How do you spend your time? Are you out there experiencing life to its fullest or do you spend a majority of your day consumed by the thoughts in your head?
Some days can be mentally and emotionally draining even when we are not engaging in a physical activity. But here’s the thing, people don’t control how you feel. You do. You can control your own feelings by carefully monitoring your thoughts. No one has more power over you than you yourself. And thank God for that.
If you’re like me, you may catch yourself wasting hours by replaying events in your head like an old record player. Or maybe you start to compare yourself to others and end up putting yourself down. We can literally get stuck in our head and be left feeling crummy as a result, if we are not careful to guard our thoughts accordingly.
Why not begin each day with new, uplifting thoughts? When you notice yourself moving towards a state of negativity, lean inward. Connect with your own inner life force and recognize all that is required of you is already present within. No one is excused from challenges in life, but I remind you, we all have endured a lot and are here today carrying on.
Outer experiences can be difficult and may even seem unbearable at times. Take time to reflect, learn and grow as you move forward. Life isn’t a competition but rather a process. Be gentle with yourself. Be patient. And more importantly, learn to soften.
We are much too harsh on ourselves and can unfortunately become our own worst critics. We wouldn’t dare place the same expectations we have with ourself on others. Self compassion is a skill that goes a long way. Learn about it and find opportunities to apply it. Allow it to be the foundation for all that you do. Remember, it doesn’t matter if there is anyone sleeping next to you at night. You awaken each day and end each day with the thoughts of your own mind. Don’t let them run rampant.
Life doesn’t come with instructions. We all work to do our best given our set of circumstances. When we accumulate more information, we can use it to carry us further in our journey. There is no right or wrong. There is simply movement along a continuum that aims to guide us back to a state of love.
As a new day unfolds, do your best to welcome more positive thoughts. Be open to experiences and begin to approach life from a state of love and tenderness. Love is all there ever was and will ever be. Honor it and begin by starting with you.
Dr. Jennifer Picinic
Certified Spiritual Counselor
We hear all the time that we should forgive and forget but forgiveness may not be for everyone.
When we think of forgiveness, we often associate it with an action. We envision ourself forgiving another for their wrongdoing but this process is not always necessary.
What matters most is whether or not we allow the agony to remain within us or not.
We can learn to release the pain we feel and welcome peace back into our lives once more.
By giving our inner wounds permission to heal, we are not acting as if an event didn’t occur or that the action of another was warranted, we are solely choosing to love ourselves first and foremost.
We are refusing to let the distress of the past be carried with us to the present time.
Healing is a process and we can begin by opening up our own heart. We can become a support system to our own self by meeting our past struggles with compassion.
The more we practice self love and allow ourselves to engage with the present moment at hand, the more we move away from the wounds that have seemingly bound us.
It is time to release anything that has weighed heavily on us and take back our lives in the present time. We no longer have to give another the power over us for we ourselves, heal ourselves.
Dr. Jennifer Picinic
Certified Spiritual Counselor
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