Namaste.
This morning, I accidentally tripped into a puddle of pleasant thoughts. I love it when that happens. As I was folding clothes between meetings, I was thinking to myself about how much I actually love having a family to fold clothes for. I know it sounds a little too Suzy homemaker. There is nothing wrong with being a homemaker, homemakers are fantastic and amazing, but can we all agree that “Suzy” is just a bit too darn perfect? Anyways, I think too often than not, people start from a negative place when trying to cope with daily responsibilities. An example may be having a feeling of guilt by acknowledging that they’re in a better place than those who are less fortunate. To me, that doesn’t really inspire real appreciation, but rather brings about feelings of unnecessary shame.
I imagine many of us don’t realize that feelings of joy that are happening all of the time because we tend to let our emotions get bogged down to the bottoms of our laundry baskets. Just like I didn’t have any intentions of enjoying folding my clothes, I wouldn’t have any intentions of bringing about shame for folding my clothes either. Triggers are usually how these feelings come about for me. Trigger examples: A good memory seeing my husband the last time he wore an outfit that I was putting away; Finding a matching sock; Thinking about the person who wears the clothes; Seeing my favorite color; Enjoying the warmth from the dryer. There are lot of triggers that exist. Therefore, I think the intention is one of being aware, not necessarily the outcome of being aware. Perhaps, the real trick is to hang on to to the happy thoughts as they happen and you’ll find that they can grow into the kind of puddles you don’t mind playing in after a gentle spring rain. As for when you’re aware of the negative, unpleasant thoughts that occur, its good to be a gentle explorer as to why you feel that way. Acknowledge it, and then as they say…. “let that shit go….”
Challenge for you:
Catch yourself having a positive thought today while doing something you don’t typically enjoy doing!
Namaste.
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