Gentleness is a sense of goodheartedness toward ourselves,” Pema Chodron.
We all have a tendency to be hard on ourselves. So I love that Pema Chodron tells us how gentleness of spirit is the key to instilling good heartedness. We all know that we shut down our options towards ourselves while angry, and don’t feel positive about the outcome of bullying ourselves into action. And we know instinctively that we can come up with a myriad of good solutions towards our challenges when we are light-hearted.
So this is my journal prompt for you today. Take one of your biggest irritations towards yourself–for me it’s wasting time watching television when I’m upset– and go a little deeper. View past the reprimand to see behind it. Explore what might be going on underneath the issue. For me, I have an old mantra that says, “Be productive 24/7, or you’ll fall behind in your work load and look lazy!” So I’m going to write from a softer focus and parse out how and why taking a break leaves me with a better attitude. Who knows where this will take me? Perhaps a good laugh at the absurdity called life. Or maybe, I’ll hit on an awesome solution for handling the frustrations of dealing with the idiocy of computer programs that often takes me hours to solve and keeps me running to the TV for solace. Hmm, I hear a little voice saying, “Hire an assistant. Keep your cool.”
How about you….
writingbyheart 