SURRENDERING OUR AGENDA

     Sometimes we want people to do things so that we will feel better. We want them to make the decision to see things our way and to do what we suggest, what sits right with us, and what seems fitting from our perspective.
     But they have a perspective and reasoning of their own, and we are meant to respect their choices even if we don't necessarily agree with them. It's a mistake to force our will and make ourselves right and make them wrong. We all have our lessons. Let's surrender the agenda we have for other people and trust them to follow their own right path.

I don't impose my will on others. I let them live their lessons, just as I must live mine. 

GETTING THERE ALREADY

     So often we want to skip the journey and arrive already. We want to be in the next room before we get there. I believe our desire to get ahead of ourselves may have more to do with fear than with actual impatience. Maybe we're not sure we can do what's being asked of us. We are afraid to get found out. We are afraid to fail. We are afraid to miss the deadline, miss the mark, make a mistake. We want to be done so that we can be happy. We want to be done so that we can relax.
     But as one thing passes away, something else comes to take its place, and it's always something on our plates, and always something challenging for us to do. And when we are finally and completely "done" for good, the game is over. So we better find a way to enjoy it while it lasts.
    

I don't have to be afraid. I trust myself to do the best I can.

TIME

     I have turned time into an enemy. I am consumed by the feeling that there is not enough of it- not enough for what I have to do and what I want to do and the achievement of all of my dreams; not enough time with my husband and time with my children; not enough time alone; not enough time to relax, to sleep, to be with friends, to shop, to create, to do nothing. There is not enough unstructured time; not enough time for paperwork and bills, for walks with the dog and soaks in the tub.
     I have created a fantasy of lack. I want abundance in my life and actively demonstrate scarcity. Me of little faith. Whatever is is enough. I have time for everything if I will only stop dictating the terms of my life that are not mine to dictate. Let me do what is before me with good nature and care. Let me stop when I am tired or hungry or out of steam. I needn't insist on squishing my life into time pressurized compartments. I am strangling my hours with demands and wonder why I feel suffocated.

I stop trying to squish things into certain shapes to fit my tight schedule.

WHAT I BELIEVE

     I believe that things happen for a reason, and that everything that happens is for my own, or someone else's, spiritual growth and evolution. I believe in the power of love, and in kindness and courtesy. I believe in compassion and creative genius, in courage and good clean living.
     I believe in redemption and forgiveness and the freedom of choice. I believe in changing my mind and changing my habits; in changing my perspective. I believe in beauty and healing. I believe in cycles and the ever-changing light. And what I believe sustains me, and requires a considerable amount of routine revision. I am willing to update my belief system regularly in order to keep it fresh.

I honestly consider whether my beliefs are outworn, and if they are, I'm willing to consider anew.

RUSHING

     There is no benefit to rushing, and yet, how much of our lives do we spend that way? We hurry up so we can wait. We speed through things and have to go back and re-do them. We miss the experience, whatever it may be, by pushing through it. Instead of learning whatever we're supposed to learn and enjoying the unfolding development, we create angst and stress and resistance because we are not willing to put in the time to do it right.
     Let's bring awareness to all of the ways we rush through our lives and feel dis-satisfied. Let's slow down and trust time: that there's enough of it, that we'll get done what we need to get done, and that it's possible to enjoy every step and stumble along the way.

Rushing doesn't give me more time. It ruins the time I have. I am willing to slow down.

OVER-REGULATED

     Our world is over-regulated. Everywhere we turn we are blocked by rules and by those we are dealing with trying to cover their tracks in the event of any and all contingencies. No wonder we worry and fret. Our culture models the behavior.
     But regulations don't allow for exceptions, and we are all somewhat exceptional. We are sensitive, creative, and uniquely ourselves. In order to get along, I guess we have to find a way to honor our freedom within the structure of regulations. We can thrive and be happy no matter what. It's all in the way we look at it, and in what we allow ourselves to see.

I assert my creativity and freedom in the way I live my life, and in spite of all the rules and regulations that have the potential to squash me down.

LISTENING

     We can help people by listening to them. Just to listen, without judgment, without expectation, and with compassion and love, is a great gift. Emotions that are trapped inside, and fears, and doubts and hopes and guilt... they all spill out. And relief and restoration follow their release. Listening is an under-utilized act of love. It fixes what's broken and opens what's been locked shut.

I don't have to share my two cents about everything. I listen to others quietly, without an agenda, and from the heart.