The 90-minute massage…a nearly divine experience.
I used to love an hour massage until I had a ninety minute one. Now an hour just doesn’t seem like it could ever be enough time!
Listening to my thoughts during the massage is amusing. It goes something like this every single time…
“Oh, yes, the foot massage is the best part of the time.”
“Who knew hand massage could be so relaxing? This is definetly the best part!”
“Yeah, having the knots worked out of my shoulders and neck, it hurts so good!”
“Scalp and face? There’s nothing better!”
“Right there, between the shoulder blades, the place I can’t reach…yes, that is absolutely perfect!”
“Those long deep strokes into my tight back muscles, is absolutely the best!”
And on and on…
Am I conflicted? No, not at all!
Every part of the massage IS incredibly wonderful! It is needful and extremely helpful for my whole being. Yes, I meant “whole being”. It is a physical experience, but it also soothes my soul and calms my mind, except for the brain chatter that thinks each component is the best. In this case, though, that voice is actually beneficial.
It would be incredible if my life was as harmonious as the massage. I mean, wouldn’t it be great to see each part of my life as equally amazing?
Most of the time, I believe we look at our lives as segmented and we feel differently about each one of the segments. We label one part good, another as just okay, and perhaps another as downright awful, as well as a great deal of things in-between.
I get it! You feel your job is awful right now or maybe it is your relationships that are less than stellar, so there is no way you could see it as good, let alone “the best part”.
I am NOT suggesting we slip into denial, avoidance, sweeping things under the rug or false peace when we pretend everything is okay.
What I am saying is that more often than not, our negative thoughts keep us from seeing ANYTHING good about a situation.
If I desire that every part of my life be “the best”, or to be equally good, then my thinking WILL influence my attitude toward each aspect of my life.
There are times for change, but if your reasons for doing so are coming from negative thoughts only, you may be “moving” for the wrong reasons. Let me give you an example.
I was coaching a young woman who continually told me how much she hated her job. When she was able to focus on a key reason it was because her boss “was an idiot”. Every day she went to work thinking, “I hate working here. I can’t stand working for someone who is so incompetent!” In one of our sessions, I ask her if said boss was REALLY an idiot. I received an emphatic YES!
Then I ask her if it was a fact that this person was incompetent. She gave me another strong “Yes, she is!” Then I asked, “Would everyone you work with agree that this boss is an idiot?”
This time, I received a moment or two of silence and a quiet, “No.”
It was then that she was able to understand it was her own thoughts that were causing her to feel negative toward her boss and dissatisfied in her job.
It wasn’t that she couldn’t change jobs, but if she didn’t clear her thinking, she would be quitting for the wrong reasons and could likely end up in the same scenario because she was taking those same thoughts with her.
What do you think would have happened with her attitude toward work if she went there thinking, “I am grateful to have a job. I have this boss in my life for the present time to teach me something about myself. While I may not agree with everything she does, I will look for ways to learn as much as I can from her.” Granted, it might take quite a leap to get to that kind of thinking. My client isn’t going to be able to jump from “She’s an idiot!” to “She is the greatest boss on earth!” She might even have to go with a very neutral thought for a while, perhaps something as simple as “I have a boss.”
So, our thoughts lead to what we feel about the pieces of our lives. Step back and observe your thinking about all the aspects of your life. If the feelings are negative, be honest with yourself about your thoughts. Then look for the good and search for other ways of thinking. Now, if you need to make adjustments in relationships, your job, your health, etc. you know your reasons and are coming from a much more honest place.
And if you haven’t ever had a massage? What is holding you back?
If it is money, do what you can to save toward getting a massage. I promise, it beats those 5 or 6 trips to Starbucks. It is worth every penny!
Seriously, I don’t know a better way to live Your One Beautiful Life than getting a 90-minute massage, except perhaps getting a 2 hour massage!