I Forgot To Breathe...

Did you forget to "just breathe" this morning??

I did! 

I don't know about you, but I can help pretty much anyone when they are in a crisis, unsure of what to do next, or are feeling super stressed out.

But, me? When I'm stressed? That can be a different story entirely! 

Case in point: Feeling a little overwhelmed AND working through some really difficult emotions this morning, my five year old daughter asked me to open up her yogurt for her. 

Simple, right? 

Well, not so much. 

I got the scissors, held the yogurt, took a VERY deep breath and muttered to myself "It's okay. You've got this." 

Wow. Very serious considering "this" was cutting the top off of a Disney-themed squeeze yogurt. 
 
Thankfully, the ridiculousness of the situation actually made me laugh. I had gotten so wrapped up in my stress and the feelings I was sorting through that I had forgotten to just breathe all morning.
 
Of course, upon further analysis, I realized that the motion of cutting was incredibly symbolic. It was never about the yogurt, but rather about giving myself permission to breathe, experience the painful feelings, and then release them, cutting the emotional stranglehold they had on me.
 
Sometimes we just need to feel like we are allowed to feel these feelings and that we have permission to let them go and release them.
 
I took a deep breath and released them. Today, I hope you give yourself permission to do them same.