Greetings everybody! It's the Unleashed One. Welcome to the last day of 2022. I hope all of you are doing well so far.
I do not celebrate the ringing in of the New Year like others. It's rare that I'm up to see the clock strike midnight. However, I do take the opportunity to reflect on lessons learned, or when I have extended time to write, see if there have been modifications, updates, or challenges with what I set forth the year before.
What can I say? I don't have extended time today. I am going to attend a service, so I want to get extra sleep prior to preparation. I showered tonight, so that will save me some time. The longest part (and even that is shorter compared to most) is my makeup.
I already talked about the 1st three lessons in a previous post. Let's get into the black-eyed peas and collard greens of this section.
If something isn't working in the present, I don't have to continue with it until it does. It's okay to scrap it and try something else.
Many practices I've tried to incorporate have involved some trial and error. Most I've been able to stick to. There were others that had me twisted in knots because they weren't being conducive. Once I changed my lens of "wins and losses" to a "laboratory of experimentation", it made me feel better if things didn't pan out. "The chemistry wasn't there" sounds more soothing than "This is an epic fail".
The definition of vacation is subjective.
I did not get the opportunity to travel like I wanted to, but I did have restful staycations. It made me realize that I can envision my time off however I want as well as view travel differently. This new mindset heading into 2023 will lead me to do new things as well as meet new people. I am open to seeing what is possible.
Being cautiously optimistic weighs lighter on the spirit than being consistently pessimistic.
The trajectory of a day is determined by what energy is manifested. If defaulting to disaster is one's norm, then the whole day feels like a boobie trap of mishaps. If one looks at each day as a clean slate, then the tone for optimism is more dominant.
I'm not saying that optimism prevents disasters. It won't stop Mother Nature from exhibiting unusual weather. Or prevent the person from cutting me off in traffic. It may not even prevent people from taking their bad moods out on me or horrific events from happening around the world.
I can only control myself. I can control my reaction so that one event won't disrupt the tone of the remainder of the day. I can give myself time to retreat and reset to prevent from being a walking target for triggers.
Reframing fear rhetoric and negative self-talk takes practice. One has to practice each and every day for mastery. I am not a master yet, but I'm better equipped this year than I am last year ... and the previous year.
I am not as quick to catastrophize as I once was. I look at the thought to see if it's based on what's real. Is it judgment, and if so, is it a fair one? More often than not, the "punishment" doesn't fit the crime, so I give myself kindness and grace, then move forward.
This helps me to still have hope in humanity and what it can become if it just healed itself.
On that note ...
No comments:
Post a Comment