Get to know myself

I read…”Who looks outside, dreams. Who looks inside, awakens.”

I really, really like this quote! I have really been looking at myself…getting to know myself…who I am…what I like and don’t like…what makes me be me…

I feel that this Summer, I have been AWAKENING! :)

And am the better for it!

My Dad has information and pictures, and I asked him if I could borrow it. I got it today and started looking through it. It’s all so interesting, and it makes me feel so proud to be who I am!

I have found ancestory to be interesting for years, but what really sparked my interest now is Melody Beattie’s book,
The Grief Club. In the book, she has an activity to do dealing with your ancestral family of origin work, so…we will see!

One thing I laugh at…looking at the pictures…I see several people that stand the same way my Dad, sister, and I do when we pose for pictures…it’s in the DNA!

a gift of another opportunity to be transformed…

At a workshop I took last week, to get the point across on how labeling people can be so hurtful, the instructors put a sticky-note label on each of our backs. We were to walk around the room, look at the labels, and treat the person the way that people with those labels get treated. There were labels like: messy, favorite, perfect, smelly, jock, bookworm, ...

I ended up having M.R. (Mentally retarded) It brought up a lot of hurts I have from childhood! (I grew up thinking I was very dumb!) I knew it was time to work on this. God is definitely giving me opportunities to purge some of this old stuff I have buried down deep in me!

I visited with my Mom about this…which is a big growth thing in-and-of-itself…I don’t share personal stuff with her.

Anyway, she told me that when I was very young, I had the hard measles. I had an extremely high temperature for several days that they could not get to come down. She said that the fever caused a personality change. That I had been very outgoing before I had gotten so sick.

My Mom has told me that before, but this time, it really makes sense to me! It helps me to understand myself…to know myself!

It is so scary to bring this stuff “to the light”! But I know it is healing me!

*an oceanographer like Jacques Cousteau
*an animal expert like Jack Hannah

An exercise in a Julia Cameron book: if you had 5 other lives, what would you really enjoy being?

My list:
*a counselor/life coach
*a National Geographic photographer
*a biologist
*a chemist
*a field researcher
*a motivational speaker
*a wilderness guide
*a minister
*a writer

I came up with this list of more than 5 without much thinking…interesting!

I took the 43 Things Personality Quiz and found out I’m aHealthy Spiritual Builder

I woke up this morning, and my mind was already in a rush, and my body joined in…the word of the day, was RUSH! I could not settle down, or, I did not take the time, to settle myself down!

I lost a pair of glasses, and sat on another, spilled a glass of milk, lost 2 sets of keys, forgot to respond to a couple of important e-mails, to name just a few mishaps of the day! I have not done this kind of stuff in a long time!

I can recognize when this feeling of “RUSH” starts coming over me-I am worth taking the time to settle myself down! That will make my day so much better!

That’s the key…recognize that I am feeling that rushed, unsettled feeling, and being pro-active on taking care of me before it escolates!

How? A few ideas: sitting down, taking a deep breath, asking God for help, calming my mind, taking a walk, listening to calming music, writing in my journal, call a friend and talk

I NEED my rest! Life is so busy, that I look at rest as a luxury…and it is not! It is a NECESSITY! When I am rested, it is not only best for me…but anybody that is around me! I need to take care of myself, and get the rest that I NEED! Noted!

What a day! A hard day!...and it gave me a lesson…
I am being successful in learning new ways to handle stress! :) I used to let stresses beat me down, and have such negative power over me! I have learned that so many stresses are on the outside of me, and I do not have to let them in! I came home and took care of myself: I did deep breathing, prayed, did positive self-talk, ate a healthy snack, and took a hot shower. I feel much better tonight! I am ready to have a good night’s sleep, and will have a brand new day tomorrow! :) I won!

I think if I was an animal, I would be an animal that hibernated! When it gets dark, I am pretty much done. So, I have started doing stuff that really needs to be done first when I get home…I feel less stressed!

I have figured out that I am more relaxed if I get my shower and brush my teeth earlier in the evening, instead of waiting until it is about time to go to bed.

I guess I am learning to prioritize by what works for me!