Ease might not be the first word you think of right now in the midst of Holidays and the end of the year. There’s so much going on and we’re being pulled in lots of different directions. When you look around, you might sense a frenetic energy – a push to get things done, to do things in a certain way. If we’re not paying attention, we can get swept away by this energy and then suddenly find ourselves far from where we’d like to be – stressed, overwhelmed, out of balance & dis-connected.

That’s why a focus on Ease right now can be so beneficial. Just say the word with me….Eeeeeaaaasssseeee…..draw it out a bit. It’s a nice sounding word, don’t you think? It feels so simple and free. Now, how would it be if you bring in these feelings into your life right now – if you bring in feelings of simple, free & eeeeeeasssful? That would feel quite good, don’t you think? OK, let’s get right on that then….

Step One: Those Expectations Will Get You Every Time!
One reason this time of year can feel less ease-full is that we often have a lot of expectations about what things should look and be like. So Step 1 is to identify those expectations and then set a clear intention. What would you like the holidays/the year end to be like? What is MOST important to you – is it connection, family time, alone time, down time, play time etc. It can be absolutely anything. Once you have a clear picture, you can move on to Step 2.

Step Two: Why Am I Doing This?
Once you know your Intention, then you get to bring into awareness what you’re honoring. This time of year is notorious for lots of ‘shoulds’, obligations & old routines. Yes, tradition is a beautiful thing – when it fills you up and brings you joy, but not when it’s draining, out-dated or done simply because ‘we’ve always done it this way’.

More Ease comes with awareness and conscious choices. It also comes with creativity. You might like to ask, “How can we tweak this tradition a bit so it fits more with our lives this year or how could it fit more with our main intention?” When you feel the stress and/or overwhelm coming in, stop and look at what’s causing it. Become aware of what you’re doing and why. Is it necessary? How can you be more Ease-full here?

Step Three: Follow the Energy
This is one of my favorite concepts and not one that is very prevalent in our society. We have this outdated belief that we need to push, push, push to make things happen. We try to control and put things in little boxes. And when we do this, we spend a lot of energy and effort (which isn’t too ease-full) and in the process lose a lot of the joy and the magic of simply letting things flow and evolve. We also get so fixated on the end-result, the outcome, that we don’t allow ourselves to enjoy the process – and the ‘getting there’ is where all the fun is!

Now, I’m not saying you just sit back and do nothing. But with your Intention in place & some awareness of what you’re doing and why, then you have a good foundation set. What if from this place, you let the energy flow instead of forcing things to happen? Take some time to enjoy each step and truly relish where you are. This might sound very foreign and if so, that’s fine. The invitation is simply to be curious and be open to following the energy of things instead of controlling them. With this I can assure you, comes much more Ease.

So with these steps, you are invited to explore the concept of Ease a bit more. What gets in the way of you experiencing more Ease? And what will you do this week and beyond to bring in more Ease? Feel free to answer these questions or to comment in the Reply box below.

 

This is an updated version of an original post dated 12/15/15.