knowabundance.com

Happy Monday!

Of all the advice I have received over the years, I’ve treasured most a message from the big trees:

“You take everything so seriously little one.”

I used to run after work along a redwood-lined trail in the San Francisco Bay Area hills. This is where I would go to de-stress.

I’d start out preoccupied, my mind reviewing meetings from the day, to do lists and plans to meet upcoming deadlines.

At the end of every run I would hang out with the trees, staying until my breath was back to normal and my mind quiet and more peaceful.

Some days turning off the work thoughts was harder than others. I’ve long been an analyzer – on the quest to figure out why things are the way they are and how we can make them better.

So there I was one day, leaning against a tree, my mind full of questions, searching for answers. And from the towering trees surrounding me there came a kind, gentle message, “You take everything so seriously little one.”

And I started to laugh. The intensity of my thoughts instantly lightened with this obvious truth. I was grateful for the friendly observation of my propensity toward seriousness in all things and for the reminder of my place (little one) in the universe.

Was the message from the trees or from my “higher” self? We have so many voices in our heads – from our past, from friends, bosses, parents, movies, newscasts, books, songs – our thoughts continually churning with internal dialogue. Processing, planning, remembering, judging, calculating, dreaming.

Where the words came from doesn’t really matter – the gift was the perspective they offered to see my thought patterns in a new light.

We all have this ability – the ability to see and observe our own behavior and to be conscious of what drives our thoughts, words and actions.

Awareness comes before change.