Today we ask that you relax.

There is nothing you experience, nothing about your life, that will not improve by relaxing.  There is no situation you are dealing with that will not improve by relaxing.

Many of you are taught that relaxation is not good.  It is seen as the enemy of productivity.  To relax is considered “lazy.”  You are only allowed to relax when your work is done, and you are safe and secure.

For many, that moment will never come.

When will your work ever be done?  When will you ever feel safe and secure?

When you retire?  But you will not be safe and secure then.  You will always have something to feel insecure about.  You will worry about your health, or your children, or your money.  There will always be something eating away at you, stopping you from relaxing.

That is why if you are ever going to relax, it must begin right now, in this moment.  And if you can learn to relax right now, in this moment, you will always have the ability to relax.

There is no problem you face that relaxation will not aid.

Consider it.  Do you solve problems best when you are tense, panicky, and sleep-deprived?

Or do you solve problems best when you are relaxed and calm, and refreshed after a good night’s sleep?

How does your body feel when it is tense?

Doesn’t your body feel much better when it is relaxed?

Many of you believe that bad things will happen to you if you are not hypervigilant.

But this is not so.

Many of you believe that if you relaxed, you would be sloppy, and not stay on top of things.

But this is not so.

In fact, relaxed people are on the whole far more productive than their nervous, anxious counterparts.

And in a crisis situation, who do you want around?  A tense, panicky person?  Or a calm, relaxed person?

Relaxation does not mean “falling asleep at the wheel.”  It does not mean “screwing around, not getting anything done.”

Relaxed people are actually far more alert and present than tense, nervous people.

A relaxed person can accomplish in one hour what it might take a nervous person ten hours to do.

This does not mean, get down on yourself because you are an anxious person.

On the whole, your society trains people to be nervous and hypervigilant.  It is not your fault, and the people who conditioned you to be nervous did not know any better.

This is all about what you can do right now.

And one very useful thing you can do right now is to retrain yourself to have a different attitude about relaxation.

Relaxation is a very good thing.

Relaxation is never irresponsible.  In fact, relaxing is always a highly responsible act.

If you truly believe this, it will change your life for the better.

Relax.  Relax.  Relax.