In all things, Amber, always and forever, simply wish the best for all involved, without stating what you think that is. And then, whatever does happen, no matter what happens, know that it was.
All the best,
The Universe
Working on the communication thing every day.
The Dalai Lama, when asked what surprised him most about humanity, answered:
“Man. Because he sacrifices his health in order to make money. Then he sacrifices money to recuperate his health. And then he is so anxious about the future that he does not enjoy the present; the result being that he does not live in the present or the future; he lives as if he is never going to die, and then dies having never really lived.”
Thanks for sharing this today Jenna!
As a follow up to yesterday’s post, let’s talk about boundaries.
It may have sounded like I was blaming social media for feeling alienated. That’s not true. Social media is not to blame. I am. When I say I was sucked into the social media vortex, it means I didn’t shut my phone off when I got home in order to spend quality time with my husband; I didn’t put it away when having dinner with friends because I was too worried I’d miss a Tweet or a Facebook comment; I didn’t look my co-workers in the eye when they were speaking to me because I had to keep one eye on my social stream. Yes, these are regular occurrences. Yes, typing them makes me realize just how ridiculous it is.
I didn’t set boundaries. And guess what? I’ve never been good at setting them. It’s not just social media. It extends into every aspect of my life, and I can trace it back as long as I can remember. When I was in high school, I was obsessed with sports. They consumed me, pushing out everything and everyone else. The same is true when I joined Roller Derby. For five years, building that league and skating were my life. There are countless examples.
The reason I get consumed by these activities is a topic for another post, but for now, I am recognizing the pattern and trying to make a change. I am not deleting my accounts and shunning social media, but I am going to set some boundaries. I should have done it a long time ago.
To do more in my community…
To spend some time at Founders…
To meet more people for coffee…
To tackle my growing to-do list…
To clean out the basement…
To write more for myself…
To send more handwritten notes…
To be a better wife, daughter, and friend…
To reach my full potential…
A shift is coming.
“We runners talk about having fun but I don’t think anybody believes us. We talk about discipline and endurance, we take care, we exercise caution, we watch our diets and monitor our pace. We are ascetics who talk, unconvincingly, of the bracing enjoyment of self-abuse.”
Peter Sagal
Where does your mind wander?
Several years ago, a friend gave this poem to me just when I needed it. It’s just as powerful today.
It doesn’t interest me what you do for a living I want to know what you ache for and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart’s longing.
It doesn’t interest me how old you are I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool for love for your dreams for the adventure of being alive.
It doesn’t interest me what planets are squaring your moon… I want to know if you have touched the center of your own sorrow if you have been opened by life’s betrayals or have become shrivelled and closed from fear of further pain. I want to know if you can sit with pain mine or your own without moving to hide it or fade it or fix it.
I want to know if you can be with joy mine or your own if you can dance with wildness and let the ecstasy fill you to the tips of your fingers and toes without cautioning us to be careful be realistic to remember the limitations of being human.
It doesn’t interest me if the story you are telling me is true. I want to know if you can disappoint another to be true to yourself. If you can bear the accusation of betrayal and not betray your own soul. If you can be faithless and therefore trustworthy. I want to know if you can see Beauty even when it is not pretty every day. And if yo
u can source your own life from its presence. I want to know if you can live with failure yours and mine and still stand on the edge of the lake and shout to the silver of the full moon, “Yes.”
It doesn’t interest me to know where you live or how much money you have. I want to know if you can get up after a night of grief and despair weary and bruised to the bone and do what needs to be done to feed the children.
It doesn’t interest me who you know or how you came to be here. I want to know if you will stand in the center of the fire with me and not shrink back.
It doesn’t interest me where or what or with whom you have studied. I want to know what sustains you from the inside when all else falls away. I want to know if you can be alone with yourself and if you truly like the company you keep in the empty moments.
It’s easy to forget, but it’s true, no matter how bad it seems.
Today’s inspiration: I believe in good people. Do you?
