Time Out!…In Nature

Happy Wednesday To You!

I hope you had a great day yesterday. My day was productive, but not without challenges to experience.

I began my day writing my blog as usual. I then had a business meeting with a corporation I do some consulting for. We are working on ways to bring the concepts of holistic living to a wide public audience. I’m excited that this large corporation is interested in my views and my approach.

After my meeting was over, I headed to the gym for a great deadlifting session. I warmed up with infant development exercises and specific neck stabilizer conditioning, which I typically do before heavy lifting.

My workout consisted of 5 sets of 3 at 365 pounds off a step box, coupled with sets of single arm Olympic barbell rows, pulling on the fat end of the bar in a cross-body pattern.

On my rest periods, I went out into the sunshine and walked and enjoyed breathing the fresh air and listening to the birds.

I was going along smoothly until I ran into some personal challenges regarding needs being met, which is normal when in relationships with other people.

No matter how clear we may think we are, others often interpret us in ways unique to themselves, which is all we can do when we perceive through an ego.

As I was working through those challenges, I got word of other challenges with business issues abroad.

Though at times I felt as though I was like a building being shaken and that I may collapse into myself, I did my best to stop for a moment and appreciate all the things I love and all the great times I’ve had with the people I was now having challenges with.

I connected to my soul and felt safe there. I agreed within, that everyone is doing the best they can with their life experiences and programing, which none of us is free from.

I made the decision to go to bed and wake up a new person and allow myself to enter the new day without carrying the baggage of the pains I was experiencing.

SHIFTING ENVIRONMENT

I’ve found that if we are in an environment that is cluttered, or with other people that are cluttered for any reason, we can be shifted by that environment.

For example, you could be in a beautiful restaurant enjoying a lovely meal. If the person at the table next to you passes some nasty gas, you can easily forget about the beautiful flowers and lose touch with the taste of the food.

You can go from being in a state of bliss to being grumpy at the mother of such an abomination!

When we experience stress from others, weather we feel we are part of it or not, sometimes the best thing we can do is change environments for long enough to allow a nicer environment to enter us, to shift us.

Sometimes our jobs can be mundane. Sometimes they can be very stressful.

I’ve come to learn over the years of living and interacting with large numbers of people that the best I can do is take responsibility for my own inner-environment, and to move to an outer-environment that is more conducive to making the shift I much choose to create.

Some people are inherently conditioned to perpetually be in battle mode. It’s not wise to try and change, or “fix” such people.

It “is wise” to shift or “fix yourself”. Because we are 50% of every relationship, if we heal our 50%, not only do we feel better, we can usually revisit our entanglements with more compassion for ourselves and the other(s).

I know that there have been many times I was “sure it was the other person’s fault that things were so shitty.”

After time out and an environment shift, I was able to let go of the frustration and revisit the situation with an open mind and open heart.

Sure enough, I could often see how I was expressing myself in a way that I was blind to, resulting in me triggering someone else!and the spark hits the fuse and the dynamite goes off!

If I see that part of myself with clarity, I do my best to be aware of that part of myself in the future so I don’t have to go through more fireworks.

Sometimes getting that environment shift is a simple as connecting with nature; when one hears the sounds of nature – the birds, the ocean, laughter, we feel better and are reminded that life is not what we perceive it to be.

Seeing nature, the green trees, or vibrant flowers or being present with the sunrise or sunset, nourishes our very soul-being increasing our likelihood of a much more present and connected experience.

I’ve found that those that take the time to get out in nature often quickly revert back to being more balanced inside. It is as though the environment shift gives us the energy to shift our perspective.

If you feel stressed inside, cluttered, try going for a walk in nature, even if it’s just outside in the city where you can see the sky.

Taking a time out is better than taking a beating from yourself, or others.

Today, if you find yourself sitting next to someone who’s gluten intolerant and doesn’t know it, you may find it easier to change locations so you can enjoy your lunch than sitting their cussing out the fart-bag; your food will taste better in another part of the room.

Love and chi,
Paul Chek