Watch Yourself

This is a refresher/reset exercise that you might enjoy on one of those days when you're feeling stuck in ordinariness.

Imagine yourself as a commentator. The way commentating is done at performances and sports events, only you are the focus. You are watching every small, ordinary thing you do. Injecting excitement and admiration in the commentary you give yourself. Use the third person when you do this because you are watching you, not being you. Be generous with your approval.

Keep going until you feel that shift and ordinary, the way you do it, becomes extraordinary.

Suffering

I had a conversation recently with a friend who has one of the bigger hearts on the planet. Reflecting on the state of the world, she tells me, "There is no suffering." Out of kindness, I choose to let her temporary lapse of her grip on reality go unnoticed. Yet, like a seed planted in fertile ground, how such an odd concept could be true has been begging to make its way out of my imagination. And so I present it here:

Pain, loss, destruction are not in themselves suffering. They just are. We are the ones who see suffering in them when in fact they are pure experience. Raw material that we are at choice to work with as we like. We could choose to become sufferers of pain, loss, destruction. We could choose to become one who takes this raw material of experience and in embracing what is gained from it, becomes more than we were before. We could be blessed with a wealth of experience, a treasure trove to help and inspire.

I send out thanks to this friend who saw what I couldn't see and I share this with you so that you can know what the choice is, when it comes to suffering.