2) Everything changes. Need I say more?
3) Cracks are the way subtle change happens. The crack lets the light in and the light allows you to see more.
4) It's okay to be who you are. Part 1: I remember the first time I heard this. It was the first week of school and I had my K - 2 students gathered on the rug in front of me. We had been creating and refining our class rules - you know, the usual things: Be respectful of other people. Be respectful of other people's stuff. Listen. That sort of thing. Five year old Forest raised his hand - Forest of the long hair, solemn demeanor, and bit of a lisp. His contribution? It's okay to be who you are. Bingo! That became our mantra for the year and now I have learned it for my life.
5) It's okay to be who you are. Part 2: I am me. I am not, nor can I ever be, that other person. I don't need to compare myself to the other. That person brings all of who they are to my world but I can never be them. I can only be me. That's the only person I can be.
7) I have to create space in life for letting the day unfold. I have to have time to let my attention wander to wherever it wants to wander. I can be curious to see where my attention takes the rest of me. It's okay to wander to books, to walks, to desk straightening, to emails, to art, to the beach, to naps, to conversations (with myself or with others), to household chores, to watching the clouds, to playing with the plants, to dreaming, to nothing.
8) Challenging every thought is a good thing. Avoiding assumptions is a good thing.
9) I will never be too old to stop learning.
Number six seems irrelevant to me, because when the time comes, you will not be aware of life any more. So why worry about "using the time that has been allocated" to you? I just live.
ReplyDeleteBut, given that I only have so much time, don't I want to use it well? No matter what death holds, isn't it important to make strong choices about living the life you have?
DeleteIt's a given that you use your time wisely. I'm just saying that there's no need to sweat the time-frame...
DeleteYay, I really like these JT! The question posed in #6 seems to suggest its own answer in #7. At least, being will be much more relaxed and open when engaged in those activities. We need the "cracks" for the light of self-awareness to shine through. Relax and let the imagination soar!
ReplyDeleteI am in love with the cracks! Now I am looking for them everywhere - literally and figuratively.
DeleteI so love all of these "random" things! I have always compared myself to others . . . and in my eyes have always fallen way short of what I thought I should be in comparison. Stupid me! I know better now. But it was a hard lesson to learn!
ReplyDeleteDon't call my friend stupid, Judy! :)
DeleteIt has taken some time for me to get that lesson too. The comparing thing is so ingrained, I think. I, for one, am tired of it!
Perhaps it would less draining and stressful to chill out and not worry about fitting it all in the best way possible because the clock it is a ticking. What Tom said, suddenly made me realize, that is way too much unnecessary pressure.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I know who I am and that person is pretty lonely because of who she is.
Ross always says, "You don't ask, you don't get." It's the asking I have trouble with.
I guess, though, at the end of the day, through a million justifications and excuses about why I don't and how I should, I do exactly what I want to do and I retreat to what feels the safest and least uncomfortable.
Go where you feel safe, Lynda. That's a good thing. Anxiety seems to drive so much for me. The world is always shaking and I can never feel sure about how it will all shake out. But I guess I don't HAVE to know. I want to learn to be more comfortable with delicious ambiguity.
DeleteThe second one has always been a difficult one for me. The older I get, though, the more I'm learning to embrace change. Finally!
ReplyDeleteAgreed, Dana! I am learning not only to embrace change but to be curious about it. Change is not going away so you might as well make friends with it. Thanks for stopping by.
DeleteThis is pure brilliance from start to finish.
ReplyDeleteThank you, WN! Sometimes things just fall out - and they are the truth. And putting words on the truth is powerful.
DeleteYou're just on a roll lately with the wisdom and the brilliance. You're damned right it's okay to be who you are--especially when who you are is so fabulous.
ReplyDeletePS--Here's what I think about being who I am: 98% of the time, regardless of how I FEEL about who I am, I'm just too lazy to be anyone else. :)
And 98% of the time who I am is not who I think I SHOULD be! It's so nice to see you again, MM!
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