pix credit*

My morning began with delight and chaos which threw off my regular journal writing schedule. I was cuddling with laughing, singing children instead of writing in my garden. I'm clear about the value of my choice.

Later in the day I attended a social/professional luncheon. While there I felt strong social pressure on me from a group of people to play a role that is not who I am. I didn't like it. I fought against a stiffening I felt building in me. I was building and fighting not to build an inner wall around who I am. I relaxed as I moved away from them but couldn’t when I was with them. With them I was polite, pleasant and guarded behind a mask. If the façade slipped a little, and I felt the real me emerging, I felt stress in my body.

A powerful recovery guideline is, withdraw from what shuts me down and approach what opens me up. I followed this guideline and left the gathering early.