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Sacred Discipline

The phrase struck me today … sacred discipline.

What do you think of when you hear the word discipline? Often it conjures up  negativity, shoulds, restrictions, limitation, deprivation … all in service toward achieving some goal: “If I am disciplined enough, I will graduate with honors or lose ten pounds by Christmas.”

What would be different if the road to graduation
or to a more fit body, for example,
were paved with Sacred Discipline?

Here is one definition of the word sacred:

Sacred is something that is held in high regard,
something loved and revered.

Imagine holding discipline, or better yet, the goal that needs discipline, in high regard, loving it, revering it. From this perspective, knowing that the goal is sacred, what would it be like to let the journey be sacred as well?

What if “sacred” filled your studying?
What if “sacred” empowered your exercise?

How would sacred make the journey lighter?

 

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Supporting Characters …

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If life is a stage, then you are the main character in your life experience, yes?  And, if that is true, then you play a supporting role in the lives of many others.

What does this mean?

It means that each one of us has perhaps much greater impact on others than we have dared to imagine. The choices we make day in and day out can support those around us, can have loving impact. They can also be the source for another’s pain or struggle. While we cannot fully control how another receives the impact of our actions, we can and must choose how we act, how we choose to be in our supporting roles.

And we must realize that we are a supporting character on MANY stages! It is easy to see that we support our partners, our children, our colleagues and friends. Yet, there are people we will not ever meet in this lifetime for whom our choices have an indirect impact. Imagine the “friend of a friend of a friend” … how we are with our friend changes how our friend is with their friend, and so on. Perhaps it is the legacy we leave at the office when we retire, the legacy in word and deed and energy, that impacts those who come after us. Maybe it is our loving presence, our smile, in the check-out line that goes home with the tired cashier and becomes a hug for their special little child.

So I wonder:

For whom are you a supporting character?
What gifts and talents do you bring to the role?

If you saw yourself as a supporting character on the world stage,
what would you bring to your role in each and every scene?

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No one gets to be wrong!

Imagine how this one idea might transform your relationships:

No one gets to be wrong!

Imagine:

  • conversations where the goal wasn’t to discover who is right but, rather, to connect, converse, share ideas
  • seeking to align rather than agree, discern what combination of possibilities lands in win-win or in mutual respect and agreeing to disagree in love

How many fewer verbal battles would we be part of?
How much more patience and acceptance might we experience?
How much more might we be open to?

What might life include when we aren’t so busy making others wrong?

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Let Me Get Back To You On That!

Do you ever say YES to an opportunity without thinking and later wish you hadn’t? Has your YES habit landed you in resentment, too busy, frustration? Do you find that the energy you then bring to these activities is sour?

We could dig into WHY so many of us are “yes persons”. And often that includes things like a desire to be liked or loved or to look good. But not today. Today is for changing your response, one answer at a time.

Imagine taking back your personal power and being able to say YES when you mean YES and NO or “Perhaps another time” when that is your truth.

Ready?

The next time you are about to say YES without thinking, try this simple 4-step process:

Let me get back to you on that!

  1. PAUSE: Respond with “Let me get back to you on that by [date]”
  2. JOURNAL: What is true about this for me? Why do I want to do it? Why not? What is the impact of YES? What is the impact of NO? Is NOT THIS TIME but interested next time your truth?
  3. DECIDE: What is my decision?
  4. COMMUNICATE: Let the questioner know of your empowered YES or NO or LATER.

This process works when the questioner is a friend or family member wanting you to do something. It also works if the questioner is YOU wanting to skip exercise or eat unhealthfully or abandon yourself in some other way. Here you might “get back to yourself” in 5 or 10 minutes.

What will it be like to make self-honoring decisions?
What will it be like not to resent what you agree to?
What will it be like to keep commitments joyfully?

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Paint With Love …

Today’s tidbit is just this …

Paint with love.

In the moments of your day, as you engage with people at home, at work, at play, wherever you are and whatever you do, imagine you are painting with love. Imagine you are creating and co-creating the effects of your life using love as the only color, love as the energy.

Now imagine this: Love is the canvas.

What do you create when you paint on love with love?