Have you ever started your day with good intentions, and then something happens that sets you off? You’re on your way to work and the subways are delayed, or you’re driving and get stuck in traffic, so you’re late for an important meeting. Or you’re getting ready to drop your kids off at school when your child spills his chocolate milk all over his new pants. Or you had wonderful plans for the weekend, and your friend calls to say she’s come down with a cold and needs to cancel. Something happens that puts a damper on your day, and you don’t have much time to process it because you have to get on to the next thing. Now you’re carrying the emotional aftermath of the incident in a knot in your stomach, and you are completely distracted from whatever is coming next.
It is so important to find a few moments to reset your energy by taking some conscious breaths and returning to your center. This a very powerful tool that prevents your day from spiraling out of control. Often, the obstacle to resetting our energy in these moments is judging ourselves. We feel that we’ve done something wrong, or we blame ourselves for things that are beyond our control. We have an idea of how our day should go, but so many things can happen that do not match our expectations and we’re thrown. If we approach things with too much rigidity, we become overly focused on what’s not going according to plan and pull ourselves out of the moments of our lives. But when was the last time you actually had a day go according to your plan? Exercising your flexibility muscle is one of the greatest keys to having a good day.
I once had a situation at the airport when my flight to Los Angeles had been delayed until further notice. When I went up to the gate attendant and asked questions, the attendant got very frustrated and said, “Ma’am, we’ll let you know when we know, but right now we know nothing,” which was not very reassuring. I knew this was a time for me to call on the tool of prayer. I asked for guidance, peace, and creative solutions to my predicament. Within twenty minutes, I ran into someone I knew who had found another airline with a flight departing to Los Angeles in half an hour. I called right away and managed to get a seat on this flight. It was a rare occurrence when I only brought a carry-on and didn’t need to deal with baggage. I believe taking that time to recenter and clear the negativity made all the difference.
Flexibility is the magic potion that unlocks the rigidity that we can fall into and the frustration we feel when things go the way they want to go, not the way we want them to go. If you can remain flexible, you will experience greater ease and more fun in every day. Your heart will be open and light, and when things go awry, as they inevitably will, you can pray for balance and renewal to return to your center. The gift of such flexibility is that you may receive guidance about what you need to do—and sometimes there is nothing to do. So, if you let go and anticipate your next opportunity, you will be in a state of acceptance and grace and, in that space, miracles can happen. Here is our prayer.
The Prayer
Dear Beloved,
I have just experienced a situation that threw me off balance, and I ask that I may forgive, clear, and disconnect from what just occurred.
I am upset and feel discomfort, and I ask that I take a moment to return to my quiet, allowing my heart to soften and to clear. I send love to myself, and I ask that I be guided toward anything specific I need to do to let it go.
I ask that all those who were involved be sent the light and positive energy. I remind myself of our oneness, and I ask that they, too, receive the blessing of a release.
I’m willing to let go and move on in order to embrace the rest of my day.
I return to the gratitude of the new moment, and as I receive my next breath, I ask that I come into my presence, my acceptance, and my joy.
I trust that there is joy and calm underneath the upset.
As I stretch my flexibility muscle, I am grateful to know that I have the choice to let go of the disturbance right now. I breathe out my desire for control and I breathe in my acceptance of what is.
I thank you. I let my loving fill me. I set myself free.
So be it.
Excerpted from SPEAKING WITH SPIRIT copyright © 2022 by Agapi Stassinopoulos. Used by permission of Harmony Books, an imprint of Random House, a division of Penguin Random House LLC, New York. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.