Sweet Relief! When you feel relief, what does it look like? To me, it is a sigh with a smile. Imagine carrying a 40-pound backpack up a mountain, arriving at your destination, and taking that pack off. You feel light as a feather. Maybe it looks like finishing a milestone or completing a project. (Image: flailing your arms in the air to celebrate liberation from the bonds of pressure and stress.) 

What does relief feel like? Where do you feel it in your body? I feel it in my chest. I take a big, deep breath and let it all out, along with residual tension. Sometimes I feel my relief in my whole body, especially after a long walk in the woods, when I plop into my hammock for a rest afterwards.

I feel relief after completing targets. Ah, goal accomplished! Recognizing accomplishment increases motivation. It brings pause to the constant, get-it-done pressure. Picture resting after a long walk, or how light you feel when you set down a heavy box. The interlude is a nice opposition to the energetic pressure inherent in accomplishing or letting go.

Ah. See? You’ve just invested a moment for yourself to read these ideas. Maybe this gave you an opportunity to breathe.

Here’s a permission slip for you to recognize your relief. Give it a moment to sink in. You finished X and now it’s time for you to pat yourself on the back and savor the completion. It’s a nice emotion to feel and recognize. How does relief serve you and what does it feel like?  

Because we are feeling beings, we are living beings…

If you would like to explore more feelings in the Stayin’ in Touch book, click here for more information.

You can also find this book on Amazon!

Image by Kevin Phillips from Pixabay