Welcome to another one of my posts. I wanted to share something I am certain everyone might be able to relate to. Have you been running so fast you forgot to take care of yourself, lately? Have you been piling on the stress and forgot to just take the time to notice your life. Not just your life but honestly, how have you been living?  Listen to this in the background. If I could get rid of the commercials on the video I would. Please come back and leave it as the background track to this post. I wish life had background music then I would know what was going on instead of trying to figure it out. That is for another day.  

Don’t Worry Be Happy. Bob Marley shares the love

So, there you are just enjoying life in general. Or are you? I know I have been working a little too much lately. At times, I just work and forget to take the time to just be. It is my own doing. There are times I am feeling just too &%^$#@ tired to take up the offers from friends to go out.  I ran into that situation over the weekend. I was so very tired that I was unable to gather up the energy to go out and just be.

It took a lot of encouragement from within to make a decision on what to do with my day. I woke up very late for a overcast Saturday afternoon. I had the opportunity to just take a moment and have an enjoyable cup of  tea.

Enjoying tea in Chinatown, San Francisco, 7/14

What was missing from my energy level for the week? It came to me in a flash while I was enjoying my morning. I needed to let it go. There were so many things on my mind. ( Sound familiar?). I had to wait on medical reports for my son. It took a lot out of me. I decided I need to just pay attention to my body and rest. 

I have to reverse my thinking. I was not reflecting on things. I was in perpetual motion on auto-pilot. It was draining me and I was not even doing the normal running around that I enjoy on a day to day basis. It hit me like a ton of bricks last night when I realized I had not been up walking and doing what I would normally do in a day.

Then it came to me like a bolt of lightning. ( without the pain usually associated with being struck by lightning). I figured it out! What I needed to do was as simple as reminding myself of what I had control over. No one else can do it for me. It was just acknowledging I had so much to be grateful for. I decided to share this with all of you.

Increasing your bliss can be as simple as staying in your pj’s. It is staying home and saying I don’t have to do a thing. I just need to care of myself.

It can be as simple as standing on the scale and finding out you lost 5 pounds in a week!

It also is finding out your son’s tests result. He does not have cancer. It has been a long month of waiting. Really big smile now.

It is also knowing you are  loved. It is also knowing that friends want to share their time with you over the weekend.

It is waking up in the morning and that alone is good enough.

Other ways include deciding to save money a little at a time and over the course of the year you also realized you decreased your debt more than you planned.

It also is taking the time to breath while you are reading, walking, standing, cooking, cleaning, working or just being.

It is in the breath. When you take the time to notice you increase your bliss. Take if from Jack Kerouac he followed his bliss. Well, Ok, maybe he had the habit of overdoing it just a little bit! But you get the point.

Taking the time to observe your breath will help you slow down.Literally, observing your rate of breathing. Do you take in deep breaths? Like right now are you holding your breath or just shallow breathing. Hey, let’s get some oxygen into those lungs. 

So first, allow yourself to get into a comfortable position. If you are sitting in a chair then sit up straight! Do your body a favor. Be kind to your body.Move the shoulders back and put yourself into a comfortable position. Good posture goes a long way. (Reminds herself) If you are laying down then stretch out. What ever you are doing just make your body comfortable and just breath. It is that simple. Breath! Focus on your breathing.

Say to your self out loud or from within. ” As I Breath in I notice my breath.” ( Inhale with a slow deep breath).  “As I breath out, I am releasing stress.”  ( Taking the time to really exhale slowly).  “As I breath in, I breath in peacefulness.” ( Deep breath again) . “Out breath, I release stress.”(Exhale) “In breath, peace.” “Exhale, stress.” As they say repeat until finished. Once you start the process, continue along those lines until you feel the peace you were seeking. It is that simple. It is not complicated. Give it a try. You might find it helpful sometime. Just another tool in your toolbox of life to pull out when needed.

So, that is how I increased my bliss today. I was able to share with you my joy for the moment. Have a wonderful rest of your week. Write down all you have to be thankful for. I am sure the list is longer than you know.

Don’t worry be happy! Like Bob says put a smile on your face. It will pass what ever it is.