Trust Life Today

WHATIF by Shel Silverstein

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“WHATIF” by Shel Silverstein

Last night, while I lay thinking here,
Some Whatifs crawled inside my ear
And pranced and partied all night long                                 Shel Silverstein
And sang their same old Whatif song:
Whatif I’m dumb in school?
Whatif they’ve closed the swimming pool?
Whatif I get beat up?
Whatif there’s poison in my cup?
Whatif I start to cry?
Whatif I get sick and die?
Whatif I flunk the test?
Whatif green hair grows on my chest?
Whatif nobody likes me?
Whatif a bolt of lightning strikes me?
Whatif I grow taller?
Whatif my head starts getting smaller?
Whatif the fish won’t bite?
Whatif the wind tears up my kite?
Whatif they start a war?
Whatif my parents get divorced?
Whatif the bus is late?
Whatif my teeth don’t grow in straight?
Whatif I tear my pants?
Whatif I never learn to dance?
Everything seems swell, and then
The nighttime Whatifs strike again!

~~~~

Today’s poem, written by Shel Silverstein, is a classic example of monkey-mind: thoughts jumping around in our mind;  springing, leaping in different directions almost as soon as they land. This is the monkey-mind that creeps in and toils and spins at the most inconvenient time: when we settle in for the night.

Although this poem is told from a child’s point of view, I think it’s safe to say that as adults, we’ve all experienced this type of chatter, too. Our list may look a bit different–perhaps it would include Whatifs about marriage, career, children, our aging parents.

When did we learn to make such lists? As children it appears. But how young? I can recall making these worry-lists as early as second grade. I wonder, when did you start?

And when did we allow our minds to invent such fiction, considering the Whatifs very rarely end up becoming reality?

And more importantly, how do we quiet the Whatifs when they begin to seep in?

Years of practice didn’t work for me. Setting my intention didn’t work either. Getting up in the middle of the night and making a list of them? Nope. By the time I turned off the light my mind had already latched on to a half dozen more. (I was quite gifted at this whole monkey-mind thing. Still am actually, if I allow it.)

Prayer? Ah, now there’s a good, solid start. As I learned to shift my mode of prayer from the request type (because let’s be honest, the more I requested peace, sleep, whatever, the more I was reminded of the lack of it, and as a result, the more I wanted it–nasty, vicious cycle). However, once I learned to marry prayer with what I know to be true of Trust, in Trusting What Is, the Whatifs that had once crawled in my ear, no longer had fertile ground in which to thrive.

Give it a try. Prayer with Trust. Trust that you are not alone. Trust that What Is occurring in your life is happening for a reason—maybe to make you stronger, maybe to show you that you CAN HANDLE it, maybe to open your eyes to the wonders and possibilities that exist beyond what you thought were possible.

Trust that you are taken care of in ALL of your needs.

How to Love Yourself

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Many years ago—years that feel more like lifetimes—I dated a guy who was all wrong for me. I refused to see it at the time. Belligerent beyond reason, I refused to admit it, even ten, fifteen, twenty years later.

On any given day I could give you a list of lame reasons why we were together. A list that could aptly be called, “Leslie’s List of Justifications.” The truth is, although I may have started dating him for reasons similar to why many couples start dating, I stayed with him years beyond reason, for one simple fact:

I didn’t love myself enough to break the bad habit of “us.” No. It’s simpler than that. I didn’t love myself enough. Period.

It’s so true what Steve Jobs said about connecting dots:  “…you can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards.” As I read the words I wrote in my own book, they appear so simple, so almost duh-like: Continue Reading

2017 Watchword: Turn Your Word into Action

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No More New Year’s Resolutions For Me

Several years ago I declared I was done with New Year’s Resolutions. I just couldn’t stick with them. By mid January, I couldn’t even remember those oh-so-important resolutions I had painstakingly thought up and had numbered 1 through whatever. That’s when a girlfriend introduced me to the idea of a watchword. (Thank you, Karen. And thank you, Heather for always sharing your watchword with me so speedily; I always look forward to seeing what you pick…and why!)

What Is a Watchword?

Watchword — just one word to remember. One meaningful word to place your intentions behind, to drive your actions for 2017. When one word is behind your intentions and actions, it’s easier to stay focused and reach your goals and dreams, whatever they may be.

Below are examples of watchwords Pixie Dusters have shared with me, plus some of mine from past years:

BALANCE
FIERCE
CREATE
PLAY
RELAX
LISTEN
YES
LAUGH
COMPLETE
JOURNEY

Did any of the watchwords above resonate with you? If so, run with it! Or maybe none of the words spoke to you, but instead triggered a different word, go with that instead.

Don’t think about it too much. Go with the one that you feel yourself leaning in to…you will know it when you see it. And when you see it, GRAB it, run with it…which means, put action behind it (more on putting action behind it in just a sec).

This year, for the first time ever, I’m hesitant to share my watchword with you—mostly because it conjures multiple feelings and definitions. Basically, it carries such different energy depending on a myriad of factors.

Okay. Here goes. My watchword for 2017 is: FEMININE

watchword

The word feminine might bring one of these two images to mind. Or like me, neither.

I know what I mean by feminine, and it has nothing to do slaying vampires or dreaming about princes. It has to do with:

  • owning who I am
  • not becoming complacent (or more harshly put: lazy) with my hair, my make-up, my clothes…but rather, choosing the look I want that day or occasion and honoring it, not making excuses, not “trying too hard.” Again, owning who I choose to be.

When selecting my word, I tuned in to what my spirit needs. And right now, my spirit needs to experience a feeling of femininity—what that means to me, not what it means to my mother, not what it means to my circle of friends or to society, but what it means to ME.  I hope you do the same. I hope you listen to your gut and choose a watchword that speaks to you, one you can put some action behind.

Bringing Your Watchword to Life

Choosing a word is a good start, but if we don’t do anything with the word, then it’s not very effective as our watchword. We need to put action behind it! So this year I am adding an element to the annual watchword: I am adding a deliberate monthly action to punctuate my word FEMININE. That’s action once a month, 12 times per year. What does that look like? It looks like doing something out of my norm that makes me feel feminine. (I may even post them on our group Facebook page: Love, Trust & Pixie Dust. Maybe.)

watchword

Happy 2017 to YOU! Please share your watchword with us—you never know—your watchword could be exactly what someone needs to see!

Love,
Leslie

Step Into Your Power

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power

Irresistibly sweet Girl Scouts, parked at tables outside of grocery store entrances, walking door-to-door, with their irresistibly sweet voices, luring you to buy their irresistibly sweet cookies.

Except that…irresistibly sweet I am not. It takes everything in me not to snap, “No, thank you! I DON’T want your stinkin’ cookies!”

First, I don’t like the thought of being responsible for turning once smiling eyes into pools of disconsolate tears. But underneath my more human side—because hey, I am a mom and I know the pain I feel when my own children cry—underneath the human-mom-me, is the self-sabotaging woman, the woman who knows this simple fact:

I DO want their stinkin’ cookies. Bottom line: Thin Mints Have Power Over Me.

Thin Mints, Cheetos, McDonald’s French fries, movie theatre popcorn, Twilight (book series, not movies), Breaking Bad…and most recently, Stranger Things. 

All items above, at one point in my life, had power over me. Items, that once I started, picked up in my hands—no, even before that—once my mind latched on to the feeling it gave me, I’d find myself diving in with a sense of devouring urgency. There simply was no turning back. Continue Reading

Learning to love yourself and trust yourself is just a matter of time. Let's begin!

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