"Stop Abusing Your body!"

Those were the words my massage therapist used, as soon as he started working on me.

What in the world was he talking about? I took reasonably good care of myself. I didn't  drink alcohol or smoke, never did drugs, ate healthy vegetarian meals, exercised when possible and had a minimum of eight hours sleep every night.

"You abuse your body through worry, which leads to stress and these are the results," he said, working on the tight knots on my shoulders as I cringed in pain. 

As he continued to massage my so called abused body,he explained things I already knew, but it made a stronger impact hearing it from this Chinese man, who I now considered, a man with the golden touch.

"Stop worrying about your family. They have their own lives to live and they have to learn their lessons through trial and error. The only one you should be worrying about is yourself."

"But life is stressful and I want everyone to be happy..."

"Where there is joy, there is sorrow, where there is sadness, there is happiness, stop trying to fix everything, go with the tide, not against it," he said gently.

"Does worrying about a problem or situation solve the problem, make it dissapear? No. All it does is increase your stress level which in turn affects your digestive system, gives you headaches, sleepless nights, high blood pressure and  endless other ailments."

"How do I stop worrying?" I asked.

"Do the things you love to do, things that make you happy. It will help divert your mind from worrying about things you have no control over."

"That's easier said than done," I said, trying to stifle a scream as he worked on my leg."

"Anger, so much bottled up anger," he said, ignoring my pain and continued working on releasing toxins, which he said had blocked the  free flow of energy through my body.

I lay there silently, digesting all that he said. Yes, I did have a tendency to stress over things, even when I knew I couldn't change a thing and that made me angry with those responsible for the problem.

He seemed to have read my mind, because he added,

"You can't control other people or try to change what you dont like about them. You only have control over your attitude and how you react to them."

I knew I had to stop trying to fix everything, make every wrong, right, hoping to make everyone happy in the bargain. There was only so much I could do and if my dear ones are important to me, I have to remember I am important too and need to  love myself, just as much, as I loved them.

"Be kind to yourself, your body will love you for it," he said, with a smile,
as I emerged one hour later, relaxed, rejuvenated and felt like a million bucks.
  Before I left the Spa that day, I made a promise to myself.

With immediate effect I was going to delete the word 'worry' , 'stress' and 'neglect' from my dictionary. I was going to focus on all that was wonderful in my life and face any problem that came my way, with a more positive outlook, because end of the day ' what will be, will be.'

 It would take a lot of practise and discipline, but it was something I had to do. I owed it to myself.

If this meant, taking an hour or even half hour everyday to do something for myself, I would incorporate it as part of my routine, till it became second nature.

So now I ask you.....have you been abusing your body? If so, stop short changing yourself - you deserve better, because YOU are important too.