Quote: "Life isn't about waiting for the showers to pass. It's about learning to dance in the rain." --Vivian Greene
Reflection:
I love, love, LOVE this quote. It really screams at me because for the past 6 long years I had been "waiting for the showers to pass." Ever since I felt my first chest pang, I began a rollercoaster ride of fear and uncertainty that consumed all of my thoughts and had me descending in a slow spiral of anxiety. I was in a holding pattern, afraid to change anything in my life for fear things would get worse. As I finally started to believe more that my problems were superficial and muscular aches and pains (my ribs were out of alignment), I still for the longest time had the mindset of "if only this pain would go away, everything would go back to normal and I would have the confidence to pursue new opportunities one again." I was still so afraid of every little aches and pain and foreign sensations, that it kept me in a holding pattern of safety. "If only...such and such would go away...then I would gain confidence, strength, the fear of change would be gone" I would keep thinking...and then more worrisome thoughts..."but what if these showers never pass? Or that they won't pass until I take the plunge and make a major change to my profession or lifestyle?"
I finally learned that I needed to dance, lighten up and have fun and enjoy the moment and keep going regardless of any setbacks that may occur. Because that is life - something is usually happening, so you need to choose to make the moment positive and take what joy you can from it. I have just recently learned from a physical therapist that my problem seems to be a combination of several of my ribs out of alignment, making the rib cage not expand and contract properly, combined with acid reflux, where the gasses from the stomach were getting trapped in the chest area (I think because of the misalignment of the ribs, it is disturbing the digestive tract) creating pressure and discomfort in my chest that I was taking to be "anxiety" and worrying about because that is what everyone else was telling me was the problem. Boy, now do I feel silly that I spent 6 years of my 20's and 30's worrying so severely over how my body felt when it turned out to be a sore rib and some indigestion!! I could have been doing so much in that time and now I am several years behind on my goals because I let it worry me into a state of inactivity. Throughout that time, until I found someone that was able to help find a solution, I felt a huge difference in concentrating on my thinking and stopping any negative thoughts when they came. Anything I heard myself thinking worrisome thoughts about my health, I would write down and say something the opposite and like how I wanted to feel. "I am safe, I am healthy, I feel great, I trust the process of life" I would repeat things like this over and over and often within 10 minutes I would be feeling a lot better. So much of what you live is in your head and is your attitude that effects how your reality will turn out. So try to make the most of it and look for the good in every situation and know that "this too shall pass" and good times were