Life can be busy in this era, with many things that seem to demand our time and attention. There certainly are more areas in modern life for us to manage than there were for previous generations.
The tendency is to do more and more, put our energy into many directions until we can feel diluted and ineffective in our lives. Try as we might, we end up doing everything at a low level of performance and never feel really good about what we do because of this.
Then as changes in the body occur from mid-life or other hormonal imbalances, we can become depressed and anxious. Life becomes flat, and we have no motivation to move into any of it. We are not fun people to be around. It’s not a desired place to hang out!
Yet some patients I start working with, have been there for years. They thought this is how life is when you are getting older, or they are told that. Another frequent line they may be told is that everything is ok with them physically and mentally and yet they intuitively know something is not working well.
If you find yourself to be in this place, it’s time to re-assess what you really believe and take action to create something new for yourself. You don’t have to stay here!
There are many choices and approaches and that’s where inspiration comes in. Who or what can you turn to that gets you excited about living life? Is it a long lost hobby or interest? Something creative? An old friend or family member you have forgotten? Travel, reading, movies? A spiritual practice?
I want to share some things that recently have inspired me:
~Playing with a 3 yr old and losing the sense of time
~Painting my first real looking flower with my artistic sister – who is a wonderful teacher!
~Traveling to Peru and enjoying the culture and heritage of a country with such diverse and natural beauty
~Listening to a course on favorite pictures from the Hubble Telescope by an astronomy teacher who is passionate
~Potting plants and flowers for my own enjoyment
~Chanting as a form of prayer with devoted others
~Hiking and soaking in the beauty of the wildflowers right now
~Sitting on my balcony and appreciating the trees and what they do for the planet and me
~Sharing laughs and smiles with friends and strangers, finding that no one is really a stranger
~Hearing the positive health and life changes brought about by many of you who really take your health to heart and make those difficult changes happen
~Working with a team who inspires so many people through their words, support and action during the work day
~Reading stories of lives of others, stories that stretch my imagination, and truths that support my personal spiritual life and encourage me to grow
~Learning about new ideas in medicine and health that can benefit myself and my patients
~Holding a 6 month old and asking myself – what am I doing to create a better world for this little one to grow up in?
I invite you to create your personal list and even share it with me. Creating time and space to just notice, can be the first step toward creating something new that can change your experience.
When I’m inspired I feel a deep sense of clarity and energy that I can choose to direct into what best supports me now. And as I heard at my yoga class lately, “The best is yet to come”.
It’s not meaning that the best is way off in the future somewhere. It is really meaning that we choose to believe that today is all we have and we trust that life is unfolding as it is meant to be. That’s true for all of us and we show up now and take the steps needed today which leads to tomorrow.
The best to you on this journey as you find your inspiration and are an inspiration!
Jane