Do you ever feel like life is just passing you by? You spend so much time running from the past, and looking towards the future, that you’ve forgotten how to enjoy the present? Life is precious. In a blink of an eye, that baby that fit so perfectly in your arms, is now graduating high school with a whole journey ahead. You look in the mirror and for the first time you see the laugh lines and wrinkles, and remember the last time you laughed so hard your belly hurt. We talk about living out our story, about writing our own chapters, pages, and sentences, yet; we fail to stop and take the time to actually read what we are writing…to let the joy, the love, the pain that fills each page, seethe into our souls so that we can embrace each moment that makes up our stories.

Living in the present, is a skill that is so often desired, and yet so rarely achieved. Take a deep breath. Close your eyes. Take in the oxygen that fills our lungs and gives us life. Feel the air around you...the gentle breeze, the warmth of a fire… Take in your environment. The noises, the smells, the feeling of the soft fabric of that blanket that is laying gently around your shoulders. Is it quiet? Is it loud? Now listen to your soul; to the thoughts that fill your mind. Are they helpful or hurtful? Are they positive or negative? Are they truth or are they lies? It is in these moments that we have the power and control to change that thought; to stop that negative self-talk from taking control of our minds. It’s an opportunity to say I am worthy. I am valued. I am loved…

Here at Second Story, we understand the challenges of making each moment count…the challenge of having the self-discipline it takes to practice mindfulness, and to practice replacing our negative thought patterns with truth about ourselves…truth that we eventually can come to believe and trust.

If you are at that place, where you need to slow down. You need to take it in. You need to pay attention to the sentences that fill each page of the chapters of your story.. to learn how to take those negative experiences, thoughts, the pain from the past, and the worries of the future, and move to living in the present; we are here to help you learn what it means to be an active participant in your life, an active author in your story, instead of listening to your story pass you by.

Give us a call today. We’d love to take this journey with you.

Kelly Crabb, LMSW

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