Here are a few thoughts on developing an awareness of what you are feeling, thinking, saying to yourself, and eventually doing. I am a firm believer that everyone lives by their inner drive, and that inner drive is made up of their priorities and motivations. That is one of the reasons why people see things so very differently. Some people wake up thinking they are already behind and must go out and achieve, while others wake up thinking about how they can get the least amount of work in for the day! That’s a silly example, but what we tell ourselves (or what we are unknowingly listening to from others) is a huge part of how we end up living. Here are just a few pieces of how to grow in shalom with your own emotional and mental self.
First, feel your feelings and make space and time for them. Acknowledge the ones you are shoving down. Talk and pray and journal about them, and ask for help when needed! Guilt, anger, fear, sadness, joy, excitement-all of these are telling you something. Don’t be afraid. Through accessing your feelings, you are taking care of yourself and helping yourself move on. It’s the resistance to this that keeps you stuck. Keep a short record of wrongs and work through all negative feelings in an appropriate way.
Do you know what you felt today? Did you shove anything down that may need to be worked through?
Second, do something you want to do that is fun or relaxing, every day. If 15 minutes is all you can do, plan it and do it. Recommended: 2 hours! Have one hobby or thing in your life that is just your’s. Cultivate it and know it is a gift from God.
Do you have at least one thing that you love to do that doesn’t cost much money and can be worked into your schedule regularly? You are free to do that! Accept that freedom, brother or sister!
Thirdly, spend time outside every day at a minimum of 15 minutes! Feel the ground under your feet, get some sunshine if possible, and breathe. Take a walk, or go inside or on your back porch for some yoga. When I say yoga, I mean stretching, breathing, holding poses, etc. The kind of yoga I do is not a religious experience. Yoga in itself is not a religious thing. Yoga predates any Eastern religions and when it was brought over to the United States, it was brought over as Hatha Yoga which was not a religious form. To me, it’s a lot like music. Depending on what the artist is saying, it can take you somewhere you should go and truly be from God, or it can take you somewhere you shouldn’t go and not be from God. In my years of experience, I have never felt in my spirit that I was being led away from God, but rather toward Him as I let my heart be still and know that He is God, Lord over all my worries, and Giver of the life that I must learn how to calm, manage, and worship Him with.
Do you have some kind of exercise that makes you feel more alive? Are you glorifying God with how you take care of your body?
