Tag: shift

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Mistakes

I am curious about something.

Part of me wishes you were right here so we could talk about this. But from what I can see, many of you who read these posts, live on the other side of the world.

I strongly believe it doesn’t matter where any one of us lives when it comes to being human. We have such similar tendencies, one of which seems to be the idea that it is possible to make “mistakes”.

What I want to ask you is, what if we gave ourselves permission to accept and believe that there are no mistakes? What if we opened our minds to the idea that everything that happens, including our own actions, fits in a grander order, one we generally fail to see? What if, we extended grace to ourselves?

You might be thinking that I’m trying to give us a way out of the harmful, hurtful actions we’ve taken. I’m not.

Each time we do something that hurts someone, we can take responsibility, apologize and try to make amends.

These aren’t the mistakes I’m talking about.

I’m talking about the ones that weigh us down so heavily we can barely manage to move. The ones we keep hidden or camouflaged or blame others for. The ones that weaken us, hold us, harm us.

What if we shifted our perspective and believed in the grander scale of things, where we could properly fit everything that happens? What if we could see how beauty can come from any action, any “mistake” that is made?

I’m not saying it would be easy. It wouldn’t.

What I am saying is that it would be worth it.

Imagine if mistakes we’ve made disappeared, even if it took a minute, an hour, a day, a week for it to happen. Imagine how light we would feel. Imagine if every time you felt you’d made a mistake, you replaced the feeling with love and told others you were sorry if you hurt them. Wouldn’t all of the pain and suffering of our imagined mistakes vanish?

It seems to me that what we perceive as mistakes are in fact golden opportunities. We can be right with the world. We can feel light and be the light.

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Worry

I have an idea for you.

It’s something to try next time you find yourself worrying about something. I’m going to assume if you are reading this that you are now or have in the past, worried about something. I feel this is a safe bet.

I tried this recently and it actually worked, so I thought I would pass it along to you. I know at first glance it is going to seem pretty simple. But I believe the best things in this life of ours are simple. We’re often the ones who make them complicated.

Here it is.

The next time you are worried about something (fill in the blank), ask yourself this question:

“What can I do about it right now?”

Here comes the tricky part. After you ask yourself the question…take action. Do something productive.

The trap I can fall into, and it may happen to you too, is that I focus all of my energy in unproductive ways and rarely move forward with any action. Silly really. Action is the only way to change the present. When I shift my perspective and choose some form (any form) of action, I see the whole world differently. And it changes my sense of worry into hope. Maybe it will work for you too.

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Good or Bad

I am wondering something.

Let’s say that instead of deciding right away, what if we choose to exercise an automatic time delay before we labeled anything as good or bad?

What do you think would happen?

I have a suspicion that I would profit from this experiment. Rather than applying a quick label I might see that it takes time to know for sure.

Even then, I might not be correct.

Do you have any interest in giving this a try?

Suppose you wrote down the situation and your immediate response and set it aside, promising to come back to it “later”.

And suppose, just for one time, you watched what happened, like an observer without an opinion. You simply stood off to the side and waited…for a day, a week, a month, a year. And when the time period was up, you reevaluated.

I’ve tried this from time to time and it always astonishes me. Almost every time I learn something profound. Almost every time I recognize how far from the truth my first response was and how much more I have to learn.

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Life Plan

This is going to be short, but don’t let that fool you. If you give it a moment you may find something truly life changing. I say that because that’s what it is for me.

What if the plan was always to leave with what you came here with…nothing.

I sometimes get caught up with what I possess here on earth and the truth is I leave empty handed, except for one thing…my spirit. That I take with me.

I arrived on earth open and ready to be filled. But I don’t think my purpose was ever to be filled to overflowing with the ‘things’ of this world. They take up too much physical space.

Rather, I believe I came to create and experience connections, deep relationships with others and the world. Those things fill me without taking up space.

There is freedom here. A liberation. A detachment from the weight of the ‘things’ I own (or that own me). A shift in perspective to realize I am going to leave this world with nothing…except what my spirit brings with me…which is the love I found here.

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Complaining Or Not

This is what I was thinking recently.

I need to release my complaints in a different way. I feel justified about expressing them, which ultimately hurts me, because the way I live and express my life either supports and enhances my life OR it creates suffering for me.

I recognize it is my choice.

I am in charge of my attitude and reactions, not a victim or a bystander.

If I truly wish to live a joy-filled life, which is what I say I want, I have to ask myself, how is this going to happen if I fill my time by finding constant fault with the world?

