Patience, Play and Faith. Real Stress Reduction

You know,you know you are
Be still and know you are
Your life is meant for joy
It's all so deep within, oh

Your life is beautiful
A seed becomes a tree
A mountain into a sky
This life is meant to be, oh

"Be Still" - The Beach Boys


"I don't know about you, but when things aren't going my way I try everything in my arsenal of self help; mantras, books, meditations, and affirmations. Usually they work, when they don't I want to slam my forehead into my well used copy of the "The Secret." It doesn't occur to me that patience with myself is one of the most efficient paths to stress reduction that I know
.
I am one of those people that believes that coming up with solutions is better than complaining and whining any time. My problem is that I don't suffer well. I expect solutions to come instantaneously and the problem with that is I am really not listening.

God has a great way of answering questions, it is pretty simplistic. Yes, no, and wait. The last part is the toughest because it requires faith. Thinking positively is pretty useless without faith. My dog Angel has plenty of faith, she knows that when you say "treat" we're going to give her a little snack. She doesn't worry about what kind of snack or if it is a big enough snack. Me on the other hand, worries how many snacks, will I get enough snacks, and if they are organic. All that worrying has gotten me nowhere. My stepdaughter also has non-complicated tools for dealing with this type of stress, it is called play. Kids can find joy in staring at a bug, coloring a picture, or singing to themselves. In these moments Cassandra is the perfect picture of self-awareness and joy.

So for today, I think I will go have a snack and sing to myself ( I don't care if the snack is organic).