Chillax - The Big Picture View.

Wise healthy people take time every day to reflect on their lives. They think about the people in it, the troubling situations, the state of their health, their skills and strengths, their disappointments, their personal gifts, their home, their wins, their challenges, and their losses. They touch upon all that they are, and accept it with an open heart.

One very old morning ritual is filling a bowl full to the brim with water. The water symbolizes all that you are, drop by drop. Then you carry the bowl, without spilling its essence, to a chosen place and set it carefully down. This opens you up to accepting your day, and all it has to give you. At bedtime you empty the essence of the bowl onto the earth and then set it upside down till the morning.

There are several benefits to a thoughtful daily ritual. It can relieve the impact of a stressful situation by transforming it into a small part of a bigger picture. It teaches us, on a daily basis, to see the bigger picture. It teaches us on a daily basis to open our hearts to the lessons of the day. In thinking that all that we experience today, joy and sorrow, light or dark, is of equal benefit in our lives, we heal, and we learn to chillax.

Create some daily awareness in your life, an inspiring morning wake up ritual, and a peaceful evening prayer, reading, visualization, or musical connection. Identify time for just you. Practice staying in touch with yourself, and check in with your feelings throughout the day. Take a big relaxing belly breath, and you just might find that everything is all right.