Monday, January 14, 2008

Well-Grounded

Susanne

One of the first things Steve taught us was something simple and extraordinary at the same time. It's called grounding. He describes it in detail in the book. As you breathe in and out, you envision a long cord anchoring your body to the core of the earth. In subsequent breaths, you imagine releasing any negative thoughts or energy down that cord into the earth. With just a little practice, it can be done in a single breath. Grounding immediately brings calm and focus.

Being a type-A, adrenaline-junkie, always-gotta-have-her-Starbucks kind of girl, grounding is a beautiful thing. Really, beautiful.

With just a breath, the anxiousness, the pains in my shoulder blades, the nervous twitching of my left foot come to a peaceful stop. If I am surrounded by others who are really negative or angry or upset, I can ground and feel safe and comforted in knowing I don't have to take on their "stuff." It's a beautiful thing.

Grounding gives me the confidence to enter any situation knowing I can CHOOSE to be calm and strong. Grounding is a choice.

We always get to choose how we react in any given situation, no matter how trying. Victor Frankl's memoir, Man's Search for Meaning, is the most famous exploration of the power of this choice. The key is remembering to choose even in everyday situations - particularly in everyday situations.

Now, I still love my lattes, but I choose to enjoy them with both feet on the ground.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

nice post!
I totally agree with your assessment of grounding. I used it myself today.
Laura