“Remember to breathe. It is after all, the secret of life.”
~ Gregory Maguire, A Lion Among Men

 

Permission granted.
Take the time you need.
Lay down for a nap,
Read a book,
Stare at the walls.
The world won’t stop spinning
But you might.

Breathe deeply.
Let go of the need to
always be doing.

Repeat softly,
As often as necessary,
It’s okay to rest.
It’s okay to rest.
It’s okay to rest.

If this mantra doesn’t work for you, I invite you to choose one that does. And please come back to share what you use and how it goes.

P.S. You might have seen this picture here before. Clearly this is a reminder I need often. If you’re good at giving yourself the time and space to rest, I’d love to know the story behind that too.

As I was drifting off to sleep Friday night my mind wandered to what the coming week’s mantra might be. The words “You are enough. You do enough.” appeared on my internal movie screen. I think I first read them in one of SARK’s books 20 years ago and while I appreciated them then, it took another fifteen years for their impact to sink in. In my mid-30’s, immersed in rebuilding a marriage, returning to school and trying to have a baby I finally realized how much of my story revolved around feeling like not enough.

In the happy, busy buzz of my birthday weekend I forgot all about these thoughts. This morning my normal writing time was handed over to the bookkeeper and it wasn’t until I found myself headed to the dentist at 3pm, crying in frustration, that the words returned.

A younger me might have rolled her eyes at this point. But for the newly-minted 42 year old me, these words provided just enough space to see the story I was telling myself. In the story getting our books settled and ready for the accountant didn’t count as “doing” anything. Neither did having a great conversation with a colleague, or supporting a client.

The mind likes to play tricks and today, I fell for them. These two short sentences helped me dust myself off, acknowledge the very real frustration of having to postpone some of what needed to get done and with a huge helping of compassion, take myself to the dentist.

Was the day perfect after that? Nope. Was it better? Unbelievably so.

If this simple mantra doesn’t work for you, then I invite you to reach for one that does. And in the meantime, I’ll remind you:

You are enough. You do enough.

Yep.

Mantra:
noun
1. Hinduism. a word or formula, as from the Veda, chanted or sung as an incantation or prayer.
2. an often repeated word, formula, or phrase, often a truism: If I hear the “less is more” mantra one more time, I’ll scream.
* from dictionary.com

I use mantras on a regular basis. Both the chanted or sung version in my kundalini yoga practice and the often repeated word or phrase as a reminder of what I know, believe or want to believe. They ground me when I feel off kilter. They bring me back to center, to truth, to myself. I bring them into my meditations, use them in my classes and have them posted like affirmations around my home. I thought it would be fun to share some of them here. Feel free to play along, or choose your own.

This week’s mantra is I Surrender. I Receive., courtesy of my beautiful friend, pleasure catalyst Kerrie Blazek, (whose inaugural Whiskey & Whimsey retreat runs April 3-6 – check it out here).

I love this mantra. It reminds me that while I am responsible for my thoughts, my actions and how I show up in the world, I’m still sitting in the passenger seat. I can navigate with my desires but Life is living me.  I can’t see the big picture and the words “I Surrender” remind me to let go of the need to push, control and force my day into what I think it should look like. There’s a softness in “I Surrender” like a deep, settling breath. It’s not weakness, or giving up. To me it feels like I’m opening my arms and heart to the universe and beaming I trust you. Bring it on.

Then “I Receive” helps me stay open to what comes. There is so much goodness in the world and in my life. Sometimes I forget to notice, or take it in. These words help me stop and breathe in the joy of a dancing hummingbird when I’m having a hard day, the beauty of clouds back lit by the sunrise when I wish I were still in bed and the gift of my husband’s compliment when I’m stewing in my imperfections.

I Surrender. I Receive.

If you join me this week, I’d love to know how it goes.