They say that a mother is only as happy as her least happy child.  As the mother of a 13-year old girl who is suffering from a bit of a broken heart, I can attest to that on some level.  It’s interesting how the emotions and moods of another can affect your own.

I’ll be honest and tell you that I have been basking in happiness lately.  I can’t really tell you why other than the process of the 21-stages of meditation and this week’s spiritual focus of “absorption” has me completely detached from my stream of thoughts and moving in a state of grace that is beyond wonderful.  The thoughts arise like they always do and I simply choose not to go there.  It’s not a practice anymore, I’ve turned it into a habit.  I’m also becoming increasingly adept at holding space for others and watching where their thoughts are going in and out of.  Of course, this is also annoying to me and I find that “impatience with others” is rearing it’s ugly head.

So, I’ve had the conversation with my very sad daughter about intentions, outcome, monitoring the thoughts, choosing the emotions, allowing grief to come up and sit with it, blah blah blah.   It’s really too much to expect a person to learn in the moment.  Still, this must shift because I can’t take it anymore.  So I turned to what works for all humans regardless of yogic lifestyle and that’s humor….

We’ve invented a new game.  It’s a sure mood shifter when you are down and out.  It’s called…

IT COULD BE WORSE

Basically, you think of all the insane ways something could be worse.  You must do this with a wee bit of imagination and being cynical certainly helps.

Well, we ended up at the dermatologist this morning for a freezing of a wart.  We were deep into our game of IT COULD BE WORSE.  The dermatologist comes in, freezes the wart, waits for the thaw, and then goes to freeze again.  She missed.  She froze a portion of my daughter’s finger that was healthy.  I looked at my daughter and said, “At least it’s not laser eye surgery.”  We both started laughing so hard we were crying.  The dermatologist left in a huff…..

There are so many ways to shift emotions.  I write about my passions of yoga and meditation, but there are millions more.  Moving your body in any way.    Being with others.  Losing yourself to a book or movie.  Laughing.

 

 

*The sole purpose of these articles is to provide information about the tradition of ayurveda, yoga, and meditation. This information is not intended for use in the diagnosis, treatment, cure or prevention of any disease. If you have any serious acute or chronic health concern, please consult a trained health professional who can fully assess your needs and address them effectively. Check with your doctor before taking herbs or using essential oils when pregnant or nursing.