Enjoy Today

Enjoy Today!

Enjoy your day today! Accept it for what it is whether nice or not so nice and keep in mind that the best of life and love is ahead.

 Many people are feeling anxious even with the current national vaccine roll-out. That is understandable. The future is unclear and that’s what fuels anxiety – uncertainty. Many are wondering when, if ever, they will feel calm and happy! So, today I am encouraging – acceptance.

Acceptance is key to living a contented life. It does not mean that we stop having goals. It means that we accept life is the way it is right now. Life is messy and unpredictable. Acceptance means acknowledging the problem and making a plan of action for the solution whenever the problem is within our control.

The Big Book in AA mentions acceptance as “When I am disturbed, it is because I find some person, place, thing or situation – some fact of my life – unacceptable to me. I can find no serenity until I accept that person, place, thing or situation as being exactly the way it is supposed to be at this moment”.

Acceptance is not giving up or giving in.

Acceptance is acknowledging and facing the difficulty rather than fighting against it.

Covid-19 is global. We have no way of knowing whether there will be another wave or outbreak or if there’ll be another virus. That is completely outside of our personal control. We can continue to fight that in our minds, be unsettled about the future, creating an anxiety based on “what if…..” thinking OR alternatively we can accept that the future is never within our control. All we can ever do is our best. That is what everyone is doing, their best. You might be tempted to criticise others because they do not live by your standards, however, your standards are not for anyone else because their yours. Acceptance requires that you allow others to make mistakes, while you actively live your life as best you can, for you.

The thoughts, feelings, emotions that we fight the hardest can often be the most bothersome. Trying to fight fear and anxiety creates panic within us. Trying to fight an unwanted thought creates an intrusive thought. Perhaps instead of internally fighting feelings or thoughts try to accept thoughts and feelings.

Start by acknowledging the feeling / thought / emotion / mood and let it come and go like a wave. Every human has unwanted/strange thoughts but when calm we don’t give them airtime, we don’t put a spotlight on them. Whenever we feel stressed or sad and have unwanted thoughts, we might believe that our thoughts mean something (or are symbolic) but that is untrue and inaccurate.

Thoughts are not us, they are part of our imagination. Much like feelings are not facts – they are as changeable as Irish weather!

Trying to rid ourselves of unwanted thoughts can cause the opposite to happen, grabbling our attention, focus and engagement. When we accept that everyone has strange thoughts as part of the human experience, we accept that our minds are amazing. The same is true of our emotions. We might feel angry or anxious and this too is part of being human and alive.

When we learn to accept life, we put our energy into doing our best and can better appreciate what we have in our lives, the positives and beauty around us.

Slow down enough to experience and express appreciation.

For those of you who live by the sea, when is the last time you noticed the beauty of the reflection in the calmness of the water? That is appreciating living and life.

www.carolinecrotty.ie