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Work. Play. Listen. Einstein’s formula for experiencing a new version of life called A.
The questions that sometimes emerge in my journaling are about how to combine work and play so that they are seamlessly one. How can I enjoy my work so much that it feels like play? And how can I incorporate more play into my work, while still feeling like I am creating something that serves another?
Perhaps my answer lies in Z. Maybe I am not listening. At least not enough. My mouth is open and expressing thoughts, feelings, and even complaints. If I paused to meditate, breathe, pause, and listen, it is possible that I might feel more simpatico with life’s meaning, purpose, objective — or whatever it is that drives us and compels us to discover and contribute and, ultimately, feel more successful.
Work. Play. Keep my mouth shut. Listen. Pay attention to the promptings and follow through. Play more music. Take longer walks. Look around. Be still. Follow. Experience a success in life.
What’s in your complaint box? Any chance of turning those complaints around and thinking of them as blessings?
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.
In this age of mindfulness, abundance, and positive thinking, we can’t help but read and hear a lot about the importance of thinking positive thoughts. We read the anecdotes and the stories from those whose lives have been richly blessed by the positive effects of mindful manifesting, and we wonder if the same would work in our lives. Does positive thinking work? I believe so. Actually, I think so — with the most positive thoughts I that can create and think. And after all, the alternative — negative thinking — isn’t all that great of an alternative.
Being a person who enjoys words and writing, I was hoping that some neat turn of phrase might bubble to the surface. Maybe something profound or appropriately witty or, even better, both. Something that would neatly sum up all of the many memorable events that have marked the calendar these past six months . . . experiences that stand as fence posts upon which I have strung the minutes, hours, and days.
It’s the first thing that came to mind and now, after re-reading my list of Top 9 Fence Posts, it makes sense. Looking Both Ways implies some sense of caution, like what our parents tell us before crossing a street: Look both ways!
The Unseen Words Project 