Living Soft

Tidbits of Wisdom

Monday, January 11. 2010

Living Soft

In my early morning writing today, I revisited a conversation from yesterday with a new friend and was inspired by her openness to everything about this life. “I don’t know … and I don’t need to know.” flowed easily from her. And, “Life is supposed to be fun!” also gave me room for pause.

As I wrote, a very open and light feeling transformed itself into soft:

(S)upported, (O)pen, (F)lexible, (T)rusting


And I wondered where in my life I am yet hard, unchanging, closed to new ideas and experiences. And, as one who is fed by helping others, I wondered, too, where I am hardened and closed to support from others, to being nurtured, to softly receiving.

In life coaching, we use the analogy of plaque build-up to explain what happens when we are “hard”. Each time we allow an idea, belief, or way of being in the world to harden in our thoughts and become our “truth”, it’s as if we have shrunk the channel for new ideas and inspiration to enter our awareness. As time goes on, the channel closes. No longer open to new ideas, rigid and inflexible in our ways, change and growth become impossible.

I don’t want to be hard. I want to let go of the plaque build-up in my awareness and open the channel for “I don’t know”. I want to see life around me as a land of possibility. And I want my softer nature to be an invitation for you to give, to nurture, to care, to love - because I know how good that feels! I want to be soft, pliable, able to bend without breaking, strong yet flexible, wise yet filled with child-like wonder.

So I wonder if you would share your wisdom around living soft.

  • What does living soft mean to you?

  • What is it that allows you live live softly?

  • What is possible for you when you are soft?


Thank you for your thoughts – for joining the conversation - as together we open to new ideas and become a bit softer.

For those of you in the Fox Valley area here is Wisconsin, I invite you to Harmony Cafe this Sunday, January 17, for a half hour of original, acoustic Songs For Your Spirit - music with an empowering, positive message. Then, stick around as Tom Duesterhoft will share his talent on guitar and voice, maybe even harmonica! Tom shares both original and familiar music. You are in for a treat!

Harmony Cafe
233 East College Avenue, Appleton, WI
Sundays, 11:00-noon


Visit Songs For Your Spirit home
Posted by Jeanne at 07:36 | Comments (5) | Trackbacks (0)

Trackbacks
Trackback specific URI for this entry

No Trackbacks

Comments
Display comments as (Linear | Threaded)

It's interesting how words can impact us. "Living Soft?"....no, I get the intention, but it has the wrong connotation for me. I think "Living Easy" as oppposed to "Living Hard" feels better. However, I like your adjectives...supported, open, flexible, trusting...yes to all of them...still, "Soft" forgets about intensity and passion and drive. Of couse, you could argue that "Easy" misses the point as well. Maybe we should throw caution to the wind and just say, "Living Wild". Yeah, living wild with just enough maturity not to get in trouble...how's that? :-)
#1 Wendy Naarup (Homepage) on 2010-01-12 08:57 (Reply)
Thanks, Wendy! Yes - words are just words and we certainly do have personal reactions. And I would never have meant to imply soft as denying intensity and passion! So -- I'm for all of it --- including WILD!
#2 Jeanne on 2010-01-12 09:10 (Reply)
Ah, Jeanne! Yes, *soft living*. Even in reading the email subject line I breathed in a little deeper and felt my belly soften. Thank you!
#3 Trish (Homepage) on 2010-01-12 11:27 (Reply)
Jeanne--Haven't tried this in awhile. Here goes! You have a way of putting things which helps me do self-examination. I wonder if I am allowing "plaque" to put crusty scales on my behavior and thought processes. I find the older I get the more passionate I am, but action to implement the passion seems to elude. Life itself tends to challenge, to slow up the plans. Lots of times I tell myself to accept and be content with what is. Is this just a rationalization for being stuck? (Question is rhetorical but real.)
#4 Sally Applegate-Rodeman on 2010-01-15 22:20 (Reply)
Sally,

Of course you know the answer to your own question! We always do. Acceptance and contentment can be vital or killing. If our acceptance and contentment are really "resignation", perhaps we've given up or taken the easy road and in the process "killed" our inner spirit. Is it "being stuck" or is it "fear" which keeps us in resignation?

If acceptance and contentment involve seeing what is as just that - what is ... and if they then allow us to free up our energy, stop using it to fight and start using it to create the world of our passions, then acceptance and contentment have served us well.

Life will always present challenges (a.k.a. "Opportunities") and we always are at choice as to how we respond.

Jeanne
#4.1 Jeanne on 2010-01-16 08:36 (Reply)

Add Comment

Enclosing asterisks marks text as bold (*word*), underscore are made via _word_.
Standard emoticons like :-) and ;-) are converted to images.
 
Submitted comments will be subject to moderation before being displayed.
 

Archives

Blog Administration

Open login screen

Syndicate This Blog