Humility and going slow

(By the Pool -photo copyright Jon Luty)

So I was at the pool with Meghan a couple of weeks ago, and we were in the changing room putting our togs on. Meghan was taking forever to undress and put her togs on because she was too excited to tell me all these little stories about her day. I was one step ahead: already thinking about getting in the pool so I gently said to her, "Quickly!" to encourage her to go faster. When I said this Meghan looked hurt, and said "Don't tell me quickly. I am doing really good." Upon hearing this my heart dropped and I realised my mistake.

Of course she was doing good! It was me that needed the attitude check. I turned to her and said, "I'm sorry, Megs. You're right, you are doing good. Michelle shouldn't have said that."

What was I in such a hurry for? The pool was still going to be there, no matter how long we took to get dressed. And in my haste and sense of urgency, I was missing the opportunity to celebrate and delight in the things that had happened in Meghan's day.

Do you ever do this with people? How do you remember to slow down? Do you find it hard to apologise when someone calls you out on it? Love to hear your thoughts.

Snapshots

Here are a couple of snapshots from out and about this week. I love both of them because of the moodiness of the weather, and the natural scenery.

Halfway up the Taieri Gorge rail trip

This photo is of some beautiful toitoi out by the harbour in Dunedin. Had just finished dropping Meghan off at her Monday night soccer and I came out and thought, "Wow, isn't this stunning!"

Hope you enjoy!

The Gifts of Imperfection

I have just finished reading Brene Brown's wonderful book entitled The Gifts of Imperfection. In her book she mentions one of the exercises she does each week on her own blog called TGIF. It is a weekly post about what she's Trusting, what she's Grateful for, what Inspires her, and how she's practising her Faith. I think this is such an awesome idea that I have decided to steal it! Since it's called TGIF I will normally post this on a Friday, but I thought I would get the ball rolling now while the idea is still fresh in my head.

So this week, I am Trusting in my ability to figure out a solution to my oversleeping issues.

I am Grateful for so much....

• my amazing counsellor
• the Addictions paper I am studying this semester
• my cat, Jaxx
• warmth (you really appreciate this when you live in Dunedin)
• my job with Meghan
• the blessing of my car

I am Inspired at the moment by :

• my fellow ISSUE magazine columnists, and their amazing writing (Check out http://issuemagazine.wordpress.com and be inspired)
• an amazing book I am reading for book club called "Room" by Emma Donoghue (such an amazing fiction read...seriously this book will stay with you for days...I can't stop thinking about it!!)

And, to be honest I'm not really doing much at the moment to practise my Faith. So something to work on for the coming week...

Have a great week everyone, and I'd be interested to hear your TGIF's. You can write them in the comments below if you like!! :)

Some thoughts on cleaning

“Keep your own house and its surroundings pure and clean. This hygiene will keep you healthy and benefit your worldly life.” - Sri Sathya Sai Baba

I have spent the last couple of days feeling particularly unmotivated. I woke up this morning and noticed that my room (and the rest of the house) was a mess. So I cleaned: I did dishes, I vacuumed, I made my bed, I put away my washing, I put the recycling in the recycling bin etc etc. And as I cleaned I noticed that my outlook on life started to improve. The world started to look brighter, and more vibrant, and my mind started to feel clearer and more focussed. It hasn't completely cured my bad mood but it has got me halfway there.

The thing is this shouldn't really be surprising! The environment in which one lives is often a reflection of one's inner state, and vice versa. So by tidying up my environment it is actually possible to create a new inner state.

Has anyone else noticed this??

It's Not Yet The End...

This week has been a very trying week for me, however a couple of nights ago I had the opportunity to go to the movies with a friend. We went and saw The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, which is such a delightful movie. I was very encouraged by a line from the movie, which said "Everything will be all right in the end. If things aren't all right now, then that means it's not yet the end."
This got me thinking about what God says about the end: that all things work together for the good, that every tear will be wiped away etc. I think that if we live with a constant reminder that this is not yet the end, it changes things. It makes us more able to live with the discomfort of the now, because we know that it is just transitory, and that it is not the full picture.
What do you guys think?

Hanging out the washing

We were in class the other day, and the lecturer gave us a scenario to use to interview each other with, in order to practise our counselling skills. The scenario was this: Ask the other person how they hang out the washing. Now it may seem that that is a strange thing to counsel someone about, but as we were doing this with each other, we noticed extraordinary things. Like for instance, how rare it is in everyday life for someone to really be interested in the minute and mundane details of your life, like how you hang out your washing. It felt amazing to be interviewed on this topic and get to share. This simple invitation to talk about our routine tasks made each of us feel very loved, and our bonds deepened.

Another interesting thing we noticed was how many different ways there are to do something as simple as hang out the washing. Everybody had a different technique, along with a host of deeply ingrained reasons for why they did it that way. As I was talking, I even noticed that I felt a deep sense of shame about how I did the washing, which had its origins in something else completely.

My point is this: people love having attention, time and love paid to them, especially when they have done nothing to deserve it. Asking someone to share some part of their life with you is often one of the most simple ways to cultivate this. And yet most of the time, most of us, forget to do this. I wonder if this is because we think some topics are off-limits, or too boring to talk about? Or maybe because we don't imagine that there are so many interesting, different ways to do things like hang out the washing.

What simple thing could you ask someone about today to deepen your relationship?

No Ordinary Moments

I've been thinking today about a quote from one of my favourite movies, The Peaceful Warrior, which says "There are no ordinary moments". I haven't seen this film in quite some time but I had a re-membering of this quote after going to the airport yesterday. I went to the airport to pick up a friend of mine who is down in Dunedin for the weekend. As we got into my car, and were about to drive to the city, this girl smiled at me. I opened my door and said hi to her, and she asked if she could hitch a lift into Dunedin. I agreed and off we went.
What struck me about this encounter was that the girl in question (names were not exchanged) had a bold confidence and trust in the goodness of the universe, and me. She never doubted that I would be willing to give her a free lift, and because of her trust in me, I did something I usually do not do, which is pick up strangers.
It was the most ordinary type of encounter, and yet it was quite extraordinary, because in that moment I learnt something not only about myself, but also about the laws of the universe, and the grace of God. That is, that what you expect and believe will come into fruition.
So I leave you with this thought today that there are no ordinary moments. A moment of sacred revelation and self-insight may be contained within the seemingly ordinary-ness of day to day life, if we are aware.