Rant, Rave, Release

Coming from the womb of a well practiced worrier however, whose worry genes were implanted in me, created a challenge. Just today I received a reminder in my daily quote from Abraham: Worrying is using your imagination to create something you don't want (www.abraham-hicks.com).

I have long recognized that worry does not serve me, and is linked to my inner critic’s voice, that voice which loves to berate me. You know what I am talking about because you all have a critic sitting on your shoulder. There has been ample space for my critic’s voice this week. Despite this, I am proud of how I have handled a situation which happened yesterday. I have made some progress in my relationship with her.

I have a favorite ‘coffee-hole’, one of the Starbuck’s locations on the West Island, which I refer to as my West Island Office. It is a great place to meet coaching clients, to write when I need to shift the energy, or simply to relax and read. Last evening I decided to spend a few hours there while my husband Jim was playing hockey. He dropped me off about 5:30 PM. I set up shop, sipped my latte, read the National Post, then set to work. My writing was flowing. It was clear and crisp. I was focused. Jim arrived at 8:30 PM, pleased with his two perfect assists (not bad for an old geezer!). I began to pack up. As I did so I realized my wallet was gone. My purse, hanging on the back of the chair next to me gaped open, empty, like the mouth of a new born chick searching for food. I checked my computer bag, as I have been known to absent mindedly drop my wallet in there, but no, this too was empty. A fist landed in the pit of my stomach.

In the past, and this has happened to me before, I would have panicked, become distraught, and berated myself for being so STUPID. You get the picture. Instead, I took a deep breath. Somewhere through the years, I have learned that no matter how much I rant and rave and worry, the outcome is not affected. Jim looked concerned and yes, a tinge annoyed with me, yet he did not criticize me. He is smart enough to know I am much harder on myself than he could ever be. Ninety minutes later I had the credit cards and my banking card cancelled and while I am without my personal ID, I feel amazingly calm. This is a SIGN for me.

Speaking of SIGNS, there were several signs that appeared before this event happened. I had received two new credit cards recently but feeling that it was unnecessary and perhaps unsafe to carry more than two cards with me, I put them away. Second, I had an uneasy feeling about having something stolen, but I thought it was going to be my computer. Earlier in the day I actually took my computer into my massage therapist’s office rather than leave it unattended in the car. Third, I had not planned to go to the West Island office last evening, but on a last minute whim I changed my mind. Some SIGNS I acted on, some I didn’t.

Here I am on the other side, and here is the other e-mail message I received today:

Relax. Breathe in deep. Hold it. Let it out. Loosen your shoulders. Smile. Close your eyes. And Betty, you'll be surprised at how many voices you'll hear, whispering sweet encouragement into your ear. (www.tut.com)

The lesson is twofold: First, listen to your intuition, it is the most significant SIGN you have and when ignored often leads to unwanted results. Second, even though you attract certain events in your life it does not serve you to fall into self-criticism and fault finding. Life happens! Breathe. Take the necessary steps to resolve the situation and move on.

Okay, I am not perfect. In the car I had a one minute rant – the words cannot be printed here on this page. Get angry, stomp your feet, do what you have to do and let it go!

Until next time,

Betty Betty Healey is the roadSIGNS Coach, coaching people back to life! An award winning author of two books, roadSIGNS: Travel Tips for Authentic Living and roadSIGNS 2: Travel Tips to Higher Ground, Betty has been sharing her learning with readers as an e-letter for the past eight years. Her upcoming book, ME FIRST – If I Should Wake Before I Die, will be available in September 2009. You can communicate with Betty at betty@roadSIGNS.ca and visit her website at www.roadSIGNS.ca.