choose to eliminate, some of which we cannot.   The difference comes when we decide to look at it differently from within.

I have begun working to implement meditation into my daily life. Not an easy task when I’ve already added 30 minutes in the morning for bible study, my five year old is waking up earlier, I am training for a 60-mile walk, I have a home to maintain, Rotary, Christian Chamber, a loving husband, my personal business, Bible study classes… and life.

Many times things come up and I get frustrated and stressed because it interrupts my busy schedule. I get stressed because His plan, or someone else’s plan blocks my schedule.  Now, yesterday, an epiphany.

The story:

I was sitting on the deck in the middle of a slough being led through a meditation.  The birds are singing, the wind is blowing my hair in my face, children scream and laugh in the distance, I cough, a car squeals its tires, a plane flies over… How am I supposed to meditate when………… ahhhhhh   It’s the experience, its all a part of the experience.  It doesn’t have to be a bad thing, it just has to be a part of the thing.  I realized I can just accept it as a part of the experience. I don’t have to judge it as right or wrong, I can just allow it to be.

Thank you, Paula English, Carolyn Wightman, and Madeline Ebelini, for opening my eyes and allowing me to begin to LET GO and just let some of life happen.  I don’t have to give everything up and allow everything, but I can determine what I can not change and allow it to be a part of the experience.

I have heard others say that just 30 seconds of true meditation a day can drastically improve your health.  I am committing to 10 minutes a day for the rest of my life.  I understand that I am not perfect and at times something may interfere, but I don’t have to beat myself up for missing it, just look at the experience as part of life and go on.

You can do the same. I am not saying it is easy. I committed to an 8 week class to  understand it, not even really knowing what it was about before I began, but praising God I was lead to it, just as I enrolled with a business coach to improve that part of my life. If you would like to know more about how to find a MBSR class near you or to discuss other ways to reduce the effects of stress on your body and health, feel free to contact me.

Thank you for joining me today.