A few weeks ago, I sat down at a coffee shop for nearly 4 hours searching the depths of my creative juiciness trying to figure out what I could possibly write about for not only my blog, but my monthly business newsletter. I try to set the intention to have material published at the beginning of each month, but I’m 15 days into the month, so clearly I’m setting a new trend.

And, I think I’m okay with this. What I learned during those grueling 4 hours was that I shouldn’t have to search the perimeters of my memory and experiences to try and inspire my audience, but inspiration should rather find me so that I can articulate this journey in a more personal and intimate way.

The Universe can be so hysterical at times and it’s like the old classic advice “be careful what you wish for” because these past few days have been a WHIRLWIND of perspective and inspiration. A lot of revelations are surfacing, and I’m being confronted with some interesting lessons, and even more, affirming some of the biggest values that align with my purpose and passion.

I work in human services, so it’s one of those career paths that can blow your mind with rewards and satisfaction, but also has the power to take a lot out of you. No one is exempt from that, I’m certainly not trying to put myself on a pedestal, but to put it bluntly, some days can reaallllly kick my ass.

Recently, I’ve been so engulfed in a current situation that emotionally and mentally, my actions have pretty much made me a total hypocrite for what I’ve expressed like a million times in this blog to share with you. All that talk about serving yourself first, maintaining your energy, being lifted, implementing the art of mindfulness, energy vampires, yes, all that delicious, valuable information that is meant to make us our best selves yet, TOTALLY out the window from my side of the world.

But in this moment of straying away from my mission, my truth, I actually validated something and the experience was so simple, perhaps it could even be viewed as insignificant, but the epiphany finally came.

To briefly summarize the events of the day, it was terrible, emotionally draining, my mind couldn’t even process the multitude of self-defeating thoughts I was subscribing to. On a whim, I decided to go to a yoga class even though I hadn’t been planning on it, and I’m an avid yoga lover so I thought it would just be another ordinary day of showing off my posture and balance and creating a pool of sweat on my yoga mat.

But what happened–literally the second my body surrendered to my mat, and my head dropped down and I stretched my arms and kneeled into child’s pose was extraordinary. I didn’t realize it in the moment, but 60 minutes after the fact, I was amazed. Without an ounce of exaggeration, my yoga practice completely took me out of the negativity from my day, and the feelings of being belittled and undermined, and from my frustration, and those limiting beliefs that decided to linger around when they weren’t welcome. When the class was over, although this isn’t entirely a new revelation to me, I realized that for a full 60 minutes, I didn’t allow any of that into my space. I don’t even think I was thinking if that’s possible. It was breath, and movement. Breath. Movement.

This is the power of mindfulness and a testament of how quickly you are able to transform whatever state you find yourself in. This doesn’t require a trip to a yoga studio, you can practice this in any modality that completely takes you away from your thoughts. In just 60 minutes, I was connected to my body, my soul, and even my purpose. I honored my body for its strength and I was just consumed with gratitude and it was pouring out of me in that room with my other fellow yogis.

I don’t know if you’ve ever had a moment like that before, when the darkness finally succumbed, when the storm finally settled, and you realize, wow, I’m alive and I have so much to be grateful for, why am I even giving power to these events that can easily be resolved? And on Wednesday, I made a very decisive decision to remove myself from my biggest stressor at the moment.

It was that easy.

So, my message to you is simple. Remind yourself that you have the ability to take yourself out of any equation (in a good way) and that anything that is not serving you, you really can relinquish. Even when you feel stuck or obliged, like seriously, it can be released.

And I would also like to mention that on the same day, right after my class and commuting to my next destination, my car broke down. And yes, it was frightening and nerve-racking, but in that moment, there was also a peace about knowing that resolution would come, I could only control what I could control, and all was still well with the world.

Where will you escape to, or free yourself from today to remind yourself of your worth and value to the world?

Love and blessings (and thank you for bearing with me while it took me a century to get this out!)

Darryn K. Robinson, CWC

www.belifted.net