Take A Moment

We all have had first hand experience of stress. It effects us on all levels: physically, mentally and emotionally. It can wreak havoc on the nervous system and zap us of our precious life force. It depletes the adrenal glands and can leave us exhausted coloring our world view and affecting our emotional state.

Stress often occurs as a result of our response to an outer stimulus. The event itself is neutral. It is our perception and reaction to a given situation that put us in a stressful state. In other words, we have to take some measure of responsibility.

For example, a young toddler was playing in his backyard with his mother nearby. He walked over to a rose bush and reached out for a beautiful pink flower. His mother went to him, lovingly picked him up and lifted him to the rose so he could see it clearly and smell it. “This is a rose,” she said. “See how beautiful it is. And what a lovely smell.” She carefully taught him to smell it, all the while expounding on the rose’s beauty.

On the other side of town a little girl was playing on a blanket in her back yard while her mother watcher her from the window. When the mother saw the child get up and walk toward the rose bush with her hand outstretched, she rushed out and cried, “No, get away from there. That rose has thorns and it will hurt you!” She scolded the young girl who began crying.

Twenty years late, the two met at a party given by a mutual friend. They immediately hit it off and at the end of the evening she invited the young man to dinner the following week. On his way to her house, he decided to bring her a hostess gift and select a bouquet of pink roses.

In this story, one person chose something that on a deep level represented beauty and love. To the other person the same exact thing represented danger and unhappiness. Yet the rose remained a rose. Consider for a moment the humdreds of thousands of moments and impressions made on your subconscious mind throught your lifetime that make up your reactions and emotional responses today.

The next time you feel stress or anxiety (a manifestation of stress) creeping into your psyche take a moment to feel it and consider its origin. Take a moment to breathe and center. Take a moment to connect with your spiritual essence. Take a moment to savor the beauty of the roses in your life. Take a moment…