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Sunday, August 5, 2018

Making Space

Making space.  We are all subjected to @ 35 GB of data every day.   That’s a lot!  We all have constant demands on our time and attention  family, kids, work, friends, social media, email and our selves.  Funny, we are always last in our own lists.  If you are sitting with a small child or elderly person on a flight the flight attendant always stops by to remind you- you the one with them, put your mask on first. Put your mask on first, in order to take care of others.  That’s right in the case of emergency the last person in the list becomes the first. Put your own mask on first.

What does putting your mask on first have to do with making space?  Well making space for your self, in your head, in your attention is the same as putting your mask on first.  We all only have so much energy to share every day, some things we get energy from, most we give.  If we are constantly last on our own lists, then we are giving ourselves the left overs.  It’s not sustainable, it doesn’t encourage growth.  So while we think about putting our own masks on first, we should also think about self kindness.

We rarely offer ourselves the same kindness, love and encouragement we offer others.  Why is this?  Is it because we are last on the list getting left overs? Is it because we are our harshest critics.  Too fat, too skinny, too old, too gray, you know the things your inner voice reminds you of.  Not good enough, not strong enough, not enough.  We are enough though, all of us have people that love us for being enough.  Sure we can all do and be better.  Sometimes that internal critical voice makes us get better, stronger, faster.  Think about the words you share with a friend who is telling you they are not “enough”- you highlight the things they are doing towards their “enough”- you encourage them to be patient with their selves- you tell them it’s a journey, a marathon not a sprint.   Maybe your inner voice can learn to be encouraging to your self?  A constructive friend, in a sense getting out of your own way.

What does making space look like in practice?  For me it’s finding time to sit with my thoughts and meditate, it’s journaling and now when I walk I take a break from reading a couple of days a week to listen to my jams and let my mind roam.  It’s funny we have to think to make space- we are constantly exposed to more than fits in our 24 hours everyday. 

Put your own mask on first, make space and be kind to yourself.

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