“Well, hello world, how’ve you been?
Good to see you, my old friend
Sometimes I feel as cold as steel
And broken like I’m never gonna heal
I see a light, little grace, little faith unfurl
Well, hello world

Sometimes I forget what living’s for
And I hear my life through my front door
And I’ll be there, oh, I’m home again”          Hello World by Lady Antebellum

Hello World…

I was driving today and  I was deeply saturated in my own thoughts and worries when I had a moment of reality. I looked out at the road, the sky, the trees and realized just how small I am. I was looking at the same road and same scenery I see everyday, but there was a newness about it, a clarity that gets lost in my everyday life. It was as if I was looking down on my thoughts & worries and could see how miniscule they are in comparison to the world. It gave me a much-needed moment of freedom. As I pondered this feeling of being such a small part of the world, I felt deep relief. Logically, I think we can all agree that we are small in relation to so may things. Most of us still feel small when we stand beside the ocean, but it is in our everyday lives that we seem to get lost in our own thoughts. We allow ourselves to get boggled down by our everyday tasks. But one simple moment of clarity allowed me to take a breath, to breathe in life again. I find myself consumed with stress and my list of things that I “need” to get accomplished and I forget the beauty of it all.

In a few seconds of breathing and allowing myself to step down off the pedestal of importance that I place myself and my worries on, I found an inner peace that I have been looking for. The worry began to dissolve away and I gained perspective. I think we all need to feel this peace. And the beauty of it is, that it is inside all of us. We do not need to pay anyone to find it, to take classes to learn it or read about it in a book. It is a gift we all have, that we have always had, I just forget I have it sometimes. In this quite place of perspective I can gain awareness of the fact that nothing out there matters. This doesn’t mean that I don’t have to continue to do my “to do list”, but it means that I can see it clearly for the time being. I deeply believe that all of the small and not so small worries that we allow to creep up on us are just things. Just worries we give power to by acknowledging them. Sometimes the worries are to great to see this place of peace and if that is where you are than just allow that and know that you can reach for this feeling whenever you want.

One of the most beneficial aspects of this for me is that I do not have to allow others emotions or problems into my life. If someone is upset or angry, that is their choice. This acceptance has been a long time coming and one that I feel such overwhelming joy that I have reached. My spirit is just leaping with joy that my head has finally accepted this to be the reality I can live in. But this inner peace came to me from a big lesson that I would have consumed me a few years ago. I will share this lesson with all of you. I have come to realize that there are some people very unhappy about me speaking my truth and writing this blog. I have broken the silence. I have allowed myself to speak freely in hopes of sharing with others. The beauty of the situation currently is that I can accept their feelings and allow them to feel however they need to, but I do not have to let ANY of those feelings into my life. What is going on with them and with their emotions are theirs, not mine. I believe life gives you lessons over and over until you finally learn from them. I can boldly and proudly say today I have learned! I know I have learned from the feeling of joy, peace and relief I feel in not taking on others emotions.

With all of this said, I am going to work on continuing to allow myself to feel this freedom. That doesn’t mean I won’t have moments or days of regression, but I can never go all the way back. I have seen the goal line and I am going to see what life holds for me on the other side. I want to continue to put the important people in my life first and not allow myself to get weighted down in stress. Sometimes we all need a wake up call to live life and say Hello World…

In Peace and Love,

Michelle