Relaxation Triggers

Knowing when you need to relax is just as important as doing the relaxing, because how can you relax if you don’t know you’re tense? I know some of my warning signs, but probably not all. One major key for me is grinding my teeth. When that occurs, it usually means I’m working too hard on something and getting minimal results. Another sign is irritability. I become short-tempered and sensitive. Another is tension in my neck, shoulders, and arms.

Another sign that I need to relax and let the universe take care of itself is my ability to drive courteously when others are driving recklessly. In my moments of sanity and lucidity I know that other drivers are not out to get me, they have places to be and things to do, and they could care less about me. As a friend reminds me from time to time, not everything is about me.

If I allow someone to cut me off in traffic without giving him or her a piece of my mind, what harm does it do? Besides, I need to save my mind for my old age when the pieces seem to vanish without me giving any away. These are just some of my warning signs. Perhaps we share some of the same ones. The important thing is to learn what the signs are, and then when the triggers go off, to take time to sit in silence until we find our center again.