LIFE IS LIKE AN AMUSEMENT PARK

I remember going to Magic Mountain with my nephew Hunter for his 16th birthday. As we were standing in line waiting to get on the biggest rollercoaster, Goliath, he said to me, "Are you scared Aunty?"

I said,”No, all we are doing is standing in line.”

Then as we got up to the platform he said to me," are you scared now Aunty?" And I said, “No, we are just standing on the platform."

Then we sat in the car, and he looked at me and said, "are you scared now Aunty?" And I said no we are just safely sitting in the car.”

As the car moved up the tracks, he said, “How bout now?” and I said, “Nope, we are just slowly moving up the tracks.”

We got to the top and he looked over at me. Anticipating his question, I said, “nope, we're still going slow.”

Then the car descended, it was a huge drop that felt like it went straight down… I screamed, “NOW I’M SCARED!!!” then we both screamed and burst into laughter.

The moral of this story?

Our stories and fears, are more frightening than what is happening in this exact NOW moment. We prolong the scary stuff by anticipating it with our fears of what may happen. We fill our moments with all the thoughts that are possible. There are an unlimited amount of thoughts and possibilities. But, what is probable and what is possible, limits this number dramatically. In any case, even if something were to happen, it isn't happening yet.

What if all that is happening is that you are reading this email right now? All the things you worry about, they aren't happening right now. The worry is sucking the joy and peace from the precious present moment.

I set an alarm to remind me to breathe and re-set my focus in the room that I am in. I breathe and look around at the details OUTSIDE of my mind. This is my solution to get out of my head. I stare at the color, size, shape and texture of a table, floor, ceiling, trees, shoes, arm hair, temperature on my skin and the sounds around me. In each divine NOW moment, I have all that I need and I am all that I need to be. The most important thing is to enjoy the company I keep while I am in line...

What can you do today to pop out of your head and the fear stories you tell? What sensory detail or action can you take to bring your attention back to this divine moment?