Stepping Forward

Taking a step into the unknown is scary, risky, exciting, and full of possibility.  What gives me the courage to move forward?  I can remain paralyzed with my fears holding me back or I can take a chance that what lies before me will be greater than what lies behind me.  It’s a choice.

I choose to step forward despite the outdated warning signals that tell me it’s too dangerous.  I will acknowledge that my well-developed defense system has served me well in the past before I had more effective means of caring for myself.  Today, I can turn down the sensitivity of the alarm button as it’s just a bit too sensitive for my needs now.  I trust I can handle what this day holds and reach out for support if it becomes overwhelming.  Here goes…

Practicing Thanks-giving

There are so many blessed moments to acknowledge in a day, even though I often lean towards pointing out unmet needs, things that don’t go the way I want them to go, and sad times.  It’s my choice today:  focus on what I appreciate or become wrapped up in negative energy.  Choosing negativity leads to bitterness, envy, resentment, and depression; it’s a journey into darkness and dead end roads.  Choosing gratitude leads to appreciation, caring, connection, and peace; it’s a journey into happiness and satisfaction.

Today, I am grateful for having a choice.  I will mindfully recognize the blessings I have received and practice thanks-giving for those experiences of grace.  I offer the intention of bringing blessing to those around me as I move into this day.

Gratitude for Friends

Friends bring sweet connection and comfort to the heart.  They stand by you when you are misunderstood and take the extra effort to clarify mixed up messages without automatically judging your intent as negative.  They provide encouragement, support, and are the captains of your cheerleading squad.  They believe in you when you don’t believe in yourself.  I am grateful and indebted to the gifts my friends offer me.  My hope is that I extend to them the same caring presence I have experienced. 

Today I will acknowledge the invitations to connect others send me through their smiles and gentle heart touches while extending the same to those I encounter.

Mindful Living

There are days when life feels crowded by millions of details clamoring for attention and each one telling me it’s more important than the rest.  It’s easy to become overwhelmed and either go into overdrive or shut down.  I will blindly move through the day indiscriminately knocking off one item from my “To Do’ list after another wearing myself out or become paralyzed and thoughtlessly sit for hours in front of the TV or computer screen wasting time.  All or nothing becomes my motto.

Today, I choose to sit quietly breathing and grounding myself.  I will take time to be still and focus my attention; centering myself in now-ness and here-ness.   I can quiet the ‘hurry up’ voice within and move mindfully into this day with intention to focus on presence no matter how I choose to spend my time.

Standing in My Power

I can stand in the power of being ‘me’ today.  In the past, I may have felt too scared of being rejected to stand up for myself. I believed, at one time, I didn’t have much to say and what I did have to say no one was interested in hearing.  I thought my actions didn’t matter much and others achievements were much more important than my own.  I kept quiet and watched others live life.

Now, I recognize I have a right to speak up and voice an opinion; whether others agree with me or not my viewpoint matters.  I choose to live my own life rather than being delegated to a corner of silence.  I can take action when I feel moved to do so and acknowledge the accomplishments I reach.  I will feel my feet on the ground and stand up straight facing this day with dignity and pride.

Acknowledging What I Know

 

There are days when anxiety threatens to sabotage my efforts.  It’s at these moments that I choose to remember what I have learned.  I will breathe and notice my connection with life energy within and surrounding me that reaches out to nourish and sustain me.  I will recognize how I touch the earth at the places where the container of my body intersects with all that supports and grounds me.  I will acknowledge that I am alright in this moment and with all likelihood will be able to handle the next one and the next one after that.  I will rest peacefully with gratitude for this day of possibility and trust in my higher power.

Page of Promise

As this day dawns, I am curious about what it will hold.  It may hold blessing or curse, happiness or sadness, joy or sorrow, unique and novel change or stability and routine.  Who knows?  I will open my heart and mind to whatever comes with a desire that I might respond with compassion, humor and creativity.  In my life story, if a year has 365 pages, then today is page 22,859.  Hmmm, how many remarkable pages have already been written and today holds out another page of promise.

