“Move closer, lean in, get curious; even for a moment, experience the feelings without labels, beyond being good or bad. Welcome them. Invite them. Do anything that helps melt the resistance.” -Pema Chödrön.
How’s it going?
When people ask me this question in passing, my first impulse is to tell them my whole story, even though I know they’re just being polite and friendly.
They don’t want to know:
- My coffee tasted old this morning — and p.s. where is the nearest Starbucks?
- I haven’t worked out in days and I feel like a whale.
- I’m famished and cranky.
- What was I thinking to wear these shoes… my feet are killing me.
- Will this pain in my knees ever stop?
- I can’t deal with everyone’s whining.
I’ll usually retort with my equally non-present fake-happy Good! (with the little lilt on the top of it) just to move things along.
That’s me living on autopilot.
So how do you respond in a way that feels more authentic, especially when you’re in a hurry and you have a million things swirling around in your head?
What if the next time someone asked you how you were “doing,” you could move past the stories (that no one really asked to hear anyway) and go directly to tuning into the feeling beneath the story? To use the connection with the person as an opportunity to quietly check in with yourself and allow whatever it is you’re feeling to arise –without (and this is key) — judging it or doing anything to fix it.**
You never know what kinds of shifts might come about by inserting a tiny bit of compassionate awareness into your old, crusty, resisting patterns.
Wishing you a summer of gentle leaning in, and ripening, with spacious possibilities.
Stephanie
This excerpt originally appeared in Stephanie’s newsletter. To learn more and read further click the link below:
Click here to read our Summer 2013 newsletter
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**Excerpted from Your Spacious Self by Stephanie Bennett Vogt – Hierophant Publishing © 2012 – All Rights Reserved