If I looked at my life as having limited time, say 85 years, why would I want to spend any of that time needlessly suffering by choosing to find fault with it?

Every moment I spend complaining is a moment of suffering, and it is something I am doing to myself.

It would be such a wise decision to shift my perspective based on what I really want.

What I really want is to create and experience the maximum amount of joy during my life. This means releasing my need to complain and find, discover, and reveal things that enhance my sense of wonder, curiosity, peace, and joy.

The constant choice is up to me.

Today I’m going to let go of all things that cause me suffering and embrace those which create and enhance my joy.

Today I’m going to be my own best friend.

I invite you to join me, if it feels right to you.

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Time to Reconsider

I have many teachers in my life, some exist in proximity to me, others are farther away. Each of them reminds me of things I want to learn to release or to be at peace with. They are predominantly things that irritate, annoy or upset me.

I guess by now I ought to be used to this, but I’m not.

If I am not careful, I get sucked into their orbit and react in kind. This does not serve me.

To be at peace, I know I need to release any attachment to my version of what is ‘right’. I wonder to myself, how is this done?

At first glance, I’m tempted to accept and embrace what my culture has taught me, which is that I deserve to feel the way I do, about anything. If I can find someone who shares my feelings or who otherwise supports my right to feel the way I do, I have no incentive to make any changes, despite the amount of conflict and internal suffering I experience.

Feeling justified is an end unto itself and it halts all other thoughts and holds me in place.

The other thing it does is it creates a host of troublesome feelings inside me and ultimately keeps me from any sense of peace or freedom.

It’s too high a price to pay.

My feelings create a crack in the doorway, a place where some light comes in. And when the light hits my feelings, I sense there is the possibility for change.

Perhaps my view of the world is wrong. Perhaps there’s another way to view my situation that would be better for me. Perhaps I don’t have to stay in the rut created by constant reinforcement.

This feels like good news to me. I try to open my eyes and heart further. What change could I make that would allow my life to be more peaceful, contented, even joyful?

The first thing that occurs to me is that I could remind myself that there are numerous ways to live in this world. This translates as, my way may not be the best or only way and others’ views might make more sense.

It takes some inner strength to say this out loud to myself. For whatever reason, it’s challenging for me to think I have it wrong, but what a wonderful opportunity it is for me to entertain this idea.

This whole concept is one of suspended belief and judgement. A sort of time out or pause, so that I can reconsider what I believe.

It’s a mind opening invitation I can give myself.

If I sit back and think about any given situation from a neutral position, maybe I’ll see a bigger picture, one that may offer me a wider view and provide space to see if what I believe still rings true.

It feels like a wise choice to make and I’m going to give it a try.

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What If Today…

I want to share something that I wrote for a dear friend of mine recently. It was intended to provide a spark to ignite a different way of viewing life. It was something that I needed. As with all of my posts, the thoughts and words arrive for me and then moved outward into the world.

The post is a dream in a way. Of a richer life. And of course, as it is in all cases, it depends on what we choose. I wonder to myself what will I choose, I wonder too, what will you choose?

What if today…

What if today…I choose to believe…to truly accept and embrace…that every single thing that happens to me is here to benefit me. What if I choose to see beyond appearances and all of the things that blind me. What if I give myself permission to believe that I am loved and cared for and know that everything I experience in my life is there to offer me something of value. That no matter what the world tells me, I can choose my own path. What if I embrace that my heart and spirit are the ones that set me free.

What if today I release any need to control the uncontrollable. What if I spruce up my ability to yield and let go of all the things that weigh me down…to set them aside and feel the precious liberation and the expansive freedom that choice creates.

What if today I collect all the most lovable parts of me and hug them and ask them to spread their joy throughout my body…my life.

What if today I allow every sorrow, pain, challenge, and concern to take the day off…to rest…what if I placed them all gently in the ocean of bliss that is my true home, where they can be washed clean.

What if, for one day, I give up needing to be in charge of anything and allow life to flow gently through me.

What if today…I breathe in peace and breathe out love.

What if today…is that day.

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Pumping Iron

When the idea first came to me, I thought it would be a clever way to have two disparate topics joined into one, because there are striking similarities.

I have discovered over time that clever titles don’t usually work, so I opted for what you see above.

When I go to the gym, I have lots of choices; free weights, machines, walking the indoor track, swim, sauna, hot tub, classes and more. Each one of these options offer me a workout designed to target specific body development.

