Remain Awake

“As you journey along your path, whether it be wide or narrow, remain awake.”

There are certainly days in my life where I remain numb with the distractions of life. There are also times when I am remain very awake. So awake that I feel the need to find a mind numbing activity to avoid what I don’t want to see, hear or feel. Numbing can happen purposefully or automatically. I am not talking about using substances as a way of numbing, although that is a very common and real way of numbing. What I am talking about is daily distractions and avoidance. It is easy to get caught up in all this things going on around us or avoid that which we don’t want to feel or deal with. It is also true that our mind and our bodies often protect us from too much pain in life. However, we can’t hide there all of the time. The key is to remain awake enough to pay attention to our journey and where our paths are taking us. We must stay on course until we understand what we have, want and need. If we are not awake enough, our steps veer off our intended destination and we find ourselves lost. We can’t see what is blocking our path. It can be painful to be awake, but in order to unblock our paths we must endure.  We don’t have to do it all at once. We can take baby steps or giant leaps, but we can endure and unblock our paths.

Are you awake? Can you look at the pain enough to unblock your path? It just takes the first step, then the next and the next. Go ahead you can do it!

 

Advertisement

Change

“Change is one of the most challenging things in our life, yet it must occur over and over and over again in order for us to grow.” – Linda Lunsted

Let’s take this simple, yet complicated blog. I had (and still have) grand ideas about writing weekly. However, much to my liking, it has been several weeks since my first post.

For me change comes with repetition. Any good or bad behavior is created through its continual practice. A practice that creates an automatic response that seeps slowly and deeply into our psyche; where it often surprises us. We need grand dreams as they spur us on and give us life. However, we must create a safety zone within our internal dialog that says it’s okay to miss the mark. We need to give ourselves permission to fail.

I recently found a plaque that states “Growth demands a temporary surrender of security – Gail Sheehy.” Ouch, in order to grow or change we must be willing to reach deep within, past our comfort zone and expose our vulnerability. If we do not create a safety zone, shame will live there. Shame will then multiply and become the culprit of fear, immobility, procrastination, and a continual downward spiral into the depths of the “I can’t succeed,” or “I’m not good enough” abyss. We all go there! Some go more frequently then others. We must be willing to become vulnerable enough to risk failure and imperfection; it is through the acceptance of failure and imperfection that we become whole.

What are you needing to change in your life today ? Do you have a safety zone? Envision the statement “You have permission to fail!” Place it inside your thoughts, your soul and your being. Create a safety zone around it, allowing no one to step inside of that zone, including yourself. See it there, practice it, feel it. Allow it to create a new imprint.

As for me, I am not sure when I will add to this blog or create another post. However, I am creating my safety zone, at least at this moment. When I miss my mark, I will acknowledge my disappointment, envision my safety zone and try again. So can you!