Hello, there, my lovely friend. How are you? Happy Memorial Day.
Did you know that you could, and should, wake up on the right side of the bed every day?
I have no idea where that saying came from, but if you wake up on the wrong side of the bed, it implies that you are in a bad mood, and so if you wake up on the right side of the bed, you are in a good mood.
You could wake up on the right side of the bed because you are the chooser of your choices.
You should wake up on the right side of the bed because you should do things for yourself! You are the most crucial choice-maker of your life!
The best way to wake up, in my personal opinion, is with awareness on the right side of the bed.
Awareness is living in a space where you make moment-to-moment decisions based on appropriate thought processes by being fully present in the now. The opposite of attention would be reacting to situations out of sheer habit.
Do you wake up and struggle out of bed?
Or...Do you wake up and jump out of bed?
To wake up, struggle, and/or jump out of bed is just a way of reacting out of habit.
What if you woke up and just lay there appreciating life, others, and yourself for a little while?
Every morning, believe it or not, when I wake up, I lay there for at least thirty minutes appreciating the warm, soft bed that I am lying in and whatever else I can think of that I am grateful for. This is one of my ways of cultivating awareness and how I start my day.
Depending on what day it is and what I must do, sometimes I wake up and lay in bed for a couple hours contemplating, reading, or both. I do this because I know that it is my duty to begin the day with awareness on the right side of the bed, and so I do.
You may say, "Who in the hellackey has time to do all that stuff in the morning?" My answer is that it only takes a moment to bring yourself to full awareness and begin the day with appreciation.
How often have you been in a bad mood in the morning and just went about your day in that mood, not knowing why or doing anything about it?
That moodiness used to be a massive part of my life, but now, I will not allow it. You do not have to enable it if it is a part of your life.
If I am ever in a not-so-great mood, I notice it and ask myself, "Why are you in this not-so-great mood?" That question alone provokes awareness and then destresses me.
Whenever we are in a bad mood, we are not enjoying life, which is supposed to be joyous. Life is supposed to be fun.
This is what I am trying to say...
You can and will destress your life further if you develop the habit of waking up on the right side of the bed with a few moments of awareness and appreciation.
This is what I really want you to hear...
If you are stressed out, I mean really stressed out, you can relieve your stress a little bit more each day if you choose to wake up, consciously become aware and appreciate the soft, warm bed that you are in, and think of things you are grateful for, and/or eager for in this day.
Even if you are only a little stressed, this awareness and appreciation practice will allow you to increase your feeling-good status. And who in the heck wouldn't want to improve their feeling-good status?
You are the most critical person in your life.
You can make yourself a priority by being good to yourself first thing in the morning.
You can start every day on the right side of the bed and begin your day with joy.
And that is how you destress your life with awareness.
Have a wonderful day!!!
I love you... You know I do...
Elizabeth Stanfill