According to physical trainers there are two basic ways to make improvements, for example with free weights, you can increase the number of repetitions or increase the amount of weight.

Each method allows for improvements and generally the choice you make ends up with the same outcome.

From what they told me, there are no short cuts. It’s as simple as that. You must do the work if you want the payoff.

It seems as though most people who are there at the gym understand this concept. They seem very committed, and their bodies tell the tale. Not everyone of course. There are those, like me, who are a ‘work in progress’. We’re there to challenge ourselves and see if we can accomplish the sometimes-unlikely goal of being in better shape.

For me, I need to know, or at least sense that the work I put in is going to pay off. So, I try to do my free weight routine and gradually increase the number of repetitions, in an attempt to increase my body’s ability to perform. My watch word is ‘gradually’.

One of my favorite things to do is to see if one part of my life connects to another, even if at first the idea seems preposterous.

Enter…pumping emotional iron.

Emotions can be quite unruly. They can jump up at any time and sabotage my day. This may happen to you too.

I find that sometimes I’m going along nicely with my life and BAM, I encounter an emotional response to something, and I veer off course. It’s generally not a pleasant experience and I don’t enjoy the shock or surprise when it happens.

But here’s the thing.

If I pay careful attention and consciously stop when my emotional response hits, I can name it. Once named I can sit with it and decide if it is truly how I want to respond. If it isn’t, I can consider my options and make a better choice.

Here’s where the parallel comes in for me.

Consciously making a choice is my first repetition. If and when the situation repeats, that becomes my opportunity to increase the number of repetitions. The more I consistently choose the better decision, the stronger I become.

I’ve tried this method, and it works for me. I’ve even substituted different emotions and situations and find that it still works.

I offer this as one possible way to gain some freedom from having emotions control us and hope it provides you with an idea that could enhance your life.

Remember, there are no short cuts…you have to do the work to get the payoff.

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A More Harmonious Way

I have a strong sense there is another way for me to live in this world, a more harmonious way.

I see more clearly now that I have been living from a sense of emptiness, led by an inner desire to fill myself up, to make myself whole.

I have accepted teachings that fostered this view, that preached lack and limit and that I am not enough…ever…and that I need what others have in order to be happy.

No amount of things others possess will make me whole.

When I live according to emptiness, with a need and desire to fill myself up, I have already chosen the long path.

When I see…feel…and know that I am already full…that every thing of value is already inside of me…it is then that my fullness becomes a sacred emptiness.

When I sit, without need for what others have, knowing they can not give me anything I don’t already possess…when I am in this place…I reveal my oneness, my connection to the divine, my fullness.

This is where joy lives.

I open to seeing that joy lives in all things when it lives in me first.

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I Know Who I Am

I want to share this with you. It’s sort of a poetic approach to releasing strong feelings that kept circling inside of me. I am grateful that I accepted this style of outlet and invite you to come along on a part of my journey. It may even stimulate you to walk a different path of your own.

This is called…I Know Who I Am…

I admit it…I feel some rage inside of me

From an early age…I knew I was not a number…or a letter…no matter what society…or schools said

And I refuse to be defined…in this way

Defined by a social security number or bank account balance

Or my GPA or retirement fund or my house’s worth

The part of me that has value…is far beyond any number or letter

Beyond my car’s trade in amount or my weight or my pledge at church

I am more than my…driver’s license number or the calories I eat or the number of friends I have…or any number or letter that attempts to limit me or contain me or define me

Ever since my beginning…others have chosen to judge me or control me or place me in a box…to identify me

I didn’t know any better…so I let them

I abided by their rules…submitted to their concepts…lived according to their choices

That’s where all of my rage comes from…from a deep place where conformity is required

Where the grades were assigned to me…limiting my growth and expansion

I’ve always carried an inner knowing that these attempts would ultimately fail

That I would break free…somehow…some way…some day

Because I am not only…earth’s child…I am heaven’s child too

Inside of me there exists…limitless possibilities…endless potential…and dreams wanting to be experienced

It’s up to me what I choose to believe…no one else gets a say…even if they think they do

I am a part of the divine…endowed with treasure…born into this world…open for exploration

I am not limited by other’s choices

I am not their number

I am my own heart and spirit

Looking inside…I find a place of peace…where rage’s fire is quenched

I can give back what others have placed upon me

They can keep it if they want it…but I can have my own peace

I can embrace…the truth of who I am…for I am a drop of the ocean of bliss that is heaven