I’m Not My Prob, Bob!

I’m Not My Prob, Bob!

Sometimes, we just chug along, managing everything with ease and joy. We have time for work and time for play, we feel good. We take good care of ourselves, we take good care of each other.

Sometimes, something comes up that kind of flattens us. Maybe we can’t think of a workable solution.  Maybe we have so much feeling attached to it that it seems overwhelming.  So we give up and give in. And we think we are done with it.

Except that we aren’t.

Giving up is not letting go. When we let go, we feel free. We put our situations out from ourselves, and trust the universe will provide, we see opportunity, we see resolution, we enjoy the outcomes, we feel happy and energized.

When we give up, the problem internalizes. We pull in deep within us and start to believe that the problem is part of who we are. We expend a lot of energy keeping the problem down. We make decisions based on the notion that the problem is who we are. These decisions often nurture and support the problem, not us, and so more of our energy goes to the problem, and before long we are referencing ourselves by the problem -- “I’m poor, I’m sick, I’m a drunk, I’m a pig, I’m bad, I’m unlucky, I’m lonely,” and so on.

Maintaining the illusion that we are something we aren’t takes an enormous amount of energy. Poor we. Now, not only are we identifying ourselves with an internalized situation, but we are feeling pooped, too. So then we have to do stuff about feeling so low-energy all the time. We may resort to stimulants of a wide variety, or sleeping a lot. We may feel so depleted that we stop moving, becoming couch tubers, or start feeling depressed. Maybe we get angry, or act out in other ways.

We not only cut back on the activities that give us joy, we may even pull away from dear friends who can see what we are doing to ourselves, because now we feel shame. So now, we are isolated, bored, and pouring our life-force into nurturing a problem as though it were our child.

How do I know I am not my problems? How do I know I am not my behavior? How do I know at my core I am perfection?

When I feel like I want to escape my life, I have most likely internalized a problem. When I am feeling depressed, I have most likely internalized a problem. When I feel like I am running on empty all the time, I have most likely internalized a problem.

You know I like old sayings. I love this one: When you feel like you are at the end of your rope, let go.

Let go. Ahhh. Like sinking into the hot tub of your mind.

If you need help learning to let go, there are a zillion resources to help you. Find them. Use them. You are worth it.

Why do I let go? Why do I choose to be free? Why do I use my resources?

As we let go, we disconnect ourselves from the problem. We stop defining ourselves as the problem. We see it as outside us, and can return easily to our natural life of joy, peace, satisfaction, and gratitude.

How have I changed from running away on the inside to choosing to be really and truly alive?

(c) Pam Guthrie 2013 all rights reserved 05192013