Dr. Martha’s Monday Morning Motivational

Wednesday, June 27, 2011

This spring there was an extremely large number of tornadoes that unleashed their devastation upon thousands and thousands of people. Tornadoes are intense; they are a destructive vortex of violent winds that rotate and  form a funnel.   This funnel wreaks havoc on anything in its path.  While the gusting winds produced by the tornado are intense and dangerous; tornadoes are most powerful in their center.  The center of the tornado is called the “eye”, which is where we get the term “eye of the storm”. Aren’t the tornadoes in our lives the same? At the height of the situation, they are more emotional and consume more of our energy.  Storms in our lives are much like storms in nature, their duration, severity, and devastation vary.

Often in our own lives we get in tornadoes of intense emotion; sometimes we know we are in the tornado and other times we have no idea until we are out. Recently, I was in a tornado in my own life.  An emotional tornado in which I believed I was in control.  Now that I am out I realize the intensity of the storm and the power of which it had over me.  But, even in the most intense times of the storm I remember thinking “I have this”.  Of course I did, I was in the eye of the storm, the center, where the storm is the most powerful.  As an emotional being I took on the power of the storm and assumed that power as my own when in fact I was powerless.

Much like in the aftermath of a storm I am currently being still and in the stillness I am able to reflect.  It is so important that after storms we take time to heal and allow ourselves to go through the collage of emotions that come with such a storm.  After a natural devastation, towns take time to heal and rebuild, the same is necessary for us as human beings.  We need time to reflect on what we learned, what the process meant, and where we are going now in our journey.  Being still is hard especially for energetic people like me but it is crucial.  In stillness we are able to re-connect with our own heart and hear the song of our soul.  With stillness comes clarity and with clarity comes gratitude.

Gratitude is interesting, so often we are only grateful for what we consider to be a positive blessing and what we consider to be negative we think of as a nuisance rather than acknowledging it for the part it played in our lives.  I always remind people that it is important to find gratitude for all things even the ones that we view as negative.  I say “view” because it is the connotation we give the situation as opposed to the reality of the situation.  Much as anything in life “everything is nothing until we give it meaning in one way or the other”.  Many times natural storms and disasters are viewed as negative because of the destruction when they are a necessary evil so that the universe can remain in balance.  We just give them a negative meaning because of the destruction rather than realizing it is all a part of the process and it is still imperative that we express gratitude.

We will always have storms; they are a part of life.  As in any situation, embracing it for the growth that it is providing is more beneficial than having resentment for the pain that may come with it.  Giving it the recognition it deserves for the lessons it brought to you is when healing begins to take place.  Fully embrace each and every minute of this wonderful life you live even the ones that are less enjoyable.  Life requires balance to keep you in balance, don’t try to fight it or understand it.  Sit back and allow the process to unfold.

Trying to fight natural process causes un-needed stress.  In today’s society, we are inundated with stress in all forms: chemical, physical, and emotional.  Stress is toxic to the body and causes dis-ease within the body; dis-ease leads to disease.  Attempting to fight situations, stressing over their outcome, or attempting to control or re-direct the outcome causes stress to your overall body.  Stress has a direct effect on your nervous system, which affects your immune system and your overall wellness.  Letting go of the outcome is not always easy but is necessary to keep your stress down and your wellness up! It will all play out!

Love. Laugh. Adjust.

Dr. Martha Nessler, Innate Girl