The Big Magic of Living a Relaxed Life

 It is amazing how the messages you need to hear always seem to land at just the right time.  I had the absolute privilege of attending an inspirational key-note speaking event featuring Elizabeth Gilbert this past weekend.  The event had initially come across my Instagram feed last year and I decided treat myself and  grab a ticket.  I knew that no matter where I was in my life when the event took place, I would find something in the messages shared that would provide insight and also would likely help to add clarity to the work I was doing.  I was not wrong.

The theme of Elizabeth's key-note centred on something that I had never really considered before - how moving towards living life in a relaxed state could result in powerful outcomes.  When I think of being relaxed the last thing that comes to mind is power or strength.  Often the word relaxation brings a pang of guilt with it because I have believed that allowing relaxation in means loosening my grip on other tasks and areas of focus in my life.  And I am not entirely wrong.  Being relaxed DOES mean that my tight grip on other aspects of life needs to loosen, and that is where the magic comes in.  As Elizabeth described, by relaxing our intense focus we move away from squinting so entirely on one aspect of our life and instead widen the view to take in more information and detail.  And maybe as our view widens and we soften the focus we are able to actually see what is in front of us.  We can see the possibilities that are available and can also see where there are no options and where we need to move on.  

The thing about relaxation that I find hard to wrap my head around is incredibly basic...how does one move towards a place of sustainable relaxed living?  It is one thing to book a massage and maybe feel relaxed in the moment, but I am looking for more.  I want to move to a place where my breaths are big belly breaths and my shoulders do not hover up near my ears.  I want THAT type of relaxation in my life.  The kind that allows me to see the forest and the trees, the kind that helps me sleep well at night, the kind that brings big emotions and no judgement.  

Knowing the magic that comes from this way of being and moving through life is inspiring me to find ways of bringing relaxation into my days.  Prioritizing this will mean that I need to take an inventory of the things in my life that are not leading me in the right direction and perhaps making some tough choices about how I spend my time.  I think that I am ready for this work as the outcome feels worth the effort.

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