Hello Friends! Can’t believe the spring of 2019 is only a mere month away. It seems like winter just started, if you’re a snow lover like me… you’re kinda stoked winter finally showed up. The vast difference in opinions on the weather created my thought process for this entry, how we all voice our thoughts throughout our day without being truly aware of how they shift our direction internally. Or perhaps we say very little and just observe… that too has its own set of complications. Either way I’ve found myself trying to be extra mindful with my words, truly aware. Which takes pausing and choosing. Not necessarily to be articulate but to be specific. I tend to get wordy (you may have noticed) and I am emotional by nature… I laugh easy, cry openly with joy, sob with grief, and irrational bouts of anger on occasion (least favourite side of myself), all of these feelings manifest in my dialogue with others and myself. Although I practice meditation daily, quieting the mind’s voice is incredibly difficult for me. Take a sec, as you read this… what thoughts/dialogue pop into your mind? Are they kind and loving? Angry or impatient? Do they focus on the happier side of things or the stormy? Or are they simply a list of mundane yet necessary things … chores/groceries/bills?
Many people in my expanding circle have hit huge obstacles, the devastating kind and yet their dialogue externally is remarkable. From an athlete who crashed during a bucket list race to a person whose battle with illness doesn’t give them enough time to even make that list. Both honour us with the grace and courage to say … OUT LOUD… I got this, no way am I letting this stop me! Pity is not what they are asking for; they need and long for that validation… that resounding high five… ‘YES, you do!’
To be so aware of the words we use, the dialogue we create, our ‘isms’ that are uniquely us… another work in progress (WIP) for me.
If we say ‘I don’t have time’… let’s change that to… ‘that’s not a priority’ … does that change it for you? Maybe something isn’t a priority… sure. But how many times have you said, sorry I don’t have time, but it’s really just a way to avoid something.
Here are some examples I hear often:
I don’t have time to exercise. Shift that: ‘Exercise is not a priority’.
I don’t have time to cook healthy meals. Shift that: ‘Eating healthy is not a priority’.
I don’t have time to spend with a friend in need. Shift that: ‘My friend is not a priority’.
I don’t have time to relax. Shift that: ‘Relaxing is not a priority’.
I don’t have time to walk my dog. Shift that: ‘Walking my dog is not a priority’
I don’t have time to visit my elderly parents. Shift that: ‘My ageing parents are not a priority’
I don’t have time to love my life. Shift that: ‘Loving my life is not a priority’.
I don’t have time to follow my dreams. Shift that: ‘Following my dreams is not a priority’.
Ok.. so some or all of this may not be relevant. But you get the point. Try it for a bit, every time you start to say it out loud… ‘I don’t have time’… shift it to… ‘That’s not a priority’ and see which pile it ends up in. I have found it very helpful, I’m also learning what I thought was a priority, really isn’t. Dialogue is powerful that much I know. How we use it internally and externally is just as mighty. It’s your life friends, live it like you love it… it’s waiting… Live it NOW!
