Tension/Relaxation

“Tension is who you think you are. Relaxation is who you are.”

-Chinese Proverb-

Wow! These words rang a bell in my itty bitty mind yesterday morning. My first thought was “what took you so long to figure this out?” Then I realized that was part one, tension. I moved to “right here, right now, I am okay and ready to head into the day.” Part two, relaxation.

Don’t underestimate the power of being “okay.”

Why do we try so hard to prove our worth to others and overlook the most important person’s proof . . . our own? Human nature. What a complexity we each have.

Yet, I can keep it simple. Relax into my own being and carry on with whatever I am doing.

For many years, I carried a tension surrounding my writing. I wanted to pursue more writing, get published, gain the true title of “writer” and maybe even make some money along the way. Working full time, then getting married and having a family added to that, had me striving to get my other commitments taken care of so I could then give some time to my writing pursuits. Most days, that never happened.

Tension in my writer’s heart. I was already journaling regularly, and keeping a daily gratitude journal as well, but the tension came past that point. One of the best things I ever decided to do was start my first blog, “Habitual Gratitude”, in early 2012. I began to honor my writing first thing in the morning. I made time for it. My writer’s heart and mind relaxed. Over 3, 000 posts later, I am a better writer—like anything else, practice makes progress possible.

And I am also a more relaxed writer. I have grown into my goals. I wrote a monthly column for our local newspaper for five years. My sisters and I have published three poetry compilations. I created this website and blog in early 2022.

“Real writers really write.” I have always been a writer. Now, I understand and honor that at a deep level. Less tension. More relaxation. Write on!

Where are you carrying tension? How can you relax more into who you genuinely are? Freedom awaits.