Something about the idea that your life might be snatched from you at any moment makes you consider what it means to you.
A little while back I mentioned I was in the midst of a health scare. Well, I’m thrilled to say I’m fine! Thank-you to those of you who wrote (in the comments and privately) to offer your support. I so much appreciate it!
A Healing Journey
During the past month, while I was in limbo on this subject, I’ve had quite the journey.
And even though I wasn’t ill (as it turns out), I find myself more whole now than I was before.
And I continue to heal, from wounds of all kinds.
I’m eager to tell you about some of what’s transpired and the significant gifts I’ve been given. Because they’re available to you, too, if you decide to accept them.
I’ll do this over a number of posts (and/or maybe an e-booklet, I haven’t decided).
And for now, here’s one of them. Enjoy.
A Moment of Irritation
Last week, my husband made a call to a store to ask about something. The woman transferred his call to a different department. It rang and rang. Eventually she came back on, and he explained that he just had a simple question and wondered if she could help him.
He hears a huge sigh from the other end of the phone. Eventually he got his question answered, but here’s where our story takes off. At the sigh.
It struck me. She’s getting paid to help people. Okay, maybe she has a more defined role within that job description, but when you work with customers, you help people.
Embrace The Moment
What if, instead, she had said/thought “How can I help you?” with a true desire to help and with some amount of enthusiasm? Sincerely shifting her focus to be of help and embracing that new direction as exactly where she was supposed to be in that moment?
I’m not judging her. We’ve all been there, at least I have. Stressed. Behind. Irritated at those things life throws at us that are not on our agendas.
But I’ve got a new appreciation for the saying “Life is what happens while you’re making other plans.”
I know she’d have had a much more pleasant moment (and so would my husband and possibly other callers) had she been able to turn on a dime and embrace the moment as it was. Even if she still needed to delegate him off to someone else, it would have a whole different energy than the chore that it seemed to be.
That’s Nice, But…
Probably we’ve all thought about this idea, and even applied it to some degree.
But if you’re like me, you often slip back into old patterns, and before you know it you’re back at your agenda and getting annoyed at anything that pulls you from it.
The difference is that this time I haven’t done that.
Why? Well…
I think it’s because I’ve gained a new appreciation for life. I’ve been reminded in a big way of how precious it is.
And this kind of thing is exactly what life is.
And I love life.
I’m tired of fighting against it in any way, shape, or form. I really don’t want to do that any more. Lord knows I’ve already done my share of it, plus some.
Life Is a Gift
When I was 29, I got clean and sober. I could so easily have died many times over while I was out there using whatever various and sundry drugs came my way. But I didn’t. I don’t know why. It was grace. A gift. A second chance. A third, fourth, and a fifth (pun intended).
My life today is all extra! Free!
And so is yours, if you think about it.
It’s all icing on the cake.
So, I’m done complaining about the icing on my cake.
I don’t care if it’s too sweet, if it’s chocolate ganache when I want vanilla butter-cream, or vanilla when I want chocolate, or whatever. Okay, maybe I do care, but that’s normal. That’s a preference. Preferences are also a delectable part of life.
I am watching myself bid goodbye to the futile exercise of resisting what is.
Resistance feels yukky and I don’t want to waste my life feeling yukky.
We’re alive, for God’s sake! Alive! And Life happens for us, not to us. I mean, what a precious gift to be walking this earth right now.
Seriously.
Rediscover the Joy
Here’s an exercise that can help this way of being become more automatic.
Watch for moments when you find yourself feeling:
- irritated
- annoyed
- impatient
- stressed
- angry
- resentful
- fed up
(It works with any emotion but these are the easiest to start with.)
When you notice you’re feeling that way, ask yourself:
- What if I just wasn’t here (on earth, alive) at all? Which is the better alternative?
- What if all this is “extra” life? A bonus? A free gift? (Dessert, if you will ;-)?)
- What if nothing has to be a certain way, and I’m just here to enjoy the experience of it and experience the joy of it?
- How would I feel about this situation then?
It doesn’t mean you aren’t supposed to feel how you feel. Feeling is a part of your energy body and is a great indicator of what’s going on at other levels of your being.
And it doesn’t mean that you don’t make note of the discomfort and go about changing the situation if it makes sense to do so.
But if you sincerely ask and answer those questions, you’ll find it much more easy to embrace that situation fully and to move forward from there.
You’ll no longer resist or fight it, but instead, you’ll be in the flow of it. In the flow of your own life as it is.
And then comes the magic.
Your emotion will lose its charge. It will bend and shift a little — or maybe even a lot.
Everything becomes just kind of amazing. Everything.
And you’ll be able to embrace your life as though you had chosen it. (Because, of course, you have.)
You’ll truly enjoy it, all the way down to your toes.
And maybe best of all — at least for us cake lovers? You’ll realize that you do, indeed, get to have your cake and eat it too. And you get to love each and every bite.
Your Turn
Please let me know how this works for you. I’m very curious if I’ve managed to home in on and communicate the mindset that has made such a difference for me.
Or maybe you have variations on these questions or altogether different ones that help you more. Please share!
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