The Power of Relief

She had not known the weight until she felt the freedom.
-The Scarlet Letter

Putting the Paddles Down

When we decide that we no longer want to resist our present reality; that we no longer want to fight against it and are at least willing to trust Life...  (actually trusting Life may be a big leap of faith for most of us...start with being willing to do so) ...we put our paddles down, however reluctantly, and wait for the boat to turn.

How are we going to know it is happening, that we are actually turning toward the life that God intended for us?  We must pay attention to how we are feeling and if we listen really carefully we will pick up the resonance of a sometimes very subtle emotion but the biggest cue we are heading in the right direction. 

We should feel relief!

What is relief?  The Merriam -Webster dictionary offers many definitions of  relief.  There are two, however,  that strike me in relation to our topic of discussion over the last few entries. 1) relief: a removal or lightening of something  oppressive, painful, or distressing 2) relief: sharpness of out line due to contrast. Hmm!  Let's look at these two definitions in terms of our decision to go down stream rather than upstream.

Have you made the conscious decision to feel better and declared your willingness to trust Life? Do you feel a "lightening" of your load?  Do you feel a lightening in your workload as you put the paddles down?  Can you breathe easier?  Do your muscles feel less heavy and tense? Do you feel better in any degree emotionally...could be a smidgeon? Is the degree of oppressive, painful and distressing any less? If you answered yes to any of these questions, you are feeling relief.  Your boat has turned in the right direction. Relief doesn't have to come in floods of emotion.  It can be as subtle as a breath of air or a sigh but if you feel better you are feeling relief. 

That's what it is all about...feeling better and better and better one lag of the journey at a time.  The more you tune into this feeling of relief, the more aware of it and it's power you will become.  It will become your internal signal and applause system reminding you that you are getting there to where you really want to be. 

Wait for the lightening...any degree of it...feel it, sigh and lean into Life a little more.  Watch what happens around you and to you as you begin to flow down stream with relief as your compass.  Life will respond to you when you trust it and the ride will become more and more pleasant.  When you hit a bump...determine where you are emotionally...seek a thought that makes you feel a little better.  Wait for that signal of relief again...and then continue moving forward.

Contrast

Relief in photography and the visual arts has a whole different meaning. 

It refers to the sharpness of something in an image  due to contrast.  How then is that going to apply to our journey down stream?  Think about it.

 Feeling better is all about contrast isn't it?  How good you feel now is determined by how you felt then, is it not? How are you going to know what peace is, if you never felt distressed?  How are you going to know what happiness is, if you have never known sadness?  How are you going to know what Love is, if you have never known fear?  Every emotion we experience has an opposite and these opposites sit at different poles.  The experience of life, the sharpness of it...is determined by relief...the contrast that exists between the two poles. 

In order to know I am feeling better and heading toward that beautiful, sharply detailed image of Life I need contrast, I need emotional comparison.  Recognizing the power of relief helps us to realize how much power we have in determining the out comes of our lives. If there is too much shadow, I will add more highlights.  If there is too much black, I will add more white.  That's how we create a great shot and that is how we can create a great life. 

How do we do that? 

By accepting where we are, right here right now  and then changing our thought process so we feel better. Slowly move the dial up and down until we get the life we want.  Change those thoughts until you feel relief . The more sharp the image is...the more we will trust Life to create what we were all meant to experience. 

The journey down stream can be a safe and  glorious ride with relief as our guide!

All is well in my world.

The greatest weapon against stress is our ability to choose one thought over another.
William Blake