Every once in a while, a song comes on the radio that brings a flash from the past. Times you loved, times you hope you never have to repeat, and times that make you just smile. Songs can induce nostalgia. They can lift you out of a dark place and connect you to the world. They can assure you that you aren’t alone.
That happened to me recently when a familiar Anna Nalick tune came on. I started belting out the chorus, not even aware of other drivers nearby who may have thought I was cuckoo. This is what I heard …
Cause you can’t jump the track/ We’re like cars on a cable/ And life’s like an hourglass, glued to the table/ No one can find the rewind button, boys/ So cradle your head in your hands/ And breathe, just breathe/ Woah breathe, just breathe.
And there was my reminder … just breathe! At that moment, I needed that.
And perhaps you do now too. So rather than wishing you a Happy New Year, I’m going to break the mold and say instead, “Just breathe.”
It’s January, which for most of us means the month of determination. January is a loaded month. Some of us feel more courageous with a fixed purpose. For others, though, January feels more like an assignment: a month filled with duties and chores. What we MUST get done, or else. We can be so hard on ourselves.
Rather than putting a heap of must-dos on month of our calendar, let’s commit to difference in our entire life. Not a life where we have to do something, many things, anything–but a life where we can just BE.
“Being” is, in essence, something we’re all “doing.” We’re being. We’re just breathing.
Let us commit to just being, and just breathing. Let us entrust our lives differently than we have in years past with the sense of renewal that arrives in this glorious, hopeful, new month of January.
This month, in order to help you to breathe and just be, I’m sharing a list with you. These are things you can practice on an ongoing basis–no schedule needed–ways of being that will bring positive changes to every area of your life.
- Trust. Know that God/Infinite Intelligence/Perfection within is the true source of peace, harmony and abundance.
- Free will. Accept responsibility for life and that everything that comes to pass is deliberately created by you–consciously or unconsciously.
- Nonjudgment. Make a decision not to judge anything or anybody, including yourself.
- Forgiveness. Choose to practice forgiving everyone even if before you shared less than unconditional love.
- Oneness. Choose to practice seeing the perfection in everyone, just the way they are.
- Love. Recognize that fear is withholding love and commit to the practice of feeling unconditional love for people, places, and things that cause even a tinge of fear.
- Joy. Accept that any improvement in the quality of life is your own responsibility. Feel the joy within more and more each day.
- Gratitude. Realize that the universe is a mutual support system. Choose to use every situation as an opportunity to gratefully give and receive the support that will bring the most abundance.
- Purpose. Commit to regularly review and upgrade your life’s purpose, seeking greater understanding of the will of God/Infinite Intelligence/Perfection and the power to carry it out.
We receive reminders for these commitments to life in many forms: conversations with friends, a book with a familiar message, discussions with our significant others, or even in reminiscent songs such as Anna Nalick’s. Be reminded that the wheels of life churn ahead, whether we want them to or not.
Cause you can’t jump the track/ We’re like cars on a cable/ And life’s like an hourglass, glued to the table/ No one can find the rewind button, boys/ So cradle your head in your hands/ And breathe, just breathe/ Woah breathe, just breathe.
Rather than saying, “Happy New Year!”–although I DO wish you that–let us deliberately create a new message to ourselves and others. Saying simply, “Just breathe.”
Every new moment brings with it a stirring–an awakening of the possibilities of what can be. This moment. This day. This month. This year. They are all filled with achievability, opportunity, and hope!
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December 29th, 2008 at 3:40 pm
[...] be–requires a little faith. You CAN’T “just do” if you aren’t just being. Doing (something, anything) without any sense of the end result will spin you into a [...]