Cry if you need to...

"Tears are the safety valve of the heart when too much pressure is laid on it." ~Albert Smith

This is my advice to you.

If you're tired or in pain or sad or happy or excited or just don't know what you're feeling... cry if you need to.

Wednesday nights have recently become a major tv-watching time for my mom and I... there's The Middle, then Suburgatory and lastly America's Next Top Model. We are couch potatoes... lazy bums... slaves to the tv gods... anyway. So last night my mom sneaks away to her room after the end of The Middle... I go to find out what's up (aka check up on her)... and find her crying.

Dear cancer (and all the other pain/trauma/drama that you cause), I really dislike you.

My mom doesn't like to cry in front of us... somewhat understandable since I'm not one to cry in front of people (family/friend/acquaintance/stranger) either. Also, if she starts to cry then odds are likely that I'll start to cry as well. She said to me that she just needed to cry a bit and then she'd come back out to watch ANTM... Oh mama, I love you.

If you need to cry at any point then just do it. Forget about what other people think or how your tears may affect them... if the need to cry is great then just do it. Channel the Nike people.

It's my opinion that crying is good for the soul. Cleansing.. like the feel of the day when a thunderstorm has just passed. I'm not the only one that thinks this... being the person that I am I did research (a smidgen but it still counts) and found this article: The Healing Properties of Tears: 7 good reasons to cry your eyes out.

See? Not just one ... seven good reasons.

If you feel that you need permission, if you just can't let go, if you need to be in a safe place.. I'm saying it's ok. Permission granted. Find that space where you can just be.

Cry if you need to.

peace,

Ren

Body awareness...

"You don’t have a soul. You are a soul. You have a body." ~C. S. Lewis

I've been feeling achy lately... in an I've been in this position too long (I'm at a desk most of the day) or I've not stretched much kinda achy. I know that exercise would help. I know that this is what my body wants and really that I should get involved with some sort of discipline... yoga, tai chi, dance - I've been exposed to a lot of stuff but at the moment I'm finding it hard to get going, to start something. Inertia... I'm feeling it myself.

I'm a fan of America's Next Top Model... It's interesting to me to see the poses they can drop into (or have practiced or are coached into). This week one of the models was told that when she's not modelling - not in the photo-shoot moment - she needs to be aware of what her body expresses cuz for models they're judged both on and off camera. It's the same for everyone I think...

In yesterday's talk, Sri Vasudeva speaks about body awareness... it's an interesting talk and the discussion (which I missed most of because I'm at work) was even more interesting... what really stands out to me (and to my mom too apparently) is this paragraph:

"It is therefore extremely important to understand, "What does my physical body truly need to be well and supportive, and to be resilient in the human experience? What does it need from me that it can serve me the best, so that we can co-exist in a harmonious and purposeful relationship?" This requires cultivating physical body awareness in an objective way. In a way that you truly understand the body, its intelligence and its needs, being able to see the difference between its needs and your desires, covering or masking those needs. That is extremely important. Be in touch with your body."

I remember, when I was in secondary school, one day as I climbed the stairs with my friend that she said to me, "Ren, you always have the best posture...". I need to get back to that. Need to stretch, to move, to breathe a little bit more.

Maybe you can encourage me?

peace,

Ren