Spring.
The sun.
The warm air.
Life blooming.
With the awakening earth, my soul is refreshed.
Like the flowers that push through the hard ground,
I too am now open to possibility.
No one chooses how I bloom but me!
—Kim Thompson
I just love that poem! How does it speak to me? It’s all about birth, change, and personal choice. Life just doesn’t stand still—it can’t. Old eventually gives way to new. We witness it everywhere!
Such a peaceful thought . . . to know we all have a chance at renewal. I’m certainly not the same person I was ten years ago or even ten days ago. “Hard ground”—struggle—is on everybody’s agenda, but so is blooming.
Brad’s a perfect example. For years he’s lived in a cage—a cage of depression. I wrote about him a few months back. Click here to read “The Latest Wow: We Can’t Always Snap Out of It.”
Well, it seems he is snapping out of it—I’m noticing some blooming going on. For the first time, Brad’s questioning what his inner roommate tells him. (For more on inner roommates, read “Meet Your Roommate.”)
His badgering roommate tells him—on a constant basis—what a loser he is. It accuses him of being lazy, wasting time, and generally being worthless. Internalizing that message, giving it the weight of truth, kills all motivation. “I hesitate to make more of myself . . . to even try,” he said, “because I think: What’s the use? Why try? I’ll never get it right.”
Your busy mind isn’t you. You’re the one observing it.
“What’s the benefit of being an observer of your thoughts?” I asked.
“It allows a person to detach from their roommate,” he said. “It’s a form of letting go. I see that I need to separate from my thoughts.”
I would love the opportunity to get Brad’s inner roommate on “the couch.” The first thing out of my mouth would be: “Don’t you have something better to do? Who’s actually the lazy one here? As far as I can see, your sole interest in life is tearing Brad to shreds every chance you get. How ridiculous is that? What a complete waste of time and how utterly pointless!”
Of course, I would never actually have a conversation like that with a client, but “roommates” are another matter. That’s exactly the kind of conversation we all need to have with our bedeviling inner critics. Brad, I’m happy to say, is well on his way.
Names are changed to honor client confidentiality.
Thanks to Kim Thompson for the use of her lovely poem. Kim’s talents extend far beyond her gift with words . . . check out her site and see for yourself. 🙂
Salee Reese 