I’m Late, I’m Late

I’m Late! I’m Late! For a very important date!  The white rabbit would chant while looking at his pocket watch.

With all the things we have to take care of in any given day, how often do you race around trying to get it all done?  Feeling the pressure of running behind, we rush, rush, rush.  We grab food for convenience to fill in our sense of not enough time.  I am guilty!  I often use the excuse, I don’t have time.

The reality is…we all have the same 24 hours in a day.  Each and every one of us.  It is the choices we make, the priorities we have, and what we tell ourselves that determine how we feel about those hours we have.

In the story, Alice in Wonderland,  Alice’s adventure starts because she is BORED.  She sees the white rabbit and follows him.  She falls down the rabbit hole that takes her to a place where she drinks this and eats that just because they are sitting out with signs that say Drink Me!  Eat Me!

Then, of course, she meets the Queen of Hearts, who runs around and at the littlest irritation screams, “Off with their heads!”

We can assimilate many parts of this movie to our own self-care.  What do you do when you are bored?  Do you follow the white rabbit toward food, television, the computer?  Are you caught up in so many activities of your kids, friends and families, that you feel the pressure of never having enough time?  Do you run around angry at the smallest things that interrupt your flow or efforts?

The biggest weight and body issues are not the size of our muffin tops or the size of our hips.  It is the fat chatter between the ears.

One technique that I learned a long time ago, was to HALT.   Stop for just a moment.  Take time to look at what is happening to see why you are feeling the stress of boredom, not enough time, or “off with their heads” irritation.   HALT stands for Hungry, Angry, Lonely, or Tired.   The chatter between our ears gets louder and stronger when we feel any of those basic senses.   Take time to go back to the beginning of the story, before Alice went down the rabbit hole.

She was sitting on a riverbank, in the quiet of the sunshine.  Take time to enjoy the quiet each day.  It will help to deal with the rabbit hole!