How to Relax and Enjoy Yourself

 

How to Relax and Enjoy Yourself

The universe's synchronicity fascinates me. I am constantly reminded to return to the present moment. Even after a peaceful meditation and an encouraging daily read message, I remained restless this morning. I decided to get some exercise by riding my bike and taking my puppy for a run. Out of nowhere, a black shiny automobile with a Hawaii license plate that said: "FL GOOD" went by as I was riding my bike down a meandering country road, enjoying the warmth of the sun and the shade of the large canopy of trees.

I had been listening to a guided meditation on Insight Timer on my iPhone with my headphones at the time. "Breathe in, relax, and feel good," the meditation's narrator had just finished saying in his deep peaceful Australian voice. As I recognized the link between the guided meditation and the message from the automobile, I grinned. I felt my body relax, and I realized that I didn't need to be anywhere else but here and that I didn't need to run away from life, my feelings, or my thoughts.

Instead, I just need to make friends with them and allow myself to enjoy myself. I let go of my worries about the future and felt a deep sense of calm rise up within me.

Then I explored the different ways I try to get away from the present moment because it is too painful, frightening, uncertain, or monotonous for me. Netflix, food, Facebook, and focusing on other people's problems instead of my own are some of the ways I escape life and miss the current moment. If I use meditation or overworking to avoid stepping into the hole in my soul that yearns to be filled with love, these might become harmful escapes. As a child, I developed a practice of escaping the uncomfortable or frightening present moment. This is demonstrated by my friend's daughter.

My friend Alicia told me the other day that her 10-year-old daughter, Holly, is addicted to audiobooks. "Well, that's not so awful," I thought to myself, "better than videos and television." But then she sadly remarked, with a shake of her head, "No, you don't get it; she doesn't want to tell me about her day or converse on the way home from school; she just wants to immerse herself in the fantasy world of her novels. And one story is never enough for her; she must have an endless supply of books. While listening to them, she even falls asleep." I then questioned her about the books' substance.

She explained that they are happy stories about storybook heroes and heroines. "So, what's the big deal?" I inquired. Alicia swiftly reacted that her daughter was missing out on the priceless present moments of life, friends, and family, as well as, most significantly, the opportunity to explore her own thoughts and feelings.

Then it occurred to me that she was correct. Anything we utilize in excess to take our minds off of reality and the present moment has the potential to subtract from our entire aliveness, sentiments, and intuition. While an occasional audiobook, like Holly's, might be uplifting and enjoyable, the insatiable desire to listen to one after another shows that there is a more serious problem at hand. Alicia went on to say that her daughter is having trouble finding friends at her new school, as well as with the content of the fifth-grade curriculum. Holly's loneliness and sense of failure may be too much for her to bear, so she seeks refuge in literature. 

Our minds can be challenging to traverse. When our pain threshold rises too high, I believe a survival instinct kicks in that says, "Escape! Exit! Leave immediately!" It is up to us to decide how we will comply with the evacuation order. Rather than reverting to old, outmoded, or dysfunctional forms of escape, I am more likely to head out into nature and exercise, or phone a buddy and chat about what is going on inside my crazy brain. 

I got lucky today and chose a guided meditation to bring me back to serenity, which was reinforced by an unplanned message to feel good from a passing car. Life is never too much to deal with when I live in the present moment, and synchronicities can arise.