“son! relax, take a deep breathe …”
There is so much ‘turning’ in today’s world. Everything seems to have gotten a life of its own and working independently.
Staying in one place is no longer a feasible option since the dynamics of living and survival are constantly evolving and others mutating, (pardon my ‘fringe’ grammar) because scientifically (I guess) sic, evolution is more in order with a natural sequence of events as they occur governed with variables that guide the adaptation. Simply, there is no way that the formulas and equations of yesterday will solve today's ! We are in an era of new and rapid solutions for the ever shifting universe.
Believe me when I say that this article is like 3 years too late. I first wrote the title in 2018 during a period I was extremely struggling with anxiety and fear mainly because of life choices I had made thus the introverted diagnosis by self.
Once, during one of my moments, I was at my parents house and we had this scuffle between me and my then girlfriend and I quite felt like a total loser since for one, I was feeling being ‘denied’ room to exercise my EGO and the other was, I was not doing well with work (not that I was not working, it was the frustration of remuneration-story for another day) and my girlfriend I think was scared we were not going anywhere so I was in that situation of ‘proving’ myself. So after a tantrum, I found myself seeking the solace of home and the advice of parent.
Now, during this period, while at home my phone rang, It was my girlfriend ‘following up’ on our just concluded argument, then when I picked the phone, my dad was in the room, I begun to rant, plead and talk gibberish then, I felt my dad touch my shoulder and say, “ son!, relax, take a deep breathe …” well what followed was ‘ I disconnected the phone’ I know it was rude to do so, but after hearing what dad said, it was the most natural , involuntary action.
As I picked myself up, I appreciated that fact of stopping, taking a deep breath and look around, in my mind, my heart and physically around me. I really did not have a choice not too since despite the feeling that I was drowning, I just had to stretch out my arm, and have the faith that, the good in me and around me, will reach out and pull me out.
My dad’s touch and words “son!, relax, take a deep breathe …” are the words that changed my perspective in life and its challenges to date.
Everyday, as a person, a son, brother, friend, colleague, lover , husband and father am faced with a myriad of challenges that test my wholeness and value and how I tackle each one of them, takes me closer to solving the next one . yeah, the next one, it will never be silent nor flat, there will always be new variables to declare, new equations to solve. There is always something.
The best way I have been able to find clues and get the best way to push myself even if I feel everything is unfair and everyone is out to get me, are those six words from my dad, “son!, relax, take a deep breathe …”
When you stop and take that precious breathe and look around within you and without at your turmoil and points of conflict, you slowly first accept the situation then eventually begin to understand as your mind clears up, the anxiety and the uneasiness, the fear these things choke your decision points that you are unable to see the light at the end of the tunnel, and there always is, even if its dark outside eventually you leave the tunnel by only moving forward.
This is what is does, it moves you forward, when you STOP, TAKE A BREATH AND LOOK AROUND, you get the motivation to move forward and the inspiration to comes up with solutions to tackle the bother.
I always remember this, everyday when I feel stuck and my wheels have stopped spinning. I recline to a ‘whooosa’ moment, stop, take a breath, look around and find a way out.
Be encouraged dear reader, giving up should not be an option.
Once dad showed me how to solve an issue through a metaphor in this way; see the way you may be walking in the rain and you meet a puddle of water? and you have to cross and not get your feet or shoes wet? see, it may be a challenge to just jump over it and risk dipping in to the muddy water, but if you take a few paces backwards to gain momentum to jump over, you will most likely succeed.
Think about this…
