All stress comes from the way you respond, not the way life is. And when you are able to figure out how to adjust the way you think, the stress is gone and your "mind can rest", bringing clarity to even the most difficult situations.

There is an opportunity in every painful and hard situation to understand yourself more deeply, and also to improve your life.  The times when things don't turn out as you've planned, where you feel as if you have no control because of another's actions...it's in those situations, where you have to consider your part.  Did you follow your intuition, or did you let your mind take you out...again.  Do you keeping making the same mistakes and the same decisions over and over again, even when you know better.  Are you holding on to something that no longer needs to be in your life, but you keep holding on to out of fear?  What would happen if you just let go of expectations?  Are you in a place of negativity. or blame?  If so, remember that good things never come from negativity and blame.  

The best time to take responsibility is when it seems the hardest because that's when it can make the biggest difference.  Sometimes the most difficult response is the best one and the one that can make the biggest difference in your life.  Remove yourself from the situation, be still and don't react immediately!  You may not be able to control the situation, but you can choose your response to it.  Responding thoughtfully instead of reacting without thinking is always the best way.

Knowing you can weather unexpected storms is a strength that enables you to move with more confidence through your life. When you aren't living in fear of anything negative that might happen, but know that whatever happens, you will be able to handle it...your stress-levels drop and you are more able to stay in the present moment.  Life can be hard and painful at times, but it always offers an opportunity to grow and reminds of how strong we can be if we choose to be.

It's time to stop fearing the future and reliving and suffering from the past.

I am here on Bald Head Island for another several weeks, surrounded by beauty!  I'm going to use this time to let my mind rest and carry that feeling of peace home with me to my day to day life.  As is usually the case, the words in this post are written for me, but I sincerely hope that anyone reading takes something helpful from them!