Your mind will answer most questions if you learn to relax and wait for the answer. ~William S. Burroughs
There are parameters by which we move through our dailies — and our {wild and precious} lives — even for those of us who wiggle our heads from side to side, wrinkling our faces in denial. Those of us who proclaim our free {spiritedness} tend to resist all-things orderly and scheduled.
The problem with introspection is that it has no end.
~Philip K. Dick
Living our questions, and listening for the answers can be exhausting at times. More accurately: our resistance to living the questions and listening for answers is exhausting.
During the past 12 months, I have been resisting less … I have been allowing more time for introspection, for self-care and uninterrupted personal time.
I promoted the meditative process of art journaling to “first” … Instead of “when there is time” … because, Braveheart, that is similar to scheduling dreams for Someday.
Today is a limited time offer. Say, “yes!” to you. ♥
As I collected notes regarding my own blocks of time and their usage, I discussed my “experiment” with friends, colleagues and clients. Interesting commonalities emerged regarding why we resisted our want-to’s and a “just do it” mindset:
- fear of the unknown — doing what we always had done was known … change = unknown; possibility of failure; what-if’s, etc.
- wanting it all {what we had and what we wanted to try} — what if we missed something? {like what we had been waiting for}
- holding on to something {relationship, career option, possessions} that had “expired” in value; needing closure before letting go
- old tapes — the opinions of others that inadvertently became our own …
especially the accusations of “that’s selfish”
I have my own definition of selfish.
It is not the one in the dictionary … I am posting it here because I want to encourage us to live it: {this kind of} selfish.
★ self·ish/ commonly misused in the following situations …
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| Synonyms: |
dreamer – self-seeking – freelancer – artistic – visionary
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My definition is a compilation of the situational details that prompt a faulty accusation of selfishness, steeped in the universal appeal of peer pressure; to conform to the expectations of “the way it has always been” and “do it like I do it” …
Charged by those who likely do not understand their own belief of how to live “unselfishly” is itself, both inaccurate and selfish — selfish in the truest sense of the word.
Because there are countless ways to contribute to community, to love and inspire ourselves and others — and to live free of any one-size-fits-all mentality.
It’s not what you look at that matters, it’s what you see. ~Henry David Thoreau
It looks different.
But it also looks the same. Because when we cut the threads of what we are allowing to “restrain” us, and when we resist unfounded charges of selfishness — and remove the disguises of “too busy” or the “I don’t know’s” … Underneath that, we discover who we are.
It takes time. But listen. K?
Because each of us has the same 24 hours a day to listen for answers, to live our dreams — to manage our blocks of time and purpose. And when we say, “I don’t know what I want.” … well, we always know, Braveheart. What we know may need some time to surface, to be discovered … to be heard.
We know.
While it is true that habits are difficult to alter and commitments are complicated to undo … So is what we are doing now. And it will never become easier if we procrastinate regarding what we know. ♥
If we decide not to allow the {vitally-necessary} care for ourselves, we become limited, and unable to accomplish anything else necessary — for ourselves or others.
If we do what we’ve always done, we will continue to get what we always got. To remain here.
Is that what we want, Braveheart? Truly?
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