What the lion king taught me about anxiety...

​Has anyone else ever watched a movie they loved as a kid and caught a whole new meaning to different aspects of the script? The kids’ movies that keep children engaged but have profound lessons for the adults watching also?
 
I remember watching Lion King after reading The Power of Now and it taking on a completely new meaning. As a child, I was always so perplexed when Rafiki kept hitting Simba on the head with his stick. It never made sense and I couldn’t work out the purpose. I had seen a similar thing in movies where monks would be meditating and be swung at with sticks catching them before making contact and still no clue.
 
It wasn’t until reading The Power of Now, climbing out of my own thoughts and mind that I realised, all this life I’d been missing. I was ‘in da past’ as Rafiki would say. Simply lost in my thoughts. Obviously very glad I didn’t have to be swung at with a stick at unpredictable times to learn this but how crazy. Unbeknownst to be I was introduced to the first pillar of escaping anxiety, Presence, when I was just 5years old.
 
You see the point is when we allow ourself to get distracted by our thoughts of the past or the future we completely miss the present. We might not hear the prelude to the stick swinging at us.
 
The one thing I noticed when I understood this concept and really committed to increased mindfulness was how I seemed to have more time. All those situations where I’d be ‘running late’ and think I didn’t have time to check my hair in the mirror before leaving the house or sit down to eat my breakfast were all a ruse. You see when I slowed down and actually did those things despite ‘running late’ I always seemed to end up on time.
 
I found if I was better able to be fully present in each moment I had way more brain space. Rather than thinking of a thousand things at once and giving each 10% of my attention, I saved time getting things right the first time. How many times have you burnt toast after popping it down for a second time only to be distracted by your phone? Then resulting in making toast twice as long. Or is this just me?  
 
You see slowing life down so I can be more in tune with my senses means I’ll smell the toast before it burns. I’ll hear the footsteps of the person holding the stick. I’ll hear it whip through the air long before it hits me in the side of the head. So why don’t you try it? Be like Simba and learn to be more present. See how many sticks you dodge and how much time you have to gain.
 
Want to learn more about my pillars to exit anxiety? Well keep an eye out my new online course Ease Anxiety is launching later this month!!
 
Alternatively if you can’t wait, reach out and book a one on one.
 
Slow down and be kind ✌️