Stress less

I think that most of our stress comes from uncertainty.  Yesterday, I gave our receptionist an assignment, which involves quite a lot of work.  I agreed with her that we will discuss the project plan on Friday.  She was very quiet the rest of the day.  This morning when I talked to her again and gave her a deadline of the end of the month, she gave a HUGE sigh of relief as she thought everything had to be done on Friday.  She said she had so much stress last night and didn't know how she would complete this assignment in such a limited time.  If she just asked for clarity, her stress would have been a lot less.

Uncertainty about the future, relationships, tasks etc. can cause us a lot of stress.  Sleepless nights, over eating (or not eating at all), irritation, arguments with people close to us.  This makes me think of a quote (I don't know who said it, but is so true) "Worry is like a rocking chair, it gives us something to do, but takes us nowhere."  My plan to reduce stress has two elements:

1. Controlling what I can
2. Letting go what I can't

I can control asking for clarity if I don't understand something and I can control my attitude and behaviour, but I can't control what others do and what the future holds.  Today I am letting go!

My prayer for today:
"God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
the courage to change the things I can,
and wisdom to know the difference.

Living one day at a time;
enjoying one moment at a time;
accepting hardships as the pathway to peace.
Taking, as He did, this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it;
Trusting that He will make all things right if I surrender to His will;
that I may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy with Him forever in the next.
Amen"

Winter time

 I can feel the air getting cooler and everyone around me is starting to dress in warmer clothes.  The sun is sleeping later and going to bed earlier.  Ice tea has made way for hot chocolate.  I just love winter time, as all my favourites appear.  Stews, warm drinks, thick blankets, snug clothes and fireplaces.  A lot of my colleagues are complianing about the cold that is creeping in.  Some people even get depressed this time of year. I am just so excited to unpack the things I love. 

With the seasons that are changing, I am thinking aobut life's seasons and how they also change.  Some seasons stay for quite some time and others fly by.  To me every season comes with it's own blessings and lessons. Whether you will experience and learn is entirely up to you.  You can complain, but then you won't get anything out of the season and it will feel like years, before it passes. 

A winter can teach us a lot of things and here are some of the lessons I have learned:

1. Snuggle up close to your loved ones, as we are so inclined to put them at the bottom of our priority list and they might be gone in the blink of an eye.
2. Wrap your blanket of love and care around those you come into contact with.  You never know how badly they might need the warmth.
3. Take time to slow down and have a cup of hot chocolate.
4. We have a lot of strength inside of us, that we may not realise during summer time.
5. We are notlimited by the cold, but we have tools to turn on the heat.

It doesn't matter what the season in your life is at the moment, what matters is what you learn from it.  I have one anchor that keeps me going through every season and that is God's power isn't limited by seasons.

Ignite your light!

"Do you ever feel like a plastic bag
Drifting through the wind
Wanting to start again

Do you ever feel, feel so paper thin
Like a house of cards
One blow from caving in

Do you ever feel already buried deep
Six feet under scream
But no one seems to hear a thing

Do you know that there's still a chance for you
Cause there's a spark in you

You just gotta ignite the light
And let it shine
Just own the night
Like the Fourth of July

Cause baby you're a firework
Come on show 'em what you're worth
Make 'em go "Oh, oh, oh!"
As you shoot across the sky-y-y" - Katy Perry

Some songs just get stuck in your head.  At least this one is inspirational and therefore can play over and over in my head, until I believe it.  I think that sometimes it is a good thing to feel like you are just drifting around, as we then find the inspiration to become that firework and make something truly extraordinary of our lives. 

We all want our lives to be extraordinary and spectacular like fireworks lighting up the sky.  To get there we need to shift our minds and believe that we can be what we were meant to be.  I have read some articles about spectacular people, like Raymond Ackerman and Nelson Mandela.  They have one thing in common and that is perseverance.  No matter what life threw at them, they persevered and made their lives into fireworks.  They are also humble and people are of utmost importance to them.  To light our fire we need people.  How wonderful is a firework show with no one to watch?  Have people in our lives lifts us up and helps us to persevere.

Let's all sing...."Baby your a firework...."

Lightbulb moment!

“I've been doing a lot of abstract painting lately, extremely abstract. No brush, no paint, no canvas, I just think about it.” – Steven Wright

I was looking for my quote for the day and stumbled across the above one.  It made me smile, but also think about thoughts. (Yes, you can think about thinking.) 

I am looking at a painting.  It is the most beautiful painting I have ever layed me eyes on and I know if you could see it now you would also love it.  It's a painting of an african landscape.  The sun is setting and in the distance is the outline of a tree.  An elephant is gracefully picking leaves to fill it's hungry stomach.  Grass is swaying in the breeze.  All is calm and serene.  The use of colours is just amazing.  Red, orange, yellow flowing into each other. This is all fantastic, but it's not on a canvas.  I am only thinking about the painting.  I am also thinking about painting it, but I am not actually painting it.  No one can truly admire my work of art, as no one will ever see it.

This made me think about all the ideas we have.  All the things we think about and create within our own minds, that no one will ever see.  Our creations might be a success in our minds, but we will never know the success it might have outside of our mind.  I think we feel save creating things in our minds, but are scared of taking the risk in actually realising our dreams.  Yes, it can fail, but you can also have a great recipe for success inside your head.  You will never know until you take the risk.  Paint the picture you have on a real canvas.  I think the people that achieve great success are the one's that take risks and even when they fail get up and try again.

Oh yes!  Happy April Fool's Day!