Think about it. With just about anything we hold dear, anything we do or feel, even how we do what we do, there is always an opposite:
Waking and Sleeping
Moving and Stillness
Speaking and Silence
Accepting and Rejecting
Loving and Hating
Trusting and Doubting
And, we have a default way of being, the way we usually approach the activity, the conversation, the day before us. Many of us move through life acting unconsciously, reacting based on well worn habits.
Today, consider practicing the opposite of one of your well worn habits:
- If you usually move quickly from activity to activity, barely pausing to catch your breath, try taking 1-5 minutes in between activities to shift gears, stop your mental chatter and notice: How do you feel? What was precious about the activity just ending? What do you need in order to feel good about moving into the next one?
- If your default is to say nothing in group meetings, to hide out and just observe, practice speaking up, sharing your opinion. How do others respond? How does it feel to speak up?
- If your habit in the grocery store (or out for a walk or in the airport) is to keep your head down, getting the job done as quickly as possible, noticing no one around you, try opening your heart and your eyes and saying hello to each person you pass. What does it feel like to connect with people?
Change things up! Let yourself notice the endless variety that is always around you.
What is Life offering you now?
What have you been missing out on?
What opposite will expand your world?