An Unusual Gift for the New Year

Unusual Gift

I sometimes felt like the little voice in the box that was saying “Will someone let me out of here?” I felt trapped, stressed, unhappy and unproductive. Parenting a person with special needs was an awesome job. I often wondered why it had been given to me!

The year began with financial challenges, budget cuts, medical problems, caregiver stress and, for some reason, my son began having severe behavioral problems. I was at my wit’s end…. And then it happened!

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I was cleaning up a pile which had mysteriously reappeared on my desk when I saw it. A CD set that had been given to me two years earlier by a dear friend. The Power of Now and The New Earth, by Ekhart Tolle. I’d been living a life of clutter in my mind and it had created stress in my life. I began listening little by little on my ride to work. To my astonishment, this is the lesson I learned: I’d been living in the past and the future….and forgetting about the present. I’d been caught up in the drama. I was beginning to lose myself.

Here’s what I realized as the simple solution in a nutshell:

1. Remember to take three deep breaths when you are feeling stressed. It is so simple, and it really works.
2. Give up the drama and accept what is right here, right now.
3. Let go of your ego (the little voice in your head that creates gloom and doom). Thank the voice of alerting you, and let it know it is not needed now.
4. Practice enjoying and savoring this very moment no matter what is happening.
5. Accept what is, even if it seems terrible. Everything happens for a reason. Clarity appears in the present moment as do solutions.

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The results of my discovery have been positive. A small miracle. I feel more relaxed than I have in the past 35 years!! I love myself and those around me more than ever. I am calm and clear enough to be a problem solver rather than a worrier!! Being with my son is so different. He doesn’t have to be or do anything. He doesn’t have to prove anything. My job is to continue to guide him, encourage him, and love him. The rest is not up to me!

Join me in the quest for peace. It is right here in front of us, right now! Find yourself again.

Don’t wait.

The gift is yours.

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This post originally appeared on our January/February 2012 Magazine