Resist, React, Respond – where’s your power?!…
What you see is what you get

Hi EveryOne,

Greetings from beautiful Bowen where the temperature is expectedly hot and coming to Northern Queensland at the start of cyclone season, it’s pointless ‘resisting’ the heat. Though my body sometimes ‘reacts’ to the humidity with my skin breaking out in rashes while my joints and muscles ache, I’m staying calm and determined to ‘respond’ positively to each new day.

Having been up this way many times, the signs of an El Nino weather pattern is also clearly displaying itself. The parched landscape is far from it’s regular lush greenery and speaking to locals, they say rain is desperately needed. After all the flooding in many parts of Queensland the last few years though, they mention it only when asked – most simply just get on with it, understanding the cycle of seasons – without malaise or complaint. So with all the dryness and dust over the past few days on our travels back up to Townsville, I was not about to complain either. Besides, nothing was going to take away my high spirits I left Sunshine Coast with… It was such a wonderful month of public talks, programs and workshops on Self Empowerment and Self Care, I wasn’t about to let anything or anyone bring me down 🙂

My point in sharing this is that sometimes in life we are too busy noticing the ‘not so good things’, that we tend to live life in a resistive and reactive way – restrictive and limiting attitudes reduce our options drastically. Resisting and Reacting leaves us no power to make any changes or to accept any wonderful opportunities and experiences that may be right in front of our eyes. Sometimes we completely miss the great things that are happening around us and to us. Having missed it we’re unable to show appreciation and in so-doing we reinforce the negative….. Here’s a brief example… Yesterday we spent a day and night at Clairview – a rather dusty but free road-side spot that was right by the beach – beautiful!… Breeze through the palms, viewing turquoise blue water, while listening to the gentle waves lapping onto the beach. Yet I could hear some nearby campers complain about the midges (sand flies) and the heat, and though I too became ‘dinner’ for the midges and my skin was now becoming irritated – I chose to simply enjoy and appreciate the view – after all, it was FREE! By focusing on the beauty all around me, I wasn’t so affected by my body’s reactions nor was I resisting the heat or the dust or the midges or the complainers – a technique I often use with chronic pain which enables me to stay responsive and powerful – not resistant, reactive and irrational. An attitude of seeing positive is in itself a wonderfully gentle and effective way to relief pain and stress. That’s not to say I ignore the negative by pretending it’s not there, no I’m very aware of it but I do not let it affect me. Simply not giving it any attention, enables me to give attention where it’s deserved – the beauty in life! …Unfortunately we live in a world of instant gratification and most seek out the ‘quick fixes’… I’m not entirely immune to using over-the-counter pain killers however, with this method of consciously focusing my attention on the beautiful things in life, I am able to drastically reduce my intake of drugs that bring many unwanted and often devastating side affects…

The other problem when we live in a reactive or resistive manner is that we unconsciously restrict ourselves and easily become irrational complainers! We begin to live life through clenched teeth, clenched jaws, clenched fists – even ‘clenched’ chests, backs and butts – a very tiring and destructive way to live, not just for ourselves but for those around us. I realise of course that it’s not always as simple as looking at a beautiful beach however, no matter where you are you can always see some beauty – if you choose to! So check yourself today – if you recognize that you tend to complain more than appreciate, here’s an opportunity to do something about it today. Because developing a more positive outlook on life opens up my scope and many possibilities in life, compared to looking at the world through a negative ‘lens’!

Question: Do I complain more than I appreciate?….

Consideration: Why do I resist and react?

Action: Over the next month make conscious effort to Check and Change yourself. Each time you catch yourself complaining or focusing on something negative. STOP! … You’ve just ‘checked’ yourself. Pat yourself on the back for recognizing it. Breathe, let it go, then find something positive to focus on instead – now you’re ‘changing’ the pattern. That’s it – simple – but do it regularly!

Lots of Love Annemarie

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