Is There Liquid Sunshine in Your Life?

by Susan Leigh

DON'T you find that nothing ever stays the same? A lovely calm day can be changed in an instant by a nasty comment, a stressful phone call, a difficult car journey. Those ripples of negativity flow through and can impact on our mood, performance and relationships.

But negative thoughts can be transformed by simple things. Children's laughter, music, a beautiful sunset can turn our mood around.

Or conversely, bad news can give us a reality check. Other people's tough times can bring a serious wake-up call and stop us feeling sorry for ourselves.

Perspective is more of a choice than we perhaps realise.

When rain is liquid sunshine why would we complain about getting wet whilst taking a delightful walk in nature or on a busy city street, with its energy, bustle and vibrancy? Once home we can bathe, cook dinner and soak in the tub. Remind yourself how wonderful water is. We can survive longer without food than without water; it gives us food, hydration, drainage, hygiene, rainbows!

Traffic jams and hold ups cause so many headaches! Of course, travel is essential in modern life, but if you're stuck in a jam why spend the time crying, screaming or stressing? Use the enforced break to listen to a podcast, sing along to music or even quietly relax.

Redundancy is a fact of life for many people and is often a scary, stressful time filled with worry that they'll never work again. But many find themselves reflecting on how they were previously living their lives, the compromises they were making in order to support the big house, holidays and lifestyle. Countless people say that being made redundant turned out to be a blessing in disguise, even though they had to walk away from so much and start afresh.

Even when we miss out on getting our dream house or great job we often find that something better comes along. Granted, our search may have become more focused as we put extra effort in, but we appreciate what subsequently comes our way, even though it may turn out to be very different from what we initially anticipated.

We often can't change what happens to us but we can influence and be more aware of how we allow ourselves to be affected, how we feel about it. Which do you notice, the rain or the liquid sunshine in your life?

Susan Leigh, Altrincham, Cheshire, South Manchester counsellor, hypnotherapist, relationship counsellor, writer & media contributor. For more information, help and free articles visit http://www.lifestyletherapy.net