Those of us who practice the principles of holistic health (balancing mind, body, and spirit) are often so caught up in “doing all the right things” until we miss the whole point of life.  Sometimes, we have to just stop striving and let it be.  Let life unfold.

There is much of life that we can control.  Those of us who write and speak about health and well-being are well versed in espousing the considerable control that we all have of mind, body, and spirit through our thoughts, through meditation, prayer, through better nutrition, and exercise.  But, the truth is, there is also much that we do not control.  We must become comfortable with that fact, and learn when to just watch our lives with curiosity and humility.

Holistic health philosophy does teach that there is a power greater than ourselves.  Call that power God, Higher Power, Life Force, Higher Consciousness, or whatever religious philosophy that has meaning for you, the essential element is that we trust that there is a power greater than ourselves guiding our lives toward fulfilling the purpose of our lives.  We need to keep our thoughts and life styles as healthy as possible in order to be able to fulfill our purpose, but we also have to be humble and admit that there are times when we just don’t have all the answers to our lives.  We are often in the dark as to what is going on behind the scenes and out of our conscious awareness.

I’m sure everyone has experienced events in their lives that appeared negative or even potentially devastating; but that event or circumstance led to something much better for you.  Often, what puzzles or even disturbs us is just a step toward something better.

It can cause us undue stress to always be trying to control the outcomes in our lives.  Yes, do all that you know to do to live your best life, take action when your intuition is telling you to take action; but when you come to a place when you realize that you are not in control, take a deep breath and let the situation go.  This surrender is like free-falling.  You can just relax, try to enjoy the ride, and see where you land this time.

Look forward to pleasant surprises in your life.

Christopher Knippers, Ph.D.,  July 6, 2016