Snowed In

Instead of attending a bustling Super Bowl party I sat on my couch next to the flickering fireplace that was making haunting shadows on my cheerfully painted yellow walls.  Sipping a cup of hot tea, I watched the snow fall fast and furious and sighed in relief that my son’s job called him off, which meant there was nowhere to go. Since I had earlier made ribs, sloppy Joe’s and a potato casserole, I also had nothing pressing to do; a rarity in my house, a rarity in my life. Just as the snow storm intensified, so did the thoughts in my mind. Worries about this and that began to trip up a time of relaxation. I noticed the physical signs of the stress with my stomach knotting, my neck and shoulders tensing and my breathing not quite as deep. “Stop,” I silently screamed, trying to hush what I thought might be a runaway train of internal racket. And if you can imagine someone shouting in the middle of a large concert hall just before the first note is played, and everyone turning around and staring, that was what it felt like. In my mind I then heard a simple and flat response of, “What?”

The ‘what’ was indeed key. What was I worrying about and what I was going to do about it? Because obviously ruining a perfectly good snowed in night by obsessing wasn’t going to settle anything. So I decided that I needed to figure out my ‘what’ and tackle the worry head on. To use football terminology, I was trying to be an entire football team instead of just one player. I had to figure out how to delegate it all. So I looked for a game plan.

WORRY TIME – NOT ALL THE TIME
It’s silly for me to advice you (or me) not to worry, because we both know that isn’t going to happen as much as it sounds good. So instead take 5 minutes a day and write out your worries. Yah, you read that right, write them down. Notice that I didn’t say give them energy, but you need to own the worry if you are going to tackle the worry.

FRAME OF MIND
Look at your frame of mind when you do this. If you are sleep deprived or emotional over something, life looks a bit dimmer, doesn’t it?

DETACH
Look at those worries and detach from them. Pretend your friend is discussing and asking your opinion on the very same concerns. What would you tell your friend? Write that down next to your worry.

MAKE A GOAL
The ball won’t move down the field unless someone does something. If you are simply standing there with the worry(ies) in your hand, you are bound to get tackled.  So set a goal, one worry at a time.

HAND OFF THE WORRY
You can’t handle all the plays, you need help. Some of those worries need to be delegated to the proper player. That doesn’t make you weak, it makes you smart.

Afterwards, I felt lighter, as if I wasn’t juggling a dozen balls down the field. Isn’t it time to lighten your load too?

May the white light of love and higher energy surround each of us as we go through our day. May it keep us safe from harm and may it surround and heal all who are hurting.

Believe,
Kristy