Should anxiety and fear make decisions for you?

Let’s say you want to let go of something, like leaving your job or leaving a relationship that’s not working, but you feel scared or sad about it – anything but happy. Should you stay because you don’t want to experience anxious or sad feelings? I talked about this in my last two posts on getting rid of stuff – asking, should you hang on to a certain item that’s clearly not serving you – but you feel too much sadness to let it go? But what about those huge issues – jobs, relationships, places to live and so on? Should your level of anxiety and sadness make your decisions for you? What if you’ve put a lot of thought into leaving your job because the negatives are outweighing the positives in a big way, but you’re scared? You’re scared that you won’t find another job you like, or that you […]

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It’s hard to let go

Last post I wrote about the banjo I hadn’t used but couldn’t give up. It sits back in its original place at home, propped up against the wall, still collecting dust, but still bringing a little smile to my face for whatever crazy reason. But now I’m having a hard time giving up even more stuff I don’t use – haven’t used. I thought I had it all together in the getting-rid-of-stuff department. Thought I was the expert in letting go, the expert in simple living, the one with all the answers about getting rid of what you don’t love and use. Hmm. I’m having a hard time. After my banjo, it was my grandma’s old amber glass cocktail set. I’d been storing a few boxes of these lovely things for years and never used them. But I kept them, thinking one day I’d bring them out and have a […]

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Purging stuff is like falling in love

I decided that purging stuff is like falling in love, and I just had my own experience. About ten years ago I bought a banjo because I am a huge bluegrass music fan. I imagined how fun it would be to be able to play banjo and join music jams and stuff. I took about two lessons and then life got in the way. Years passed, and I never picked up my banjo. But I also never tried to sell it. Nor did I fall out of love with bluegrass music. More years passed. The banjo was getting in my way and collecting dust. Finally I told myself I’d had enough. I wasn’t taking lessons. I wasn’t even picking up the banjo. It was definitely getting in my way, and I decided it was time to sell it. So one day, emotionless, I took it to a great place that […]

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A simple, easy way to de-stress

Are you feeling stressed right now? Of course I’ve felt it too – plenty of times. Nobody gets to escape stress in our world! I learned about a very simple, and very effective method to calm my stress from a company called HeartMath. I’ll tell you how to use their method, and then I’ll tell you about them. Even though I meditate pretty regularly, and even though I’m pretty aware and mindful – sometimes stress piles up inside of me and my usual methods don’t work. So I turn to HeartMath. HOW TO EASILY CALM YOUR STRESS Here’s how you can use their method: Sit down somewhere comfortable and close your eyes. Start breathing deeply and slowly through your nose. Now visualize your heart and the whole area around your heart – visualize the whole 360 degrees around your heart, including the back of your heart – all the way around. […]

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