Day 7
It has been an interesting week. I’ve paid more attention to self-dialogue these past few days than I have in a long time. Do I feel kinder after this exercise? In small ways I have seen the parts of me that are pretty gorgeous, and a few parts which I wished were different.
I learnt that to be able to accept either the ‘good’ and ‘bad’ sides of me, I need to start with acknowledging that they exist in the first place. Only then will I be able to celebrate the moments when I live in alignment of my values; or ask for forgiveness if I act in contrary to the heart.
The great thing about paying attention to self-dialogue is the more I do it, the less time it takes to decide to do something about whatever it is I’m faced with.
I had read somewhere that a way to cultivate joy is to cultivate self-acceptance, self-awareness and self-healing. Since embarking on this experiment, I have become more honest with myself on the ways I have been gentle and otherwise, and the times I was diligent and indulging in distractions.
Do I feel that there is more joy in me? Since I’m the judge, I can hear as I write this that I made an error of omission. A stern voice tells me that I should have made started off by jotting down my joy level, and rate myself again after a week. Well, it is in the past, and nothing can be done about that.
If I were to hazard a guess, I would say the opposite of joy is being lost in stories we tell ourselves – and living out the illusion – when reality could be much different. By that measure, I am living in more joy than I had been.
Next week starts a new way of inviting joy in my life. I won’t be writing specifically about being kind to myself, but I hope to remember to keep doing that regardless.
Joyful Adventures 