Stop. Smell the Roses. And Journal
How It Works
"Stop and smell the roses." "All the answers are on the inside." "Any journey starts with the first step." Such clichés, yes, but they're true! Most of us do need to stop and take a breath. We don't have to smell flowers necessarily, but just taking a moment throughout our day to notice and connect with our breath is so beneficial. Getting curious about ourselves and navigating our own internal landscape, rather than looking outside for our insights, are important practices because the answers generally are, "on the inside." We are the common denominator in all our relationships, so who better to get to know than us? As we become familiar and comfortable with our own wisdom, we bring this to all our other relationships and they benefit. Journal writing is a terrific way to dialogue and hear our inner wisdom or just being a gentle detective and asking, hmmm...how do I feel? What do I think? What is happening on the inside? Just the act of asking the questions to your self rather than someone else, shifts something. Just that. Because all journeys really do, “start with the first step" and it doesn't have to be big. Small steps taken on a regular basis will make a noticeable difference.
Difficulty
nor hard Somewhat
challenging Very
challenging
Story
For a big chunk of my life I wondered why I was never given a manual. I mean, who in their right mind would expect us to navigate being human with no instructions? It never made sense; such a complicated machine and no tips? Even Ikea, famous for their lack of instruction, gives a visual! Then one day, in the midst of some saccharine advice, midway between rolling my eyes and saying, "God, that's such a cliché" I thought - but it’s true - stop and smell the roses IS ACTUALLY an instruction!
Step One: Stop
Step Two: Turn your attention to something you find calming
Step Three: Take a breath
More and more I believe there is a manual. There's just no hard copy, because it comes factory installed, with all the answers on the inside!