It's the Mind that Matters

Last night, or was it this morning?  I guess it was morning--around 3:15am, as I sat in the E.N.T. room in the E.R., it became apparent that they were going to stick the scope up my nose and down my throat, we had a little chat about "mind over matter." 

I revealed to Z that when I was in labor with child #3, and I sat in the rocking chair watching the monitor, I learned some truths to life.  I learned that as those numbers rose, showing the rise of the contractions, if I did what came naturally and tensed up and let the numbers rule my behaviors, the contractions became extremely painful; on the other hand, if I, as I saw the numbers rise, used them as a gauge of how much I should be relaxing, the contractions became that much more bearable. 

When I used to run, I learned a little trick from a friend.  She said that when you're going up a hill, you should pretend it's a downgrade and make your eyes perceive it as such.  When you're running it, if you can change the way you view it, it becomes that much easier to climb.  In thinking you're going down, you're really going up.  It was amazing.  It worked like a charm.

I learned that so much of life is in the perception of it and how we respond to that perception.

As the doctor came back in this morning, I revealed to her that I was going to close my eyes during the whole procedure and "go to my happy place."  She said, "You'll do great.  I can just tell."  How did she know?  How could she tell? 

When she left again, Z asked what my happy place was.  I told him I was either laying on a nice, warm beach or in my field of daisies.  Last night was a daisy night.  Anyway, it was funny to vocalize my happy place.  So, what is your happy place?

When all was said and done, after the scope procedure was done, the doctor said, "See, I knew you'd do just great."  She asked me if we had children.  I told her our oldest was 16, and our youngest was 8 months.  "Oh, wow," she said, "That's quite the spread.  Very unusual."  I said, "Oh, we have a whole bunch in between."  I then shared that we had seven.  "Thus the 'mind over matter,'" I added.

In raising this family, I'm learning that I can't possibly get worked up over everything that occurs.  Sometimes you have to picture things differently just to get through them calmly.  I have to choose what's worth the battle and what should be ignored and let go.  Not always easy.  So much of life is how we look at it.  When things get tough, can we take the challenge and do what doesn't come naturally?  Can we remind ourselves to breathe and relax and cope in a much more calm state of mind?

Amongst all this, one thing I've decided is true... 

I need to spend much more time in my happy place.