I stood there, pondering as I looked upon myself. What a situation we have become, I quietly whisper to myself. I pulled myself together, and looked around.
Dark, dismal walls, cracked with age surrounded me. The only light entered through a framed window, opened to the sea. No curtains, not furniture, nothing of importance set the room apart from a basement except the window. I stood facing the window, looking out at the watery depths and saw the bright sun glistening off the crests. Indeed, my mind wandered into the seashore, and beyond. Out here, I felt at peace.
Inside, I could hear someone approach the door. The floorboards creaked and the door opened. Inside stepped none other than, myself. I announced, “We have to talk” and to which I ignored and continued to gaze out the window.
“This thing called life is overwhelming you. I can tell you feel exhausted, but you pile more on yourself. We have to make a plan for what you need to do to self-care.” I said to my back.
I’d heard it before, so what was new, this person I am talking to, was no other than myself. It’s time to look out again, beyond the self, and do more for others. I give, and that is what matters.
I hear a chuckle.
Intrigued I finally turn around and face myself. I know inside I have to make changes: My health, my life, and dreams depend on me. If I listen to the inner person can I learn something? I consistently encourage my client’s to listen to the inner guide and to pay attention to their thoughts and feelings. I need to do so just as much as they do, if not more. A hypocrite I am not.
. . .
Photo by Karly Santiago on Unsplash
First things first, the room needs some updated paint. I close my eyes, coat the walls with a soft pink. The window needs curtains, so I put some gentle lace so when the wind blows, the curtain billows into the room. Perfect.
The dresser set to the side is a white antique, four drawers tall. Inside the top drawer I have my memories of my mother, father, and family. I keep the special things I remember fully ready for me to observe.
At any time, the beautiful, special, and wonderful things come out and I remind myself of the blessings. Each dresser drawer contains a different layer of my life. One drawer is painful past memories, another one contains knowledge both what I have learned and what I want to learn, and the third drawer is full of places I have traveled along with a few places I want to see.
The room contains a couple chairs, so I can rest when I need to look into the dark drawer. The one where pain is present. I am hesitant to explore them alone, so I open up and share with a support system. I still do so, and work to overcome the hard parts of life.
The room now is a place to explore rather than avoid. A dark, dismal room does not lead one to open up. Redecoration restores a place of peacefulness.
. . .
My room is newly decorated, fully furnished, and filled with an openness and connection I’d not noticed before this experience. I connect to myself, listen to myself, and follow my gut instincts. My life is better since I redecorated my self-talk room.
In a group coaching session today, myself along with about five other people all participated in learning more about clarity, courage, and productivity. When the coach asked one of us to push the number 5 to be chosen to share, no one did so until I did. My name was called up and I was able to share my need for clarity on business decisions coming up in November. The biggest ah-ha for me was in acknowledging that the essential thing I must attend to is my health: self care. And with that, my brain kicked into gear. I started the jorueny of the mind-room last week. Even as I delayed writing, the events in my life led me to arrive at this moment where I can complete the writing. If we remain still long enough, answers come to us.
I learned how valuable it is to sit with some stillness every single day. To allow less noise in my mind, and to make a decision to limit my racing thoughts to a pace of 30 mph rather than the rat race of 150–200 mph. You can’t see the scenery if you are driving that fast! At 30 mph you can actually see the trees and the squirrels. Our brains run on the same kind of mile per hour system, and the thoughts we allow to permeate our mind will give us health or drag us down.
If we go back to the mind-room, the place where often we shut off any thoughts or we overthink, we could step back and redecorate the area our mind inhabits. We can take the time to consider the thoughts needed or necessary and allow space to process them as we move through the experiences of daily life.
We don’t have to believe every thought, nor do we have to cut them down. We can, in a delightful curious way, ponder those thoughts and allow them space to evaporate or we can do something with them. Either way, you get to choose what you will do with those thoughts. That’s empowerment!
. . .
Photo by Aaron Huber on Unsplash
Now that you have heard my story, thoughts, and ideas, it is your turn to tell me about your mind-room. What does it look like? Have you ever thought about what it looks like, the area you spend talking to yourself within? Often, we get so busy judging our thoughts, that we forget the beauty of the mental connections to the self.
We are a strange mix of experience, perception, and connection. Every event we walked through imprinted on our mind, somewhere. We don’t have to linger in negativity, and we can choose what we allow through our mind’s doorway.
Come along and explore with me the amazing mind-room of your own space.
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This post was previously published on Change Your Mind Change Your Life.
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