When life gets tough, I inevitably turn off a lot of the lights in my head and board up many of the bigger, wilder rooms in order to focus on surviving. My thinking gets narrow, serious, and horribly practical. The problem is that as the weeks or months go by, I begin to forget to those other bright rooms existed. I sit, hunched, in one small, dark, cramped room in my mind thinking, well this is it, just have to get on with it then. No wonder I feel so miserable.
That’s why today I’m going to open some doors. I’m going to remember the dreams and wishes and big ideas that have made me feel excited in the past, before I told myself weren’t they practical or sensible. And if those ideas happen to feel stale when I return to them, I will imagine whole new rooms, whole new, fresh dreams.
Today I will have the courage to stop thinking about what I’ve told myself I have to do, and start thinking about what I could do.
I will ask what if? and write down the answers. I will look at things that inspire me. I’ll scribble plans and picture myself doing things that feel good, that feel right.
I don’t have to change anything. I can just carry on struggling as I am, if I like, but I will light or relight one small, audacious fire in my mind and tend it for a little while, just to see what happens, to notice how it feels.
Throughout the month of August, in order to help pull myself out of a downward spiral, I’m sharing a choice I’m making every other day. These choices aren’t trying to change or control anything. Each one is simply a fresh turn towards what I know will help my mind, body and the people around me.
Perhaps you’d like to try them too.
I am sharing this free series thanks to my paid subscribers who allow me to operate this newsletter with freedom and an open heart.
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