Faulk TaiChi

Learn the beautiful, flowing movements for health and relaxation.

Something to Look Forward To

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We need to have something to look forward to. Most of our days include routines like going to work (even if on Zoom), taking kids to school, grocery shopping, paying bills, doing laundry and perhaps caregiving for a relative or friend. Most of our days are ordinary, filled with life tasks that support our well-being, tasks that need to be done.

We need something out of the ordinary to look forward to.

It’s easy to keep doing what we’re doing and we always have tasks to complete. However, for our emotional well-being we need to intentionally plan something out of the ordinary, a family gathering, dinner out, a road trip for the weekend. It’s good for our psyches to get a change of scenery, alter our routines so we don’t live blindly and then one day wonder where all the time went and what we missed.

I remember attending a workshop in the early 1990’s with Deepak Chopra. He stressed that we live today with the dame thoughts we had yesterday and the tomorrow we will re-hash the same thoughts we have today. We get stuck in patterns and ruts that keep us from trying something new, changing habits to improve our health.

In order to have something new to look forward to, we need look at our thoughts and our weekly patterns. Can I plan that trip now that we wanted to take before COVID19 hit? How might I rearrange my schedule so I can sign up for the Spanish class I’ve wanted to take? I’ve inquired about Tai Chi class that my doctor recommended for my balance, but have not committed. What can I do that will help me get to the next step of showing up?

The key is framing our thoughts into “I can”, How might I?” “Who can help me?” “I’ll talk to my friend who always seems to have time to do fun and exciting things”

Take the first step forward. Find a way to reframe your thoughts. to plan something fun and interesting to look forward to.

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Getting Unstuck

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Feeling stuck – we all experience that at one time or another. I felt stuck yesterday and know it is up to me to move through that space. The first helpful thing I did was to express how I felt, in writing. Admit it. Name it.

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A second step I took yesterday was to clear my mind. I still remember Deepak Chopra, headlining a conference in Chicago in the 1990’s, say to the large audience that most of our thoughts are the same ones we had yesterday. And most of tomorrow’s thoughts will be the same one we have today. Guilty. I had been repeating the same thoughts about not moving fast enough, not making connections, doubt about being successful in this mind-boggling publishing world. I visualized Tai Chi movements, shifting my weight, balancing yin and yang, focusing my mind on the movements and nothing else. When I am not in a position to actually move my body through Tai Chi, visualizing them in my mind is the next best relaxer. It works. I went to see “How to Train your Dragon”, a delightful, colorful and action-packed movie that continued to shift my thoughts to a new place.

Today I feel open to new thoughts, because I cleaned out some of the continuing thoughts stuck in my closet. As I stood singing a rousing hymn this morning in the Fourth Presbyterian Church, it hit me, that I have friends and contacts here whom I can engage. I have friends in different circles whom I can reach out to and with that, I started to feel encouraged, excited about possibilities.

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I am stirred, motivated to move forward with more specifics that I will plan this week. The key in starting for me, and maybe for all of us, is stop the current mantra, the thoughts that stagnate and hold us back. Quiet the mind through stillness and create room for new thoughts and new possibilities.