Finnigan’s Stew

Okay, I have no idea where I pulled that title from. To be honest, I was thinking about the many ideas bouncing around my head that I could put into a blog post and the title just jumped into my head. Who was Finnigan? I have no idea. However, I have made stews in the past and I know that there are many parts to the final dish. Each ingredient plays its part to create a satisfying meal.
I guess I’ve just worked out my analogy – there are many ‘ingredients’ in my life right now and all together they will create something immensely satisfying. At least I hope so. (Unless ‘Finnigan’ is like my old mate Nav and had NO culinary experience whatsoever) 😛You may have noticed that my alphabet posts have ceased. I gave up!
I was beginning to find them difficult to do and I know, I gave up with the finish line in sight. I had only X, Y and Z to go.
I will admit that X had me stumped. It’s been interesting reading how others have tackled this letter. I even learned some things! I had been planning on writing about x-rays. I’ve had a few of them in my time for one reason or another. What I find interesting about x-rays is that they are great for showing us our ‘structure’ (bit like the frames of a house being built) but they can’t show you the soul (or what makes your house your home).
I can’t remember what I had planned to write for ‘Y’ but I think it may have been ‘Yellow’. In fact I expect to see some posts from others in the challenge using that word. Yellow is a bright and happy colour. Yellow makes me smile.
And ‘Z’ is for Zen. That elusive state that many of us are searching for.
So, I have given up on the alphabet and I will go back to sharing my thoughts. I must admit that could be a little more scarier though.

I have had some interesting experiences over the past few days. (Well interesting to me). I had a horrid experience whilst travelling in the car the other day that showed me just how powerful our minds can be. From a line in a song, my mind kept progressing until it had me feeling quite ill with its imaginings. My breathing changed and the feelings invoked by those thoughts was very real. It took a lot of will power, breathing and calming thoughts to bring my mind back to the present and to push away those horrid thoughts and feelings. It really gave me an insight into how much of what we think can change our lives and just how easy it is for our minds to run away with those thoughts. The physical sensations that arose from those thoughts were not imagined. I was amazed at the mind-body connection.
Interestingly, I have been reading Wayne Dyer’s book “I Can See Clearly Now” in which he looks back at times in his life with the wisdom of hindsight and can see clearly what was going on at the time. Earlier that day I had read about the time he had witnessed an experiment as part of his university study that demonstrated the mind-body connection. I was intrigued by it but not really convinced. It took my mind going off on it’s own little tangents to show me the the reality of what I had read.

I’m sure there are many out there who still question the power of the mind and its effect on our daily lives.
Yesterday, I learned another lesson.
My anxiety levels were high and I was feeling physically ill. I was worried about the day ahead and I kept dwelling on this. And then things began to happen. I began to make mistakes. My prophesy was self fulfilling. And just when I thought the day was over and I could lay on the couch and watch mind-numbing television (or electric valium as one of my friends calls it), the phone rang. And I was reminded that the day could still catch up with me.
I wish I could be like this duck and tuck my head under my wing and hope things go away. Just as I didn’t take my camera away from the duck, my problems are not going to go away without dealing with them.
Decisions need to be made and life needs to go on.

What I am learning is that thoughts play a big part in just how my life is going to play out today. I can choose to be positive or I can choose to allow my anxiety to control the day. The choice is mine.
What’s your choice today?