Sunrise Pages April

Sweet Greetings, Dear Universe!

Thank you, Dear One, for all that I have here in my life.  I am well; I am safe; I am happy.  That is enough, and I am enough.

Each of us, Dear Reader has our strengths and weaknesses – the things that come naturally to us, and things that don’t.  There are also skills that are complex and nuanced, and therefore take practice and experience to develop.

For many of us, interacting with people is one of those skills that takes a while to develop, in order to feel comfortable.  Learning to intuit people’s moods and energies, and read the social cues, takes a lot of practice, accompanied by a lot of trial-and-error.

In golf, and other pursuits, the successful person is often the one who identifies a weakness, and then spends the time and energy to improve, until s/he makes it one of the strongest parts of her/his game.

Often, that separates the champion from the ones who avoid practicing the skills where they are weak, telling themselves it’s not fun and is just a waste of time.  The champion finds a way to endure the discomfort, sometimes creating a fun way to challenge himself and practice those skills, all the while getting better and building his confidence.  Then, the next time he faces that shot, he believes he can execute it, because he’s seen himself do it many times before.

This is the way our whole life works, not just on the golf course.  In the realm of social interaction, there’s a strong temptation to avoid our discomfort by isolating ourselves with screen time.  Where once we would chat with people at dinner, or make conversation with the person seated next to us on the bus or plane, now we can pull out our phones and avoid the interaction.

I get it.  I’m uncomfortable in situations with people I don’t know.  I worry about what to say, about saying the wrong thing.  I get concerned about how this stranger might judge me, disagree with me, or completely dismiss me.  And, sometimes my mind jumps to making judgments and assumptions about them.  A form of defense, I believe, in a compare-and-despair strategy of my social self.

Here are the things I try to remember – first, it’s all practice.  It’s a chance to work those muscles and get stronger, to develop my social awareness and confidence.

Second, my True Hero Nature can certainly do it.  Even if I try and stumble, my True Hero Nature can certainly dare to try.  It’s only my ego and lizard brain who are trying to convince me that I won’t survive the trying.

Third, it is very likely that this person next to me has some of these same thoughts and fears.  This is something we can help each other do.  In an instant, this thought can shift me to seeing this person less as a stranger and more like a partner.

Fourth, when I go forth, and I dare regularly to connect with people along the way, I deepen my inter-connectedness to the Web of this World.  I lay and strengthen new connections; I learn more and recognize more about how interesting, diverse, and yet similar we all are.  And, I learn a lot more about myself – who I am, who I want to be, and who I can be.

 

Try this Prompt:

Make a list of ten of your weaknesses.  Can you think of times when you’ve avoid your weaknesses, instead of dealing with them?  What are activities you can do to give yourself practice developing each weakness?

 

Growing bigger and stronger each moment, Dear Creator!  Thank you!