“Guys, do you know what I would give to have just ONE day of COVID quarantine again?!” That’s exactly what I said to a bunch of parents on the sidelines of my younger daughter’s soccer practice last week. What I didn’t know was that my oldest daughter would be diagnosed with COVID the very next day. And her sister two days later.
I’ll bet certain experiences quickly take you far away from ease. In those moments, it’s like a different part of you takes over, convincing you there’s only one way to handle the situation and there’s no choice but for it to be difficult, right? But what if it turns out we CAN choose ease more often than we believe?
Meet Blossom. At first, I thought she was simply the newest member of our family. But less than 24 hours later, I was ready to give her back to the shelter. I know this sounds horrible. But it’s true. You see, I didn’t yet know all she would go on to teach me.
Have you ever noticed that the harder we work to control exactly how we want clarity to show up for us, the less room we leave for it to slip into our lives with ease and in any number of ways?
Have you ever kicked into a pre-guest cleaning frenzy? You know, the kind that has you disregarding how hungry, exhausted or sick you are just so you can get the house in order before your visitors arrive?
Hi, all you lovely peeps! I was getting ready to send you a New Year’s card and realized I couldn’t possibly send you the one I was planning because, well, it didn’t feel true to me! SO I made you a video instead. 😁
I haven’t been able to stop thinking about this example of a fist and feelings since I first heard it! I bet you’re thinking, “Uh oh!”, but don’t worry. Nobody got punched in the end. 😊
Big feelings don’t always need to be worked out quickly in order to find relief. When the intensity of a feeling grows, it can be helpful to change the channel for a bit. Instead of working harder to find the fixes, change the channel, and do something else entirely. This ends up creating MORE space for the big feelings to come out as the real deal, rather than all wrapped up in a big, confusing reaction.
Can you feel how ‘shoulds’ shut you down? They cut you off from letting yourself dream bigger or beyond where you are. They convince you that it’s not ok to have what you want or to follow the trail of nudges guiding you to new aspects of you. They inhibit your connection with your Inner Compass, leaving your focus dependent upon outside expectations for your life.
Here we are in The Year of Endless Unknowns, facing yet more uncertainty, anxiety and fear following the recent death of RBG and the approaching US election. Our thinking minds are forever convinced that they can think their way out of the fear or find ways to make the anxiety go away. Yet this is THE hardest way to find relief from the discomfort that accompanies this anxiety and fear.
