Breathing Space Therapies Newsletter

Hi Everyone

It has been an interesting summer so far in Spain and one which has brought its fair share of challenges in certain respects. This is my stress relief and, although I work hard here, there is plenty of time to enjoy the beach, great company, culture, music, nature and so many things this wonderful environment has to offer. It's our little corner of paradise.

But like most countries at present, Spain finds itself at a difficult crossroads financially and there are some notable changes in the village we live in. In some cases, this brings people closer together and in some, sadly, it creates tension and division.

Of course, it's not just this year. I think in small villages the world over, there are politics with a small 'p'. And maybe my observations are more noticeable this year, simply because we're now lucky enough to be accepted as 'part of the furniture' and we're not viewed so much as visitors or 'estranjeros'. However there seem to me this year to be more petty squabbles and people seem to be more easily disturbed.

One particular example of this came rather shockingly last week at the village's annual beach football final. This is held the first week in August as a memorial to one of the sons of the village who died of cancer at the age of 24.

The local team were winning 10-1 and everyone was having a rare old time. The Spanish know how to do 'noisy' and they know how to have a good time as we witnessed when they won the World Cup, but I digress.

With one minute to go, it was all but done and everyone was ready to celebrate, when an altercation occurred between the local star player and a player from the other side. They started trading punches and, to our surprise, the next thing we knew, players from both teams all rushed in to join in the fight - followed, ever more shockingly by many parents of the players and people from the village.

In the end, the police had to be called in to break it up, both teams were disqualified, the organisers were embarrassed, the sponsors and spectators shocked and disappointed and there was no celebration to follow. The likes of this have never been seen in our little corner of Paradise and it saddened many of us to see this kind of behaviour.

The point of me sharing this story is three-fold:

1. It demonstrates to me how easy it is, when things are already stressful, for very small incidents to trigger major ones and how quickly they can become out of control. How many of us do that in our own lives, with our personal relationships and disagreement? How easily do simple things flare up into major arguments about tiny and insignificant things because something bigger has been building up? I strongly recommend that you introduce a half hour period of breathing and relaxation into your life EVERY DAY. It helps maintain a calmer and more balanced exterior and how it pays to be so careful about how we spend our time and who and what we spend it with.

2. Are you spending time focusing on things that make you unhappy, dissatisfied and angry? If so, wouldn't it be more fun and wouldn't it serve you better to focus on things that make you feel good about yourself and your life? Choose to spend your time and energy on things which bring light and fun into your life, to balance the times when it's more difficult to do so.

3. No matter how beautiful a place or person is, the world is made of both positive and negative matter. This is the very nature of everything we see and this is what creates balance or neutrality. If YOUR focus is regularly on the negative and you find yourself quick to 'rise to the bait', perhaps you could use some help in getting the balance right for you, so that you become less critical and more focussed on what works for you?

When balance is our 'default' state, things are much easier to cope with - even when challenges arise. If you're interested in learning more about how you can achieve balance in your life, let me know because

WHEN YOU REACH THE STATE OF BALANCE FOR YOU, PARADISE IS WHEREVER YOU ARE AND WHOEVER YOU ARE WITH AT THE TIME.

Remember, if you have a subject that you would like me to cover or have any comments or stories you would like to share, drop me a line on annie@breathingspacetherapies.com or call me on 0772 581 8884.