Monthly Theme: Thinking
This week’s word is Create
Your life is a masterpiece in the making. You are the artist. The paintbrush is in your own hand. You might decide to take broad, sweeping strokes that radically changes the landscape stretched out in front of your eyes. Sometimes you paint something and then decide that wasn’t what you wanted at all. You get frustrated at your lack of skill to create the scene that you see in your head.
Then, another person comes along and messes with your life’s work. They brush in a new color, structure or foliage that wasn’t in your plan. When this happens, you have two choices. You can look at their contribution to the painting of your life as an invasion or as a collaboration.
To view the brushstrokes of others as a thing of beauty that stems from their own creativity takes openness, flexibility and humility. To see the way your life intertwines, intersects and compliments the lives of others is a beautiful gift. It shows you how we are interdependent on each other, how everything is connected and you are a part of something greater than yourself.
This week stretch your creative muscles a bit. Drag out your favorite art supplies and draw, paint, collage, sculpt - whatever it is you like or want to do - a scene that depicts your life. Imagine in your mind the brushstrokes that others have drawn in for you. Try to duplicate their stroke on your piece of art. Sit back and look at it for a moment. What emotions does it evoke inside you? Does it feel like an invasion or a collaboration? Now close your eyes. Open them again and try to look at their brushstroke with a fresh eye, a creative mind. Draw in your own embellishment alongside, up against, and over their stroke that welcomes it more warmly into your creation. How does this help you see their brushstroke as a means to stretch your vision of what your piece of art might become?
Quote of the Week
"We see the world through glasses colored by our assumptions and belief - our thoughts about the way things are or should be. When we look at the world through glasses tinted with love, trust of others, and optimism, we tend to find examples of goodness and generosity everywhere. When we look through lenses clouded with suspicion and fear, we find hundreds of reasons to be paranoid. Thinking, therefore, will color and determine our relationships - with ourselves, others, and our environment...
What we find in the world around us is definitely a function of what we go looking for....Researchers in the field of human consciousness tell us that our senses are actually data-reduction devices, filtering out vast amounts of information that would otherwise create undue confusion. What we end up perceiving in the world around us is largely the stuff we need for survival, for comfort, and for stimulation, as well as the stuff that reinforces our beliefs. All these things create a sense of safety and continuity for us. Therefore, we will often hear what we need, expect, or want to hear, rather than what the other person is actually saying. We will see what we need, want, or expect to see. We will even experience physical sensations, including discomfort, illness symptoms, or the relief of symptoms, because of what we think or need to believe."
- Wellness Workbook by John W. Travis, MD, & Regina Sara Ryan
Next Step
To experiment with creating your own reality of wellness, try the imagery exercise described in this article from Healthy.net.
Put Yourself In The Picture Of Health
Further Information
For a deeper dive on reality and our perspectives on it, check out this article from Psychology Today.
Have a GREAT week! #weeklywellnessword #nourishyourbeing