I came across this acronym today and thought, This is perfect! I needed to see this! How many times in a day do I not think? I have said things, done things, intimated things that, at the time, felt incredibly Appropriate. Maybe even a little Profound or a lot Righteous. Ouch. A part of me wants to cringe when I think of these moments . . . but then Forgiveness of Self taps me on the shoulder, and I allow it entrance. I strive to be someone who uplifts rather than tears down, yet I am far from Perfect. Try as I might, life gets complicated and I get lost in the details.
There are times when an emotional hijacking takes place and my amygdala takes flight while my neocortex is still thinking, “Huh?” And it is times like these when THINK would have come in very handy and saved the day.
Is it True? Is it Helpful? Is it Inspiring? Is it Necessary? Is it Kind?
What awesome questions to memorize and to tattoo to my words when struggling with a personal conflict at work or at home or in a relationship. If it isn’t thoughtful, helpful, inspiring, necessary, or kind, maybe it is time for me to shift gears into a different way of thinking. And speaking. Or simply not saying anything at all.
We’ve all been in this place. Some of us more than others. We want to live a genuine life. A life that is true to our own selves. We think that if we don’t speak up and speak our mind, we are going to be swallowed by someone else’s ego or someone else’s preferences. But I am thinking that it would be a whole lot of fun to be in this new THINK place. I am wondering about all of the cosmic and universal shifts that could possibly take place all around and within by simply THINK-ing.
This week’s challenge: THINK. THINK out loud to others and to my own self. Set my ego aside and let my Higher Self do the talking. I am suspecting that the week will be infinitely changed by setting THINK into motion. Who knows what kind of windows, doors, and skylights — for me and for others — will be opened by simply THNKing. I am going to focus on these very positive aspects and tell others what it is that I appreciate about them. Life truly is brief and I want to spend it THINK-ing. Out loud.
What’s in your complaint box? Any chance of turning those complaints around and thinking of them as blessings?
“The true alchemists do not change lead into gold; they change the world into words.” – William H. Gass
Oh, how I wanted a diary when I was a girl. You know the kind . . . a beautiful girly girl’s diary with a lock and key. And I was simply ecstatic the Christmas when I was ten years old and I received one. Mine had a navy blue cover with gold embossing and “1 Year Diary” gold-stamped into the cover. I simply loved it! I can still remember the sound that the gilt-edged pages made when I opened it for the first time . . . It felt like that crinkly sound was opening its pristine, glued-together pages to the secrets I was about to share with it.
I learned a lot that day about secrets and sisters and writing and locks and keys. I learned that just because something has a lock on it, doesn’t mean that it can’t be jimmied open. I learned that secrets can be made un-secret when they fall into the wrong hands. That, although it can be risky, it’s okay to be honest with my thoughts. That what someone else chooses to do doesn’t define who I am. That although I might feel a wee bit discouraged, I am going to keep writing.
I am happy to have survived the awkwardness, and — now all the stronger — I have maintained my love and discipline of writing. And in the ways of true forgiveness, I have since pardoned my diary-reading, secret-disclosing sister. We are still the best of friends.
The Unseen Words Project 