September Overwhelm… don’t forget to breathe out

September is a busy time for me. The beginning of the school year and the time of the harvest among others things winds me up in my familiar state of overwhelm. This is a theme that has been making regular visits in my life and a piece that I have been doing a lot of work with. I have noticed that by doing the work of letting go and surrender that this September has come easier and gentler.

For myself and others, overwhelm comes in different ways for many different reasons. I live in a very busy household so I have a lot of opportunity to confront this this pesky little frustration. “We are more powerful in our letting go than in our holding on.” I heard that quote during a recent yoga practice and it hit me in my core. It is in my contraction that the overwhelm becomes almost physically painful. There is an aspect here of holding in too tightly and being unable to let things roll. I’ll continue to breath in, to take in more and forget the enormous importance of letting go, breathing outward. Releasing is just as important as bringing inward. In fact- the release can really be the biggest expansion.

In these accelerated times I feel like I need to take in as much as I can. I’m constantly bringing in more information, more teachings, more experience, more, more, more. I have forgotten to release, let go, breath out. In this outward breath there is just as much opportunity. Here, I can release what is holding me back. I can release tension, stress and overwhelm. I can release the stuck energy that isn’t allowing me to be in my center. I can release the fact that I have taken on so much and live an overwhelmingly busy life and simply accept it. The acceptance brings peace and a higher perspective allowing me the clarity I need to prioritize and arrange the chaos. The release can also be an offering, a giving back. It is important to share the knowledge and experiences that we have gained so that the energy can move from our centers and into the world to do its work.

I understand that I have been running my wheels harder lately. I can’t help it. I am feeling this indescribable urgency. The time is now, and I have to stand up and be wholly and completely who I am. I have things and words and actions to offer to the world and I am still right in the middle of the work of discovering how to do that in the highest and best way. The problem is that no one ever taught me how to do that or how to be authentically Me. This is something we all learn on our own, but first we have to let go of former programs. So… I am hard at work, releasing and unveiling the Truth of who I am so I can be of more service in this life.

With each new challenge and experience I pay attention to my body and how it contracts or expands. The contraction can show us that we are either not aligned with what we are doing and resistant to it or that we have trauma associated with it that is ready to be released. The feeling of expansion is a validating confirmation that we are on the right track. Acceptance of the overwhelm helps this expansion. Being in awareness about the global shifts and the consciousness of Earth and all her beings allows me to surrender and know that not all this chaos is inside of me but it is a part of our changing world that we are all a part of.

I offer Love and Gratitude to myself and ask for forgiveness… yes, it is important to forgive ourselves. For being overwhelmed and caught up in the chaos. I offer forgiveness. I breathe out.