Deborah Cole Photography

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Is It Just Me?

Sometimes I live in my own head WAY too much. Ever happened to you too? Spinning tales of woe and lack as well as the “poor me” syndrome can become a way of thinking when times are challenging. And when are times not challenging? Always beautiful, but chock full of lessons to be learned. Isn’t that the way of the world? And in fact, isn’t that what makes us stronger and more resilient as well as humanly wonderful?

Recently, I began to spin the tale of how incredibly HARD life was leading to internally whining at every fork in the road and every twist and turn of the day. Wah, wah, wah. I’m a victim of. . . .Wait a minute. This feels pretty ridiculous right now, so let’s take a time out and evaluate what is so awful.

Without enumerating all of the woes of the world, suffice it to say there is actually nothing (and I do mean nothing) wrong/bad/horrible/difficult with life right now. In having this dialogue with my whiney self, I realized that I was doing it . . . yet again-going to that place where life needs to move along according to MY schedule, MY needs, MY wishes, MY desires, MY happiness. Yikes. Is it just me or is it possible to walk down this same road again, and again, and yet again. Look, kiddo, you’ve been here before and we have had this talk. The world does not revolve around your need to be right, comfortable, cheery, having everything YOUR way. Self has gotten pretty good at talking to Self, especially in the past few years.

The good news here? Recognition that it’s happening again and a quick shift to a trusty antidote of a reality check. This turns my inner discussion into a time of appreciation and love for what is-whatever that is. My egoic expectations are often BS. Although anticipation and planning are completely justifiable and reasonable, the need to come up with a certain outcome is not. The repetitive self talk that those BS expectations are only that….anticipated outcomes WITHOUT the attachment to them is critical. Planning for the best, expecting the best and then loving what happens is my wash/rinse/repeat way of life. It’s all good.