Avoiding Heart Shrinkage...

I've recently become a fan of Amanda Gore, motivational speaker (if you put her name into You Tube you'll find a bunch of short clips of her talking, she's funny, insightful and um, motivational).  In one of her talks she tells her audience about how angry and negative thinking has been shown to physically impact heart health.  In fact, it's the leading cause of heart disease!



I posted this video on Facebook a couple of weeks ago (or maybe it was last week, my memory is all jumbled up of late).

It's really got me thinking.  I've become very aware of my own negative thought patterns, and in particular how I respond to things other people "say" on Facebook and Twitter.  I often feel quite "stabby" - as a friend likes to put it!  I've become a lot less able to let things slide off my back.  I realise this is because life is really tough at them moment and I've toughened up to deal with it, BUT my heart toughening up is a bad, bad thing!

So, I'm desperately trying (and failing 3/4s of the time) to have a head-heart connection...



When I see stuff that causes me to feel stabby, I'm trying to send love.  Gotto say, I think this is something that really takes a LOT of practice.  I'm very much an "in my head" kind of person.  There are an awful lot of Phoofers out there (people who like to extinguish other people's joy and enthusiasm - I've been one of those people a lot, something I now wish to change), like all the people shitting all over the Breast Cancer Awareness games on Facebook.  Sure they're games, they don't actually DO anything, except maybe just make people think about the fact that breast cancer is a reality, and maybe even take a moment to "send love" which boosts their immune system and those of the people they're sending love to.  Where as all the Phoofers are out there shrinking their own hearts and sucking the joy out of community participation.  Ah, yes, I feel the stabby coming on again...  Send love, send love...

Amanda says in one of her talks that Aussies are particularly good at making other people feel like they're nothing and what they do is worth less than they might think it is.  Aussies love to deflate other people - we call it tall poppy syndrome, but really it's not about deflating egos, it's about egos deflating other people's good self-esteem.  We can choose to build each others self-esteem which encourages more positive action and boldness of action, and I think I want to be part of that force in the world.  The force that builds other people up, rather than tearing them down.  I've been part of the force that tears down and realised it has affected me negatively as much as anyone else I've projected the negativity at - probably more!

It's easy to be cynical and sarcastic - especially when it seems to be the popular trend in this day and age.  It's takes a lot more commitment and skill to be positive and encouraging and to send love when you feel stabby.  I'm hoping to feel a lot less stabby as I learn to forgive and send love!

So this is me ZOOTing everyone and making that head-heart connection because it's good for me and it's good for those people around me...