“There are two forms of courage in this world:
One demands that we jump into action with our armour on.
And one asks us to strip ourselves bare naked and surrender to life.
Courage is a curious thing.” – unknown
So often we think the opposite of anxiety + stress is calm.
In truth, the opposite to Stress is not Calm – it’s TRUST…
- trust in yourself —> your body, heart, mind.
- trust in your breath.
- trust in life / the universe.
Trust requires we give up “needing to know how” life will unfold, and strip ourselves bare naked (releasing the false narratives of our ego and the limited frameworks of our unconscious mind), surrendering to the wisdom of our breath, our heart, our body… and the greater presence of life that is always working in our favour, guiding us towards true peace, freedom, love, health, alignment and impact.
👉🏻 When did we learn NOT to trust our Self?
👉🏻 When did we start to value someone else’s advice or opinion over our own?
👉🏻 When did we come to believe that we are a problem to be fixed, that our body isn’t safe, that rest and joy aren’t allowed until X is completed or achieved… or that we aren’t enough exactly as we are?
You are a beautiful, intelligent, resourceful and uniquely fascinating canvas to discover…
- we feel calm, when we feel safe.
- we feel at ease, when we feel safe.
- we feel relaxed and most present + engaged, when we feel safe.
- we feel free and fulfilled, when we feel safe.
✨✨ Our sense of safety comes from the relationship we share with our Self. ✨✨
>> When we are connected with our body – in tune with our breath and the signals that our body + heart are communicating with us – we feel grounded, stable, secure, confident, receptive and whole.
> We more easily release our grip of trying to control or fix external circumstances, when we feel safe within our body (aka our “home”) in the present moment.
So, you can see that trust is developed from the connection we share with our Self (body, mind and heart).
And most often to deepen self-trust, it starts with baby steps:
1. noticing our breath; the buzz of energy in our body; the wandering of our thoughts
2. noticing our environment – how we feel in it – and – how we feel when we consume certain content (read, listen, watch), information + food
3. noticing how we feel in our relationships – inspired, at ease, present vs. stupid, confused, on the defense
And then we go deeper…
4. we start to honour some of the impulses and signals from our body, and we learn that we feel more ease, fulfillment and harmony as a result (we learn that we can trust our guidance and deeper knowing)
5. we start to eliminate the things in our environment that don’t feel good, support our peace or encourage a state of joy
6. we set boundaries with folks who don’t bring out the best of us
And little by little, we realize that…
- we can trust our Self
- we can trust life
- we can surrender some of our grip for control and soften into the deepest knowing in our heart that we are always supported and guided towards our greatest alignment + impact.
And little by little, we notice that the more we trust our Self, the less stressed + anxious we feel…
And when our mind is more relaxed, we remember our capacity to change course, to figure it out, to choose peace and we are present in the moment.
And with time, we see that we (our body, emotions and thoughts) are not something to fear, but something to get curious about and most often, to greet with more love.
✨✨ The opposite to Stress is not Calm – it’s TRUST. ✨✨
Take a moment with me to connect with your beautiful Self:
- Shake out your arms and legs – move around – jump – stomp – sway.
- Gradually find stillness.
- Feel your feet on the ground.
- Tune in.
- Take a big breath in.
- Hold.
- Exhale and sigh. it. out.
- Enjoy 2 more breaths :)
You can trust yourself. You are doing a good job. You are supported. You are enough.
✨✨ Keep trusting your heart. Keep choosing to shine bright. Thank you for being here :) ✨✨