Just Look Up

Hi EveryOne,  Happy May. I hope you are all doing (and being) well and that you’re remembering to Just Look Up every so often to lighten your life. Slow down. Reset yourself.  And just let the rest go. That is – if you want to make moving forward a little easier. 

First some news…

• Queensland’s COVID restrictions are easing next week so I will be able to start offering limited therapies Shiatsu and Bowen; Wellness Guidance and Hypnotherapy. Online appointments via zoom or skype will continue for those who don’t live local or who are still self isolating. In need? Email me iam@happyheartholistichealing.com.au 
• Though community halls and venues remain closed at this stage – outdoor Classes (up to 10 people) will apparently be allowed from next week also. So I will aim to offer small Qi Gong and Hoop-Dance classes somewhere outdoors (weather permitting) shortly.
• In the meantime, here’s a link to another meditation video for you to enjoy https://youtu.be/MVtSk_uEaNc  Though do remember to support my online classes by subscribing to my Youtube Channel when you visit. It’s FREE to join and you will automatically be notified when a new video is added… And don’t worry it’s not difficult to join (if I can create and upload videos then I’m sure you will have no trouble subscribing) 🙂  FYI – my Youtube channel is called ‘Annemarie Happy Heart’.

Just Look Up!… 

With many around the world still in lock down and self isolation, and worse, many still dying on a daily basis – it appears Australia has ‘relatively dodged a bullet’.  Yet how do I as an individual continue to stay the course and keep looking forward with enthusiasm? How do I survive and even thrive at a time when fear is so ready to step on my dreams and goals? How do I not ‘lose it’ at a system that allows people to fall through the cracks of society – even though we may have worked and paid taxes all our lives? How do I not worry or stress or get depressed when there is currently no income yet bills continue to come?  How do I not victimise myself or lash out at others in times of uncertainty?…  Beginning each day with an attitude of gratitude is a great start. I know, I know, it sounds like a cliche and is certainly much easier said than done – but not impossible!

Appreciating the little things and recognising the opportunities in being given another chance to change, really is important to help keep your focus and faith…  How do I do this? You ask. By giving yourself permission throughout your day to simply stop! And Just Look Up.  Breathe and take note of all the beauty that surrounds you. You know, there is soooo much beauty that goes unnoticed every single day! We miss so much because we are too caught up and distracted (reminder – Hebrew meaning of sin is ‘to miss’). So give yourself many chances throughout the day to Just Look Up. This seemingly small action stops you from looking back, looking too far ahead and worse, looking down! What happens when you look back? You get a crook neck and lose your way forward. Fear, blame and anger seep in to normality, sustaining old patterns that chain you to the past – dis-ease… What happens when you look too far ahead? You get anxious and stressed. Feeling overwhelmed you will compromise yourself on many levels – dis-ease. What happens when you look down? Your eyes reach the ground very quickly because the view is very limiting – that’s depressing – dis-ease!  To add insult to injury – your physiology changes. When your head hangs down, so your shoulders will droop and your chest will cave in – reduced oxygen intake severely impacts your overall wellness! Lack of oxygen impairs homeostasis (body’s internal regulatory system) which upholds or impacts your physical health, your mental cognition and your emotional wellbeing. It distorts your perspective of any situation and affects how you respond to life. Ever notice how quickly you react outwardly (or shut down inwardly) when you’re stressed, upset, overwhelmed? That’s because at that moment you are not in control of your own physical senses as you are compelled to behave against your own will. Allowing fear and anger for example to drive your attitude, rarely offers a positive outcome since it opens a path to destructive reactions, sabotage and justifications – dis-ease.

So do let go… Let go… Just let go… Don’t hang on to what you can’t control or can’t change – don’t waste time blaming but do take the reins of your own life – baby step by baby step. Otherwise life becomes so hard and so heavy – for all involved. Make a difference today and lighten yourself. Start right now. Just stop. Just look up. Breathe in that open space, the vastness called life. With practice you will strengthen the capacity to manage your own mental and emotional health.  Let go – empty yourself again and again and again – it’s essential in moving forward. Carrying old emotional stuff (or equally toxic) carrying it on someone else’s behalf, will quickly prove unsavoury and soul destroying. It really has no benefit at all, for anyone! You deserve better. I deserve better. So lets do better together – lets be kinder to ourselves so we can be kinder to each other. Doesn’t seem that hard does it? Just look up. Through these many, many tiny individual steps we can heal and we can continue on our journey ……

Question:   How often do I just look up throughout my day?

Contemplation:  Why don’t I look up more often? What’s stopping me? (really listen to your own inner answer – where might you be using justification?)

Action:   For the next month whenever you feel stressed, worried, confused, angry, frightened, overwhelmed, justified etc, stop and Just Look Up. Take a breath and just look around. Drink in the openness, the endless possibilities. Appreciate where you are and who you are at that moment in time – SEE the beauty for just a few seconds. Be grateful for what you DO have and what you CAN do (do NOT focus on what you don’t have or on what you can’t do)… Reset yourself and start again, with gratitude. 

Happy practicing everyone, love Annemarie x