First Things First

Have you ever found, when things seem overwhelming, that your mind is racing?

Random thoughts that have been wandering through your mind have taken over, gotten the power to control your feelings, and helped you to forget who you really are and what your life is really all about. Suddenly, you are allowing your thoughts to terrorize you with 'what ifs' and 'yeah buts' that could drive anyone crazy.

At those times, it helps to take a slow, deep breath, and then watch yourself exhale that breath, repeating the awareness of in and out several times, with as much focus as you can calmly muster.

Once the breath has calmed down a bit, see if you can watch the thoughts that are running rampant in your mind with a sense of non-judgment and pure objectivity. Imagine that each one is encased in a cloud just traveling by, rather than taking root in your heart, mind, and belief system. When you take the time to see your thoughts through this distant, detached lens, you may find your thoughts  losing their power to frighten you as powerfully as they have been.

Make a practice of watching your mind, and you will find that as your mind slows down, your thoughts will become less threatening, and your breath will deepen and relax in your chest. Suddenly, especially with practice, the overwhelm will disappear and in its place will be a sense of deep calm, a feeling of being 'in the moment'.

In that moment, ask yourself, what is the next right thing in front of me to do? And then, with a mind rooted in the moment, do it; continuing to maintain a consciousness of your breath and a detached, downright skeptical view of the thoughts that are telling you "it's all too much, I just can't take it, it's killing me," etc., etc., etc.

Because the fact is that life happens moment by moment, and when we simply live each moment as it comes, instead of worrying about the moments that haven't yet come, we CAN handle the most important things in front of us, one at a time, First Things First!

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