Just breathe

“It’s beeping again!”  I said with great frustration. “What?” my husband asked. “The alarm, it’s beeping again. I thought you cancelled our service.” “I did, but they said it could take up to 30 days to process.” The beeping, emanating from our keypad in the bedroom,  keeps us awake at night. We were told it was due to some problem at a local cell tower. I had had enough and called them, ready for a fight.  Several stressful minutes later we were cutting the  wire at the back of the keypad to completely disconnect it. What they told us to do over the phone was not working. Done. “Do you feel better now?” my husband asked cheerfully, hoping for a satisfied response. “Not really,” I replied. “Now I am completely stressed out. I hope they don’t expect me to continue paying the bill until they get around to processing the cancellation, because I won’t!”

I had had a good day. This was about to ruin that.  Take a deep breath, Sarah. Just breathe. I did and eventually got past it. Some things just aggravate me to no end. Can you relate? There are things that would upset some people that I can easily deal with. But there are other things that get under my skin and won’t let go. What to do? Breathe!

In case you didn’t know, life is not peaches and cream all the time. Stuff happens to take you off center, unnerve you. We often find ourselves overreacting, although not warranted. Those are the things I am talking about here. We get rattled and stressed out even though it doesn’t deserve the amount of time and  energy we are giving it.

There is a great Christian song entitled “Just breathe”. I think of it as I find myself losing control of my equilibrium. There’s a lot to be said for taking a long deep breath, in through the nose and out through the mouth. It slows you down, physically, mentally and emotionally. Such a great tool at our fingertips and yet we don’t do it often enough. I do slow, deep breathing at night when I am trying to sleep. It relaxes me. It also provides oxygen to your cells. Something I learned recently. Bonus.

In the middle of an argument, stop and take a deep breath. When you feel anger, frustration, extreme stress, breathe deeply. Waking up in the middle of the night and can’t get back to sleep? (that would be me) Breathe slowly. I usually count to 10, then work my way up to 15 or 20 as I inhale and exhale.

Life is stressful. Whatever the cause, stopping to breathe will help diminish the negative emotions and make you feel more calm and peaceful.  Try it next time you feel yourself losing control. Don’t react, just breathe. :))

 

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