Role Playing

So many roles are played in a day:  parent, daughter, driver, eater, cousin, gardener, friend, sleeper, assertive communicator, listener, writer, boundary setter, tv watcher… the list is endless.  Some roles I practice more frequently than others.  Some I am better at and some not so great, however, I find myself expecting to play all of them perfectly from the first moment I take them on.  Then I become discouraged and put myself down or give up when I’m not. 

 

Today, I will whisper words of encouragement to myself remembering that I am in a process of learning and changing in each role.  I can try out new behaviors, fine tune the ones that work, and discard the ones that don’t.  Every day I become more proficient at the roles I play, yet there is always room for more growth.  I will patiently remind myself I am in process and not at the end of the journey. 

Faith Walking

Being a 'faith walker' means believing in what is not yet seen.  I have seen so many wonderful things I never dreamed were possible.  I had hoped and wished but felt unsure if they would come into actually being.  Not all but many have happened, not always as I expected but often better than expected. 

Today, I will remember this as I struggle to believe in what feels like the impossible.  I will let go of my fear and trust that all is working out as it’s meant to be.

Remembered Lessons of Hope

It pays to remember the successes I have experienced in the past, especially the ones that I thought I would never achieve.  As I face discouragement about current stressors and doubt that I can accomplish present goals, reflecting on my previous times of wasted angst helps to reassure me and bring peace.  Today, I will trust the journey I am on and place one foot in front of the other knowing I am moving forward even if I feel stalled out.  I choose to savor the journey instead of yearning for the destination.

Grateful Moments

I am grateful for my friends, who support, challenge, nurture, reassure, accept, and play with me. 

I am grateful for my work that satisfies intrigues, encourages, tests, and is a vehicle to provide for me.

I am grateful for my life to learn, grow, struggle, overcome, rejoice and experience love.

So many grateful moments today!

Checking out Assumptions

When I lack information, I tend to make up stories about others’ intentions.  I then believe these stories and they become fact to me.  Next, I go to battle because I think my assumptions are accurate and I feel justified or sometimes slighted.  This is a pattern of behavior that has not worked out so well.  Today, I have learned to check out my interpretations and judgments.  Occasionally I am spot-on but usually I find I have misunderstood what's being said.  When I mirror back what I’m perceiving I or how I experience another’s behavior, it creates understanding, connection, and furthers communication.  So, I will remember; “What I hear you saying is…” "The way I experience that is ..." 

Challenging Old Beliefs

 

What stories do I tell myself that no longer serve me?  These views were important to my survival at one point in my life, but hold me back now.  Today, I will challenge the belief systems that prevent me from thriving and affirm what I know is more accurate.

·       I am not good enough --- I am loved just as I am.  I can dare to be adequate.

·       I have to make others happy --- I am responsible for my own happiness and others are responsible for meeting their own needs.

·       I have to be perfect --- Everyone makes mistakes and mine have been valuable opportunities to grow and change.

·       I have to hurry up --- I can take my time, breathe, and be here and now.

·       I can’t show weakness ---  My vulnerability is a gift.  I am safe enough for now.

Intimacy vs. Isolation

Taking time to listen and acknowledge, to validate and empathize with compassion isn’t always at the top of my priority list.  I rush around trying to accomplish tasks and get jobs done.  Every day I miss out on interaction with those who cross my path because my focus isn’t on seeing, hearing and being but rather on doing and achieving. 

Today, I will remind myself frequently to slow down, breathe and stay present to those I meet in the moment.  I choose to value the gift of connection over the completion of a chore list.  I will stop, look and listen.

Relationship Investment

What to do when my needs and your needs collide?  Do I give up and give you what you want or do you yield to me?  Can we compromise or find a way for both of us to be satisfied?  Whose need is greater? How do we stay present to our own needs and responsive to each other?

Respectful, honest relationship isn’t simple.  It takes time, commitment, humility, and a willingness to stay connected.  Today, I will recognize that my needs are important and so are yours.  I will open my heart and mind to listen, understand, and care.  I will set aside impulsive, reactive behavior and take the time that is needed to find a way to collaborate.  I choose to stay invested in connection and intimacy rather than isolation and loneliness.