My Rocky Mountain Heart

“I should do the laundry. I should empty the dishwasher. I should write, I haven’t written lately. I should vacuum the house before everyone gets into town. I should already be done with all these things!”

Oh my God, I’m exhausted just reading a list of SHOULDS…exhausted! I truly believe not only in the power of words to define how we feel, but to actually define and shape our lives. I had a mentor once tell me “Don’t SHOULD on yourself.”

So it was at 22 years old, while doing fieldwork at the Stone Institute of Psychiatry in Chicago, that I learned the concept of replacing the word ‘should’ with COULD.

Try it on. Go ahead.

“I could do the laundry. I could empty the dishwasher. I could write a new blog post. I could vacuum the house. Or I could rest.”

How does the word “COULD” feel for you?

For me, it feels light, freeing, expansive, and it creates possibility.

Whereas “SHOULD” feels shameful, guilty, and judging.

Right?

Along those same lines, I was talking with my dear friend Jamie today and she brought up the word allow. I immediately was drawn to this word! Allow. Similar to the word ‘permission.’ I like this…

Hmmm, what do I allow in my life? What kind of energy do I allow myself to engage with? What can I allow myself to let go of that is no longer serving me? What can I allow myself to receive that I need? How do I allow others to treat me? What can I allow myself to reflect on without judging myself?

Allow.

Powerful word.

So many times we are playing the game of life out of habit instead of living with intention. (Ah, another powerful word!) We are operating on auto-pilot and living in reaction. Kind of like that saying that ‘you either run your day or your day runs you.’ Intention. That’s the only difference. If you have no intention, no vision, no sense of purpose, no connection to spirit or God, then you are merely floating down the river of life praying not to slam into a boulder. Ya know? But what if before you jump into the river each day, you envisioned a beautiful sunny day floating down the river and you prepared your raft and made sure you had all the necessary supplies? What if you got in that raft every single day with the intention of making steady progress down the river and enjoying every single minute of the journey?

So tonight I’m reflecting on what I could do…

What I can allow myself to let go of….

And what my intention is for the week ahead.

Remember that the words you use not only have the power to change how you feel but to actually shape your reality!

Wishing you all a Happy Thanksgiving and clarity on your intentions for this amazing holiday centered around having gratitude and giving thanks.

In gratitude for this amazing life I get to live…

-Sondra