hi twink,
I thought about your post a lot. It has been a long time since I have felt stress and feeling like I was,"living as fast as I can" thing.

My experience was to look at my life and change things. Faced the fact that I am a very mellow person who needed to make my experience on earth as uncomplicated as  possible.

I had worked for the school district for many years. Politics, geez it was so bad I did not go to the staff room. I even ate lunch with the kids.

I taught classes including adaptive pe. Tutored many many kids. NEVER had a problem with the students, even the tough ones.

The adults were mostly stuck up, did not like kids, and were there becuz they went to college to be a teacher then found out not long after they knew nothing about kids.

So can you see in your job where you can make it a job for you? Where you can do things more efficient, or not take on too much? Or maybe consider a different position?

I always kept my home calm. NO clutter, not so you could not relax but  a place that was so I knew where things were. Whenever a stress came up, i fixed it asap. Little things like getting my refrigerator latched on the outside so Rosalee my pot bellied pig would not open it and eat everything. Or put in a new lightbulb.

I will think about, what is bugging me,then I change it. sometimes we get so busy and stressed we will conk our bare knee on the AC that we just brought in, and not up yet.....after the second chunk out of my knee, I thought for petes sake move the dumb thing over! 

Just had to move it a foot over...duh. But when we are stressed in so many directions, we forget the little things. But they are vital to take care of.
Finish things when you start them, put things back when you are done, pay bills asap, don't put off stuff. and say, no, sometimes.

Are you wearing comfy cloths? Are you eating and drinking only good stuff? I know it all sounds simplistic but they way you live is your base. We all need a foundation. Somewhere we  can go that is how we need it to be.

I used to go stay at my mothers and we would go hiking and or go to dog shows and laugh at the fluffs on the poodles bums.

You exercised. Where were you? Were you walking somewhere nice, did you look at the skyline? clouds trees? do you see babies and kids and smile at them?

My thing is grieving. however since I have put sooo many things into place and changed things, it is so much better. Of course it is hard to have a new  man. When we don't have our foundation, or we are not level...we are not comfortable in our own skin.

You went to church, I found when I felt fear, I was not being faithful. What message did you get from the meeting?
I could be in the best space, around great people and feel so pushed, so pressured.
Finally I learned to say, oh I am never in a hurry.I don't mind standing in line, I like it becuz i don't have to do anything.Made me slow down. Things take as long as they do.

Ya take a breath and say the serenity prayer and apply it to your life.

Hope this sparked something. Maybe ask yourself,"How do I really want to live?"

love,debilyn