Loving What’s Present
I haven’t written much lately but I just sat down to catch up on a video from one of my Facebook friends in our ‘Change Your World’ group and ended up writing this instead…
We had just finished a week’s coaching with Ashley D Bush which I had missed, but the topic Acceptance, along with Gratitude has probably been my main focus over the past couple of years, so I decided to share my current perspective on it anyway.
Acceptance & Gratitude…
Acceptance and Gratitude are my two main pillars for living well. For me acceptance is about loving myself just as I am – right here – right now and without blame or judgement. It is also about loving others for who they are – right here – right now and ultimately it is about accepting where we are on a global level without judgement… And Gratitude is about giving thanks for it.
For example, at the moment it looks like the whole world is free-falling into total chaos, and the key to transformation is recognising that chaos is the root through to a new order, so it is important to love everything it brings as a lesson and a gift.
Several years ago I worked in a Steiner School kindergarten where the toys are simple and organic (it was beautiful). The children used to love playing with the long woollen ropes which would inevitably become tangled. So when we had our team meetings I used to bring the ropes with me and patiently unpick them knot by knot. My colleagues were often astonished that I achieved it even with the smallest and tightest knots that no one ever bothered with.
The lovely thing about this is the recognition that when you approach a pile of knotted ropes with impatience and a sense of hopelessness it is impossible to unpick them. When you greet each knot with patience, care and acceptance, you begin to see where the loose bits are and each knot becomes a delightful puzzle.
Life is a bit like that…
I can’t say I always achieve it (especially when something triggers me) but I can say that, in my heart I know that when I greet things with patience and love, life feels easier and troubles become a joyful puzzle that allow something new to emerge.
Parkinson’s has been that type of gift for me. Particularly before I started taking medication. Learning to accept that my body and mind didn’t have the capacity they used to have could be frustrating. I had to learn patience and acceptance and the beauty of it was learning to love myself in a new way.
A while back we did a mirror exercise in the group. It is something I first did in my twenties and is very powerful. Living with Parkinson’s is a bit like that.
Looking in the mirror and loving what is there,
not wishing it was something different.
My Parkinson’s symptoms are worse when I get stressed, frustrated or anxious. One symptom is that my arm shakes so much it becomes very tense and can be quite painful and exhausting. The key to recovery is the same as it was unpicking those knots. Rather than getting angry with it, I just need to stop and give it my attention.
When I focus on sending love to it, my arm it feels better, I connect with the healing power of Universal Love and the pain, along with the frustration and anxiety subsides.
Now take that back to a global level…
Imagine facing Donald Trump or Boris Johnson or whoever it is in your personal life that has you fired up. Instead of pouring anger on the situation, pour in love and understanding. With all that’s going on, our world often seems frustrating and confusing. I see it as a great big beautiful puzzle that just needs us to accept it for what it is, be grateful for the gifts it brings and lovingly unpick each knot one at a time until the rope lengthens and is ready to be used in a new way.
So here I am at the end of writing this, and recognising why the video recordings failed.
This is not at all what I intended to do. But that’s the lovely thing about writing – it’s the same slowing down process that enables new things – new thoughts – new insights – and new gifts to emerge from a quiet place that rests underneath all the busy-ness of living.
A bit like this Lockdown really.
The Personal Development group I belong to is a private facebook group organised by Suzy Beaumont at Change Your World
