15 Feb [Article] Growing Your Heart
You know those days when you feel a bit (or a lot) downtrodden?) Maybe you just want to curl up in bed and shut the world out. Or perhaps when someone suggests something positive all you want to do is tell them to “S… up!”
We all know those states of being and respond (or react) with a wide range of strategies.
To shift those patterns we need to have a new practice to put in place.
Yesterday was Valentine’s Day in the United States, a time to appreciate the love around us. In the larger culture it’s generally thought of a day for romance, giving flowers and chocolates, and having special moments with a special person.
What if, instead, we set it aside as an important day to celebrate the journey you are on, the journey from distress and suffering to a calmer, more compassionate life?
What if you took the time, every day, to appreciate the process that you’re in, that of bringing in a better life, full of kindness and compassion for yourself?
One of my friends, who is a president at a large company, told me of a practice he has of not making a big deal of the good things people do around him at work. Instead he decided to take on Ken Blanchard’s practice in One Minute Manager of “catching people doing things right” in the small often overlooked moments, and thanking them, there and then.
What if you were to do that with yourself: catch yourself doing something good, kind, caring, and expressing appreciation for that?
That would mean catching those small, sometimes insignificant moments in every day when you feel and do something kind, thoughtful, considerate, and generous, to yourself or others. Instead of having those simple moments sprint by, evaporating into the morass of all the things you’ve done wrong or not good enough — catch the moment.
Instead of feeding the pattern by dismissing the good, pause. Take a breath. Appreciate it.
The more we pay attention to something, the more it grows. The more we appreciate ourselves, others, and the world around us, the more we grow in kinship with those qualities.
I feel a bit corny saying this, but here it is: May love conquer fear. May kindness prevail. May I humble myself to all I do that brings hurt and wash my heart so my heart can flourish.