confusion

November 5, 2018

Feeling Ambivilent

Image result for ambivalent

Image result for ambivalent

Some days I am unsure about everything.

Should I work toward a goal or let it go?

Should I feel good about myself or bad about myself?

Should I be kind to someone or let them have it?

Should I care?

On those days (lately) what works:

  1. Talk it out with a trusted friend who will listen until you ask for their advice.
  2. Don’t argue with the help they offer. Listen. Appreciate.
  3. Have confidence that clarity will come when I need it.
  4. Be kind while I wait.

Yesterday a book came in the mail that I had ordered several weeks ago. It was exactly what I needed to read. (Anything You Want, Derek Sivers)

The ambivalence brought important questions to the surface.

Ambivalence didn’t kill me.

September 28, 2018

In Search of the Best Question

Tim Ferriss wrote his latest book, Tribe of Mentors, because he was overwhelmed with anxiety over a growing list of unanswered questions concerning his own life and productivity. To get clarity he went to his tried and true question, What would this look like if it were easy? which ultimately yielded this reply: What if I assembled a tribe of mentors to help me?

Now, he has not only achieved personal clarity, but helped me and countless others along the way.

Image result for problem solving quotes

So often, our questions (as our prayers) tend to be ineffective due to an unhealthy inward focus on what is not working. When we get the question right, mentors, angels, and answers are free to appear.

(If you haven’t yet read the book, do so, and prepare for inspiration…and answers.)

December 16, 2016

Poser Power?

Pretending to be something I am not might give me temporary power or prestige. But, continuing to pretend will tear up my moral fiber and my digestive track. Both will effect my longevity and my quality of life. That discomfort motivates me to be real, genuine, transparent, and humble.

Being around someone who isn’t posing, but finds their significance from within rather than from without, is so refreshing! When I have the rare privilege of meeting someone like that, I am energized, the air is charged, and the whole world feels like home. That comfort motivates me to be real, genuine, transparent, and humble.

…which saves me lots of time and mental energy.

Win for me-Win for people who have to live around me-Win for people who may need me in the future

Image result for poser quotes

July 14, 2016

Reception Problem?

Every happening, great and small, is a parable whereby God speaks to us, and the art of life is to get the message. – Malcolm Muggeridge

Or, we can continue to argue with reality, curse our luck, or squawk about injustice.

The next time I am complaining about poor phone reception, I’ll let it remind me to tune up my own message receptors.

April 7, 2016

Recognizing the Ache

I didn’t know I could paint until I was forty-seven. I didn’t even know I wanted to paint before “the ache” started. One day I felt this sucking feeling in my chest, and then my fingers literally started to ache as if something wanted to come out.  Instead of running to the refrigerator, I ran to the craft store and the clerk helped me purchase something on which to paint. With random, leftover house paint, I coaxed my pain out, unto my first canvas.

It’s the same with writing. I get the same sucking, restless feeling in my chest. I now know that to ease the restlessness, I must create something. Before I thought it was just loneliness or sadness and tried to feed it or ignore it.

It only wanted out.

 

May 28, 2014

Things We Can’t See without Assistance

  1. The infinite number of living creatures sharing the space with us
  2. The complexity of the integration of every living thing (that has lived and will live) with our own existence
  3. The “why” of our own specialization and specifications
  4. How we are perceived by others
  5. The difference we are making in the world

understanding-quote

With that acknowledgement, beauty and peace are finally accessible.

courtesy of geekdad.com

courtesy of geekdad.com

Open-My-Eyes-2-See

 

May 15, 2014

Earning the Right to Be Heard

mistake

Life is much easier when I make peace with these truths:

  • My opinions are “junk mail” until they are requested
  • No one listens to my advice until they feel as if I really “see” them (telling them I do doesn’t count)
  • I might think I understand another person’s issues, but it is much safer to listen longer (no matter how profound I think I am)
  • People who know me can predict the content of  my “lectures”( and translate them to “Blah blah blah”)
  • Appreciating someone and showing that appreciation by stopping for them (and keeping my ego out of it) trumps everything

Ego-Self-Destruct1

 

 

 

July 6, 2013

When Doing Something for Others Backfires

Possible reasons for the malfunction:

  1. I did it so I would look good
  2. I did it because I felt guilty
  3. I was arrogant or condescending
  4. I was feeding my ego and patting myself on the back
  5. I complained about it the entire time
  6. I did it expecting something in return
  7. My motive was misunderstood

Simple, no-strings attached love for the recipient of our service will correct each of these issues. Unadulterated generosity needs no defense or assistance.

Experience the joy.

Photo courtesy of kootation.com

Photo courtesy of kootation.com

March 22, 2013

Two-Minute Tune-Up 3.22.13 Get Out of Jail Free

get out of jail freeFor many years I thought I was in jail, feeling trapped by circumstances beyond my control. Little did I know that I had a pass in my pocket. 

My soul had been seeping out in unhealthy ways…anger with my children, poor choices, blaming others, boredom in my work…but I trudged on, mistakenly thinking I was doing the “right thing” by bucking up. Everyone who knew me heard my complaints about my circumstances. I now realize I did no favors by playing the martyr.

It is always the most loving choice to do what we were born to do. If there is a pain in your chest, don’t ignore it.

“What a person can be, he must be. This need we call self-actualization.” – Abraham Maslow