Monday’s Meditation: On Seeing Ourselves

October 13, 2014

Note to self: You're doing A-okay. Just look at how far you've come!

The other day I had some free time after a client and so I headed to Whole Foods, bought some murky green juice and plunked myself down on the steps outside.

I left my phone in the car, and for a couple of minutes I just swallowed and observed; there were a couple of those guys whose job it is to hang out on street corners with clipboards, the ones who, sans clipboards, might otherwise strike a person as exceedingly sketchy. There was the homeless woman asking me about bus routes, of which I know nothing (to her detriment), and the people sitting alone or in groups, chatting or looking down at their phones.

For a minute I had one of those sensations of being able to see yourself outside of yourself, and I realized just how far I’ve come in life–there I was, willingly drinking a juice the color of which I never would have considered a couple of years ago, palette-ically challenged as I am, sitting by myself in Seattle of all places, a city that I never could have predicted myself living in. Doing what I love most.

Everything in life is a matter of balance, we know this. And perspective is no exception.

We know that the present is where the magic happens, but that often doesn’t keep us from looking back. We usually do so, though, with discomfort. We feel cringe-worthy embarrassment, irreconcilable regret, and nostalgia and sadness for good times long past. And every time we do, we (should) realize what a futile activity that is; the past has been written, there is nothing we can do now to change it.

If you’re in the habit of dwelling in the past and hating yourself or others over it I can’t urge you strongly enough to quit it, immediately, please.

But it is important that you not divorce yourself entirely from your past. The past, after all, is your marker. It’s your starting point, your reference point for growth.

From time to time I think it does a person good to look back as a means of validation; not to get sucked up into the vortex of dissecting or analyzing past decisions, but as a way to see how one has changed.

When you do, you’ll find yourself flooded with affirmative realizations:

I would handle that so much more gracefully now than I did then.

I know myself so much better now than I used to.

I’ve learned so much about myself/my family/my business.

And, if nothing else:

Look how far I’ve come.

 

6 Comments

  1. Tina on October 13, 2014 at 5:21 am

    Great post. Perfect for Monday. 🙂

  2. Ronna on October 13, 2014 at 1:13 pm

    Yeah.

  3. Sarah Adler of Simply Real Health on October 13, 2014 at 5:36 pm

    Beautiful. As always! Love that green juice 🙂

  4. […] by some cosmic force arrived at this moment in order that I be able to demonstrate to myself just how far I’ve come. It wasn’t contrary evidence to my growth, but an opportunity to seal the deal, put my […]

  5. […] doesn’t matter where we are or how far we’ve come; none of us is exempt from the constant balancing of the universal scales. We don’t […]

  6. […] celebrating, if you ask me. This isn’t the first time I’ve urged us to acknowledge how far we’ve come, and doubtful it will be the […]

Leave a Comment





Other Posts You May Love

6 Comments

  1. Tina on October 13, 2014 at 5:21 am

    Great post. Perfect for Monday. 🙂

  2. Ronna on October 13, 2014 at 1:13 pm

    Yeah.

  3. Sarah Adler of Simply Real Health on October 13, 2014 at 5:36 pm

    Beautiful. As always! Love that green juice 🙂

  4. […] by some cosmic force arrived at this moment in order that I be able to demonstrate to myself just how far I’ve come. It wasn’t contrary evidence to my growth, but an opportunity to seal the deal, put my […]

  5. […] doesn’t matter where we are or how far we’ve come; none of us is exempt from the constant balancing of the universal scales. We don’t […]

  6. […] celebrating, if you ask me. This isn’t the first time I’ve urged us to acknowledge how far we’ve come, and doubtful it will be the […]

Leave a Comment





Welcome

Search The Blog

Simplify Your World

Sign up for the email list to get inspiration and simplified tips sent right to your inbox.

On Pinterest

pinterest-1
pinterest-3
pinterest-2
pinterest-4

Other Posts You May Love