Everybody Has One

I was standing in line at the grocery store on the Friday before Easter. Crazy busy. I had already purchased a grocery cart full of stuff but had to go back in because I forgot one thing. So I’m waiting in the express lane and the line is long and taking forever and the woman in front of me says, “Can you believe this crowd? You’d think people would plan ahead or something. I wouldn’t do my main shopping on Easter weekend ever.”

She had no idea that I had just been one of those people who did not plan ahead. I wasn’t offended. But it did remind me of all the times I’ve heard people say things like that. Then I thought of all the times I’ve thought things like that. Based on my observations of my tiny corner of the world, it sure seems like we do that a lot. By “that” I mean just share our negative opinions with anyone who will listen.

At this point you might be wondering how this information helps you relax. My suggestion today is to relax by letting go of those negative opinions of total strangers. It’s like soul clutter that you carry around with you. It serves no purpose and ends up dragging you down. We get stressed out over other people’s problems when I’m sure we have plenty of our own to deal with.

So today, I invite you to try to avoid those thoughts. Let your soul take a break from other people’s problems and the many ways you think they could change. Just let it go. My negative opinion of insensitive drivers is not going to help anyone. When I find that I’m carrying around some extra clutter I just take a deep breath and tell myself that this is not important to me. Then I think of something I love (like fresh cut flowers or martinis) and I just LET IT GO. Then I cap it off by thinking something positive about that exact situation (or person or whatever).

It doesn’t work every time. But it does work.

So grab a cup of tea (or a martini!), sit down right here and forget about everyone else’s problems for a while. Life is too short to carry around all that clutter.

As always, I thank you for taking the time to read this. Until next time…relax!