This was written by an amazing woman by the
name of "Cait Johnson ". I
felt it was something that I wanted to share with everyone I knew, and
maybe it may become something that each of us could do each day, the
world really will be a better place.







Modern life is pretty crazy: Too much stress, too much information, too
much speed, too much too much. And many of us are so relentlessly busy.
Who has time to read all the self-help books that get churned out every
season? Can’t we somehow boil down it all down into something we have
time for? Yes, we can.



Try these three simple sanity-savers to feel more at peace with
yourself and the world:



1. Slow Down. Stop what you’re doing. Breathe. Close your eyes. Listen
to the sounds where you are. Can you identify them? Now allow your
imagination to fill with the image of a beautiful place in nature. It
could be one you’ve actually seen, or one you’ve seen in photographs or
a movie, or one you have only imagined. Walk there (or sit or lie down)
and experience it with as many of your senses as you can imagine. What
does it smell like? Feel like? What season is it? What time of day?
What plants are growing there? Enjoy this nature break as often as you
can. If you have access to the real thing, spend time outside simply
observing the sky, the changing vegetation. Allow your mind to rest.

(Most of us race through life in a blur of activity. Simply slowing
down for five minutes and replacing frantic mental images with a
calming picture of nature can be a lifesaving stress reducer.)



2. Pay Attention to Your Body. Close your eyes. Scan your body from the
top of your head down to your toes. Where is a feeling or a sensation
coming up? Go to anyplace that feels something—a twinge, an itch,
numbness or tingling—and just be with it, without trying to fix it or
label it. Just allow it to be, held in your open and compassionate
attention. Imagine the feeling speaking to you, telling you what it
needs, or what it wants you to know.



(Many of us aren’t even really IN our bodies, only in our heads. Every
moment of every day, our bodies are sending us signals, which all too
often we ignore. Paying attention to our precious bodies is a wonderful
healing practice. We can get in the habit of spending just a few
minutes of every day doing this.)



3. Be Kind to Others. Do something kind for someone else. This may
sound like just one more thing on the endless To Do list, but they can
be very simple things: Calling a distant friend to say hi, holding the
door for someone, picking up and recycling the empty water bottle on
the sidewalk, smiling at a grouchy checkout clerk, repeating the
compliment about a friend that you overheard. Or you could perform an
act of service: Cook a meal for a shut-in, take out the garbage for an
elderly neighbor, clean up a local park, offer to babysit for a
frazzled single mom. Doing something kind for someone else has a
profoundly uplifting effect—and it is often wonderfully contagious.

written by Cait Johnson