Transitioning back into routine after a holiday can be difficult - Daxa Patel

The body senses our feelings. The past week I have had a cold and even the slightest discomfort can impact on our energy levels. While walking my German Shepherd the other morning, I found myself out of steam and energy.

Now anyone who has a dog in their world will know, come rain or snow, walking duty does not change. Dog trainers say how relaxed we are will impact on how well we connect and walk with our dog.

You see, it is not about training the dog, it is about training the handler. I am not a fan of the word owner, as I do not own my dog, though legally I do. There is a lovely word the Hawaiian people use, and it is Kahu, meaning those of us who have a dog are their protector or custodian or beloved attendant. Beloved attendant means I cannot lose my composure when my dog decides he wants to pull me, clearly there is a fault at my end, and not with him.

There is a sacred space within me that I must protect at all costs, and that is my peace, my balance, or my sanctity. When this is disturbed our immune system is weakened and the body manifests dis-ease to give us a nudge. We may find we lose patience; we may say something we regret, or we may do something we wish we had not. I am not a medical expert but as a lay person I see the connection between our feelings, the body, and our energy levels, and how this transfers energy.

Going away from our routine lives has a purpose if we care to learn from it and it gives us on return an opportunity to reset any aspects of our lives within our control, that we may wish to change or improve on.

The first few days after a holiday we stay in the groove, then we fall back into our daily lives, and find ourselves drawn to the ‘old’ and ‘established’ unhealthy habits. Unhealthy is not just all about eating unhealthy highly processed foods, it is about our lifestyle, and our thinking as well as our behaviour.

My journey on earth is to learn, share and love. My life is valuable, and I can only add value to others if I value myself.

Protecting inner sanctity and peace requires a certain discipline. For example, in the morning, until I have had the chance to thank God, the universe, chat to my dad, and my soul through my journal conversations, I do not touch my mobile phone. This good habit of mine slid and I had to bring it back to protect the sanctity, sanity, and energy levels.

We all know the mind runs riots if we do not rein it in, equally we function mostly in autopilot unless we pause, and reflect.

Coming back from holiday then going straight back into my usual life is what I did, and before I knew it, the cold and cough forced me to hit pause so I could find my balance and conserve my energy. Every opportunity we get setting aside time to pause and reflect can add enormous value to how we operate and interact with others. When our wellbeing app on the mobile phone is routinely ignored just like the wake-up alarm, we must really question what is our real intention for the day?

I wrote this morning after feeling remorseful for my lack of patience when my dog was just being himself, I am his Kahu, and I am the responsible one. So, I had a sleepless night on account of my irritable cough which means I was tired before we started our morning walk and when my dog decided to pull me, I thought he was trying to be clever. How foolish does that sound but isn’t that how we operate many times during our daily interactions with others? I know I do. When we have this overwhelming urge to blame others for what we are feeling it might help to just rein ourselves back to us, and our inner sanctum, as often not giving enough space for ourselves is the reason we fall short with our dealings with others.

For me, the lesson learned is my inner peace is my inner strength. This comes when I pause and delete at appropriate times to keep my sacred peaceful state of being as clean as possible. It is not necessary to react or respond. Sometimes silence can be a helpful way to create a valuable space to appreciate our daily blessings at home. We can make our soul and home a retreat. It is a matter of choice.

Daxa Manhar Patel is a leadership coach, author and solicitor.