An Offering
from a good friend, well known author and client…
What has hold of your attention?
This is not a think-positive-thoughts story. Shifting our attention to the things for which we are grateful, the things that bring joy, gives us a place to put our attention and therefore, our energy. Where attention goes energy flows. Remember?
This simple exercise will help in those moments, but it certainly doesn’t change the ugly scenarios in which we are living. The negative emotions we feel, fear, doubt, and worry are still there running in the background of our minds. Where do we go now?
You can’t read the ending yet
We stay in the right-now moment. Yet we feel compelled to figure out the right solution believing that landing on it will bring peace. We want to know that we will come through this disaster unharmed. But we can’t know yet, because the ending is still in play for the future. No amount of thinking, worrying, and reaching for an answer can give us that clarity and peace. The future is not ours to know. We have to wait for the entirety of the situation to playout. As much as we’d love to turn the pages of the book to the ending, we can’t look ahead to see the ending before it actually arrives. Until that moment comes, the uncertainty remains.
What life are you missing because you’re being controlled by worry?
But we admittedly can’t sit in silent meditation all day. That’s just waiting for the anvil to drop while there is still good life to be lived. We can enjoy morning coffee, bask in a gloriously, sunny day, laugh with a friend, spend time with our animals, hug someone we love, or find something to enjoy that makes us feel good. The good things we love about life, don’t have to wait until what we don’t like is over.
There are still wonderfully good things to be found in today, things to appreciate, things that bring fun and a smile. Enjoy them. There’s no law that says when life gets frightening we must wallow in worry. Forget that! Let yourself continue to live the life that is still happening alongside the circumstances that aren’t so grand.
While enjoying living the good side of life, have some fun with your imagination. We’ve been worrying about how scary it could turn out. Flip that upside down. What if it all goes well? It could work out even better than we imagine. What if that happened? Give yourself permission to see it, how it unfolds, how it feels when you realize it’s all going to be beautifully ok. Welcome the relief, joy, and happiness of it all. Go ahead! Enjoy that, too! It’s another wonderful place to place your attention and energy. Then...
You’re trying to do God’s work, rather than your own.
Wrap it all in love, give it to God, for it is His to handle, not yours. Your job is to stay in the moment, release the resistance of fear and worry, and to imagine with deep emotion how you would like it to be. Once you’ve placed it in God’s hands. Leave it there, and keep enjoying life. Let God handle what you cannot control. Put your faith and trust in Him.
God loves you unconditionally and He knows the plans for you. He has not set you up for disaster or calamity, but for a future and hope. Jeremiah 29:11-14.
Reach for the reassurance of knowing that God is in control. He is trustworthy and faithful. And if things don’t happen to go your way, know that your story is not over yet. There is much more to come.
You don’t have to put your life on hold until your life gets better.
Keep on living!
Eat Wisley (I mistyped whiskey!)
Sleep Well
Love with Abandon