Feel The Serenity

If you're an Aussie, the phrase 'feel the serenity' will probably be familiar. It's from an Aussie movie called 'The Castle'. The main character says it (constantly) when they're at their holiday house on the lake and away from all the hustle and hassle of city life. 

I'm so lucky that I 'feel the serenity' pretty much all the time. Not because I live by a lake (I don't but I wish...) but because somehow, over the recent years, I've just developed a way of thinking and 'being' that is calm and peaceful.

I'm also so grateful for this discovery as it certainly makes life easier and better when worries and stresses don't plague my mind. I leave that to the characters in my books!

So, how do I achieve this peaceful state?

I do think I was blessed with a pretty laid-back personality to start with (thanks mum and dad), but mental health is talked about so much more in recent years and people I knew were being more open about their issues and I began to take more notice and more interest and the philosophies of mindfulness and gratefulness resonated.

There is much written about the benefits of 'living in the moment' and this has gone a long way to my currnet way of thinking/living.

I don't think about what 'might' happen in the future - either tomorrow, or next week or next year or when I'm old. If it's something that's out of my control, what is the point of 'what if'? If something needs worrying about, I'll do it at that time and not expend my emotional energy before then. This applies to little things like 'what if the conference is cancelled' to biggies like 'what if I get Alzheimers when I'm older'. 

I don't dwell on the past. The past is done and gone. Nothing can be changed or gained by wishing it could have been or that it could be revisited. 

The present gets all my attention and I make sure to appreciate as much as I can about it - make a conscious effort to 'smell the flowers'. Literally and figuratively. For example, when heading outside to the letterbox autumn leaeves had fallen onto our veranda and I stopped to take a photo of them an how they matched the coloring of my leggings and how the sun was shining on them (and I love autumn leaves). On the walk down the drive I was grateful for the beautiful view out to the hills. When I'm in bed, bingeing a fabulous show on Netflix, I'm thankful that I can indulge myself in such comfort.

But I'm not just thankful for the good times. I make an effort to see good even in bad situations. This doesn't negate the importance or impact of something bad/sad happening.  This doesn't mean I still don't feel the sadness, pain or distress. It just means I don't let them overtake me completely. 

An easy example of this is if something happens that's bad enough to make me cry (and I'm not talking about just watching a sad movie or seeing something sad on FB), I take a moment to feel the heat of the tears running down my face and acknowledge that this only means that I'm human and I have human feelings. That it's better to feel this pain/sadness than to feel nothing. 

This might sound bizarre, but it works for me. Not only does it give me another perspective on things in my life but I am at peace 99.9% of the time - and I'm so grateful for that.

Life's too short to not find your peace.