So many people are running around through life thinking they have to do everything, know everything, be everything. Well, you don’t. You are meant to be YOU, not Sally or Latsha or Joe. No one can take your place from you, and you can’t take theirs. We are where we are because only we can be there. Sometimes we feel like it’s all too much, like we can’t do it all anymore. Sometimes we feel the emptiness and futility in all the chaos. Sometimes we feel like something is missing.

There are so many things competing for our attention – screaming for it even! – and our minds and lives are always busy-busy-busy! What if there was a way to find peace in every day-to-day action? What if there was a way to create calm and serenity out of the chaos and grind? Well, there is, and it’s taking the world by storm. Meditation is the practice of finding inner stillness and calming the body, focusing the mind. I cannot overstate the benefits that can be gained from finding a quiet spot, sitting down, and just listening to the ambient sounds, feeling the breath, tuning into your own heartbeat.

I had the loveliest experience just a few days ago! I kept trying to logic out the pros and cons of a decision, going back and forth with “what about this?” and “what about that?”. I couldn’t decide, and my brain was all tied up in knots. Finally, I just stopped. I sat down. I closed my eyes. I slowed my breathing and put my hands on my heart. I sat that way for many minutes, quieting my mind and feeling all the sensations in my body, just being. When I opened my eyes, I knew exactly what to do! This decision had been months in the ruminating, going back and forth and sideways about it. But, after just sitting with it for a few minutes, and asking my body, listening – not talking, not demanding – I knew what fit. And then, ideas started to flow. I could barely write them down fast enough!

The body knows many things the mind does not. Be still. Listen. Feel. It’s life changing. The Peace you discover inside yourself from just 20 minutes a day can carry you through the rest of the chaos, smooth it out as you begin to handle things differently. As you grow more familiar with tuning in to your body and your peace the whole experience of your days can change. New ideas and solutions may come into your mind as you sit. Stress can be released, replaced by gentle tranquility and a new kind of energy. Joy can be found in the simplicity of letting yourself just BE. I hope you will try it. Take care of yourself; tune into your body, tune out the turmoil, dial in to joy and serenity.

All my love,

Carie