Getting through in odd environments

Hello beautiful people!

My very first post of the year. And it is all about my recent trip to Vegas!
Aham, no not really, it’s about what happened in Vegas. ‘Cause what happens in Vegas does not stay in Vegas! 😀 hehe
Silly jokes apart, this post is about something that shaped my entire 2012 and in retrospect I see how important it is to keep constantly practicing it.

Self-care.

An uber-understated essential little tool to help us walk thru life with happiness and peace within.

So about Las Vegas. This was my very first time there. It never appealed to me, my gut feeling always holding me from going there. Hubby is passionate about that city thou and he finally convinced me to go take a peek at it.
Ah, my gut feelings are always right on. Las Vegas is SO not my cup of tea!

Lots of peeps out there are always talking about it and counting down the days to their next trip to Vegas. It would be easier if I shared that feeling – a lot of friends and family LOVE  it.
But I felt very depressed there. Very drained. The casinos, the flashing lights, the robotic sounds of each machine, the smoke and… my nose! It was burning non-stop! Oh, geeessshh, not fun, not fun at all. Day in, day out, going down the elevators same thing happening all the time. Same flashing lights, same annoying repetitive little noises, the smoke and heaviness in the air. Peeps clicking, clicking and clicking the buttons with a far away look in their faces. I felt very drained. Not being able to tell if it was day or night. All the same. The same drained feeling.

Ah, you may have notice that I am not a gambler 😀 So clearly, why would Vegas be my cup of tea, right? hehe

So, at some point, I decided I needed to change things, change MYSELF. It was early afternoon, we had just finished lunch and I couldn’t handle the environent any longer. I was already feeling exhausted. {And no, I didn’t party hard the night before, in case you are wondering about that 😀 } I really needed a break! I needed to take care of myself to survive in there. I felt shrinking by the minute and getting crabbier and crabbier.

And so I did. Up the elevator again, into the blissfully quiet room 8008. Aaaahhhhh, relief! My nose was already feeling a bit better; burning a little less. I lay down and enjoyed the quietness for a bit. Feel asleep. Feeling recharged I decided to read a few more pages of a book. {By the way, on my way to Vegas I was reading “The Power of Now” by Eckhart Tolle, which probably didn’t help setting my mind up for the Vegas buzz 😀 }

After two hours into my “retreat” I felt completely reenergized, and ready to endure some more. I had a totally different attitude and felt more open to the surroundings again. Hubby knows me, hehe, and he was ready to take me for another walk outside, to see some more of the “fantasy-land” buildings.

Such a relief to be able to feel positive again.

The thing is thou, that being in such a not-so-favorite environment, my HappyGauge gets empty quick. Lots of self-care-mini-retreats are needed to keep it filled. I certanly felt irritated often but filling up my HappyGauge helped me watch myself to not get too deep into CrabbyLand and to not bark or poke hubby out of the blue.

My whole 2012 was all about self-care. Watching myself, observing, checking if what I was doing was filling me up and making me happy. If not, I would ask myself  “Is it necessary to be done or am I doing it just out of habit?”  If it was necessary, I would consciously choose to nurture myself first, take care of my needs, find something that would lit me up so my HappyGauge could be filled again helping me go thru daunting tasks.

And that way I did Vegas! HA! I did it! I did it! 😀 A totally odd environment for me that sucked up most of my energy but ended up with fun highlights after good doses of self-care. Really!

I will share it all on my next post.

Take care, I really mean it peeps! Take care of yourself and see you soon! ❤