#365newbie: Day??? I Get Lifted

Prana

This morning started out with me grumbling and crabby.  My guy woke me up before 6:00 getting ready to go to work.  The main computer in our house was out getting a recall repair so I was stuck in the office if I wanted to go online.  My furry elf had already shredded a washcloth and my eldest elf had lost (and demanded I find) a perpetually missing electronic.  This stuff all took place before 7:00 a.m.  I felt draggy and pissed and ready to crawl back into my nest and avoid the rest of the day.

Then I remembered:  how you start your day is the direction it can go.  I poured myself a hot cup of coffee in my OM mug, let the furry one out to wreck havoc on the yard (and not my slippers) and found said electronic for the eldest elf.  I even jerry rigged a decrepit Mac so I could use the wireless internet while our big computer got fixed.  The day had turned upward simply because my attitude had changed!

I felt lighter.

How you chose to approach people and activities, circumstances and life can affect the outcome.  Not always of course, but often.  Electing to spend time with those that drag you down can mean an existence filled with apana.  That heaviness and weight can be translated from relationships, to careers, to family and darken your path.  It is akin to turning down the wrong road without looking at the map that says “go the other way Dude!!”

Instead, we should be looking for those people, attitudes and avenues that bring in prana, or energy.  These are the people who help you rise up by reminding you that YOU are the light. These are the lamps that illuminate your path whether it be at work, at play or on the mat.  These choices and individuals are like the blocks we use to lift our Trikonasanas off the floor so we can expand and brighten.

Today I chose to be lifted by things and people that made me feel good. I sat with my eldest elf,  I told my youngest she looked looked beautiful as we left for school and gave the furry one some extra treats.  I grabbed my current favorite shirt and decided I was going to follow it: being positive heart, soul, body and mind.  I wore the amazing mala my dear friend and business partner Sharon got for me when she saw the Dalai Lama.  I promised myself to approach my practice, my family and myself with compassion just as the man himself would do.

It worked!  I got lifted out of my funk.

There are days that the skies are dark, mornings we grumble, and evenings we bitch and moan.  We can wallow in their depths or we can chose to grab a bolt of prana and pull ourselves out into brightness.  We may not be able to fix everything with a positive attitude, but we can surely make it a smoother trip down our path.  The rocks that trip us up are not gone, but they are pebbles instead of boulders.

My day was hardly perfect.  My elves were hardly perfect.  I was definitely not perfect.  But I felt positive, happy and at peace.

What choices can you make to step away from that downward apana and allow yourself to be lifted? Do not require these changes to be big but make small steps to brighten your day.

Can you find the prana?

Can YOU get lifted?

p.s. if you can’t just listen to the song included here.  No one can feel anything but pure prana in its presence!