On Saturday, I was sitting at my computer and something caught my eye. As I looked up, I saw my bird feeder swinging largely from left to right.
At first I thought someone had walked by and pushed it because it was swaying so big. As I looked closer, I saw a squirrel working its way up the trunk, getting in position to take another giant leap at the feeder. With the focus and precision of Evel Knievel, the squirrel poised itself and took the leap of faith, again. Still no success. But this isn’t the end of the story. With no hesitation the squirrel goes into action again.
As she maneuvered her path back up the tree, it occurred to me that there is one universally specific detail that separates squirrels from humans when living life. This is the notion of discouragement. They don’t have it, humans do.
Maybe you don’t have those moments of wondering, how life got to look this way, and how people aren’t supposed to be that way, and that was not supposed to go that way, yada yada ya.
It occurred to me that if I didn’t entertain what passed through my mind, in those moments of disbelief, much less ruminate on them, discouragement wouldn’t exist and neither would my suffering about how things appear!
In an instant, two things became clear. If I was less influenced by what charged through my mind in times of insecurity, I would have more fun, live with more inspiration, and try everything, without hesitation.
Where do you go when you’re not present in your life in real time? I don’t know about you but I find myself in Crazy Town. I named this place Crazy Town because I find myself there when I’m living from my thinking and not in the moment. Have you noticed how often you find your mind has taken you into another place or time? It’s like waking up from a dream! You were having the full experience of somewhere else, the past, the future, or an imaginary situation.
I find myself there much more than I would like. It appears to me to be universally natural for human beings to not be living in their life, at the speed of life, but in their perception of life as they’re seeing it through their mind’s eye. We seem to be more familiar with the limited nature of life as it appears to us personally rather than the truelimitless nature of life’s potential and possibilities.
This is what looks true for me:
I noticed how frequently I over think the most benign actions in life. Recently, I saw the gap between responding in the moment and when I think I should respond. I noticed this on something as simple as returning a phone call. Instead of picking up the phone to return a call, I’d find myself considering the best time to call, etc., etc., etc.! It exhausted me upon reflection. How much energy was I wasting with my habit of hesitation? Too much! Now I’m practicing responding in the moment, with less considering, and my life feels lighter. One simple step created a big impact.
Leaving the moment and living from my thinking is universal to all human beings.
We’re living from our thinking more than we’re responding to life as it’s happening in the moment.
The stuff my mind makes up is very compelling but not always true about this moment in time.
The stuff our minds make up appears to have the flavor, texture, and feeling of being real and true. How can something feel so spot-on and not be real?
When I’m outside the moment and in my thinking, it’s like perusing Netflix. It can be a wild ride. There’s horror, adventure, romance, comedy, and drama. When I’m in the moment I just do the next thing there is to do. Whether it’s brushing my teeth, taking a step, or making a call.
Living life in real time brings a natural sense of lightness, ease, and hopefulness. Fortunately, I’m laughing at my humanness more and more. I’m noticing how often I’m not in the moment and how consistently I’m buying a ticket on the train to Crazy Town. And that’s OK.
About Cherie Ray, MLA
Cherie Ray is a coach and consultant on human potential to individuals and businesses. She teaches a clear understanding that brings incredible impact with less effort. Her work enables her clients to experience greater satisfaction, resilience, and success in both their private lives and their work. www.cherieray.comwww.trueyoucreativity.com 832.545.8488
With all the divisiveness and unusual happenings occurring around us in recent times, I often wonder how to affect change or make a contribution. It occurred to me to start right here where I am. This idea showed up.
“The most dangerous weapon we possess are the stories we play in our minds which propel our actions.”
Who knew stories were so compelling? Sometimes, it gets amusing and sometimes NOT, how many stories I become aware of and live from. Fasting from sugars and starches may be rewarding to our physical bodies but I’m finding that fasting from my stories are introducing me to things I never knew existed, for me. From this awareness, our every action becomes a contribution. The best we can do with our humanity is to give it a try. Sometimes we can do it and sometimes we can’t. Again, we meet our humanness around every corner.
Recently, I had the opportunity to ask this question to a group of intuitive painters who were discussing their upcoming travel plans. One person was talking about visiting Egypt, another about her plans to see Japan, and another about her spring break in Portland. As the conversation unfolded, it occurred to me to ask, what excites you about travel? They looked at me with heads tilted and eyes squinted as if I were clueless. It was as if I had asked a question with the most obvious of answers. Here’s what they said: to see something they’ve never seen before, to have new experiences, to explore, to have more adventures, and to be surprised. From where I sat, all of these answers pointed to the same thing, a journey into the unknown.
As I listened to their answers it occurred to me how funny it is that our minds can hold the same idea in two distinctly different ways. When anticipating the unknown through travel, the departure date can’t get here soon enough. When anticipating the unknown through creating, we recoil as if there’s a reason to run. As B.B. King once sang, the thrill is gone! In both situations we’re still stepping into the unknown. Maybe what’s really on offer here, is to not take our state of mind as a barometer of what’s real. It’s a fickle-pickle that is inconsistent, fleeting, and illusory. It may carry the tone of an expert but that’s not a reason to take it seriously. Like the weather in Texas, it will soon change.
If you want to explore a different side to the unknown there’s no need to travel 6,000 miles. Those same goodies are waiting for you on the blank page. Creativity invites you into the adventure of seeing something new, exploring, having adventures, and being surprised. One of the best perks offered through creating is the opportunity to get very comfortable with stepping into the unknown. The unknown is never as scary as it once appeared. You transform your experience of the unknown into one of curiosity and wonder. Much like travel, the more you show up, the more is revealed and experienced.
Lately, in my coaching practice, I’ve heard many clients talk about feeling overwhelmed. They believe it’s from their current life circumstances, or from the amount of ideas that are coming into them. Oftentimes, when you open yourself to the truth that all things are possible, yes even for you, the flood gates seem to open. When this happens, it all appears chaotic or too much to deal with.
So, what can you do about it? First, recognize that overwhelm is a concept. Granted, a concept that people have bought into for a long time but one that often trips them up. For some people this concept doesn’t even exist in their lives. Secondly, that ‘too much’ feeling is not coming from the circumstances or ideas. It’s coming from the volume of mental chatter you have around what you’re seeing or the ideas you’re receiving. For instance, a new inspiration comes in, and it’s often followed, by the mind, offering a big laundry list of reality questions such as how, why, when, etc. Your head space starts filling up? This marathon of examination fills your head with a sense of it’s all too much. Hopefully, at this point, you’re seeing it’s not what’s happening in your life that’s too much. It’s what you’re making up about what’s happening in your life that’s creating this saturated feeling.
I feel very confident that the intelligence that brought you these situations or new ideas will bring you the how, why, when, and what to do about it. There’s no need to fill your head with logistical data that hasn’t arrived yet. What to do instead? In order for the saturated sponge to do what it does best, you have to lessen the amount of liquid in it. This allows space for the sponge to operate more effectively.
This is exactly what I invite you to do. I invite you to empty your mind of all that busyness. When more space is available inside you, you will operate more effectively. You will have space available to receive, hear, or notice the next piece this same intelligence is sending your way. Take a walk, tear paper, collage, watch a movie, listen to music, paint, or soak in the tub. You pick what does it for you. Then relax. You’re never given a situation without the information to execute your ideas. It’s that simple. It’s that easy.
We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use our site we will assume that you are happy with it.Ok
