By Bonnie Rigsby —
Hi y’all! It’s Bonnie Rigsby.
What do we do? We help people with stress. Chronic stress can be quite toxic, and is a common cause for Depression, Suicide, Mental Illness, Heart Disease, etc., etc., etc.! I strongly believe in being proactive when you can to prevent excess heartache. If you can learn to manage your own stress, especially when you’re young, you won’t carry it for the rest of your life. Many of us adults are “hot messes” because we’ve held onto pain from childhood and a lifetime of hurt. When you learn to clear it, you’ll welcome more joyful opportunities along your path!
Let’s start with a virtual “show of hands.” Anyone who has stress, raise your hand now…DUH! 😉 No, I can’t see you, but I trust that you’re all raising your hands. My guess is some of you are so stressed, that you might be raising both hands, both legs, etc.! LOL, I get it! It’s part of our human experience to deal with stress and sometimes it helps to know that we’re not alone on this roller coaster of life.
My favorite actor and movie conveys a message of dealing with life perfectly. Picture Forrest Gump in his thick Southern drawl accent saying, “Mama always said that life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re gonna get!” Doesn’t this just hit the nail on the head? It says it all about what it’s like to be a human. Everything may be going great for you, and all of the sudden something awful happens that makes you feel like someone has punched you in the gut. Truth–Yes, life can be unfair! No matter who you are, an Instagram influencer who may portray that life is perfect on Social Media, the smiling person next to you, anyone you think has a perfect life I assure you DOES NOT. They may have simply found a way to cope with this natural roller coaster of life OR they may be afraid to expose their truths, covering up hidden pains, trying to avoid them or make others like them. We don’t have a crystal ball in our pocket…wait maybe this quirky lady does, LOL! In all seriousness, since we can’t see when and how the “hits” will come, the best we can do is lean on each other, learn more about who we are and find coping tools that work specifically for our own unique “soulprints.” Just like we all have fingerprints that identify us, our souls have unique marks that ONLY belong to us and our purpose/mission on this Earth. We need to find ways to re-build our foundation so that we can be better prepared when the unfair “hits” come. This practice of emotional resilience will allow our unique “soulprints” to continue shining brightly!
In this world of heavy Social Media usage, it’s easy to get caught up in admiring someone online who is making tons of money doing everyday things and their life appears to be the perfect roadmap of what you’re striving for…Make no mistake about it, we ALL have heavy baggage to carry. Contrary to popular belief, no one has a completely rosy, stress-free life! We must shift our thinking to the reality of the life experience. This being said, I believe we’re here to help each other, even in small but meaningful ways. Our human/spiritual connections are so strong, we can literally feel each other’s pain without saying a word. Have you ever been in a grocery store line in a cheery mood, and all of the sudden you feel a strong sadness come over you? Your awareness increases and you realize that the person in front of you (only a few feet away) is visibly sad. In reality, their “auric field” or “energetic chakra system” is literally permeating into yours, and the strong emotional connection is palpable. Our emotional experiences are shared so that we can help each other find ways to cope. In that spirit, I’d like to do my part and share a very personal story. I hope my story inspires you to find your own beauty, reminds you that you’re not alone, and gives you the strength to conquer your fears, find your emotional resilience and “rock your authentic vibe!”
True story and teachable moment…When you look at the above picture, what do you see? I’ll tell you what I see…A 5 year-old girl with authentic joy. You can see this little girl is happy and joyful. You can visibly see the light in her eyes. She doesn’t care what people think. She’s rocking her genuine vibe and not worried about it. This, I believe is the state that most of us adults or humans are trying to get to or trying to get back to.
Now, I’m gonna flip the script a little bit. Here’s a different picture to reflect on. Same little girl, just 5 short years later…
Now, what do you see? This 10-year old girl is about to start middle school. As you all know, that is a tough age! You’re already going through puberty, your body is changing, you don’t know what’s going on. It’s hard enough at this age going through the everyday changes. Take a closer look at her eyes, what do you see? The light is not there anymore. I see a defeated young woman who is miserable and feels awful about herself. Sad eyes, forcing a fake smile, she doesn’t want to be who she is. Well, let me tell you something, this is me…This little girl around puberty age started to lose her hair. See the hump in the back of her head? That was the “bald zone.” I was having more than just a bad hair day, LOL! 😉
How hard would it be to go to school every day with bald spots in your head for all to see? Doctor after doctor, no one could help find a cure or cause. I couldn’t cover it up, it was very visible. I still had to go to school. Normal middle school is hard enough, dealing with the mean bullies, teasing that you typically get at this age and stage; “I don’t like what you say,” “I don’t like what you do,” “I don’t like the way you look.” You feel like you can’t do anything right at this age, am I right?!
Amongst so many personalities and experiences, you now have the added “joy” of being bullied for a VERY OBVIOUS physical issue, WOOHOO, lucky me! Then, you go to school from the age of 10-15 with bald spots in your head…I never fit in, my self-esteem was completely non-existent, I had none! I didn’t like who I was, I didn’t want to be authentic because guess what? I was made fun of so much that I hated who I was! Ya know? I needed to find my way out. Life’s a journey…Our stories can be rough sometimes right? No matter the difficult journey, there is hope for you! The conclusion of my story continues on my next post. You’ll see my growth and the light at the end of the tunnel. Stay tuned…
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Bonnie Rigsby is the Director of Sunshine/Owner of Let Your Soul Breathe, LLC
Specializing in Stress Management, Reiki Energy Healing, Life Coaching and Student Empowerment Curriculums