I don’t care what your actual job is. Or if you even have one at all. We are all directors and managers.
“Ok, Gila, now your really going off the deep end.”
It’s not such a crazy idea. Let me explain.
As I’ve been meditating each morning (even if for 7 minutes!) I have reacquainted myself with the many parts inside of me. Wounded parts, inner children, and in the teaching of a coaching technique I once learned, I picture them as people. I give them a form. That nagging obsessive repetitive fear-based thought I’m having is actually being expressed by “someone” inside of me: a part of me that got hurt in the past and just can’t at over it. It’s still upset. Fear-ridden. Scared. Or maybe it’s just resentful because I never acknowledged it.
So some mornings I set the intention to sit and breathe while thinking of the things that have been weighing on me and I invite those parts to speak to me. I observe their fearful state; I listen to their plights. “I see you,” I tell them. And I let them know I am doing the best I can to resolve their concern.
One morning I noticed a part of me, a young boy holding up a big Chinese dragon mask and parading around. I greeted him. I saw his pain, his fear. “Oh,” I said. “You were trying to get my attention!” He put the bold red and black Chinese dragon mask down on the floor. He went back to playing.
He didn’t have to parade around anymore. He got my attention. I sat with him. I listened. I acknowledged his feelings. I didn’t deny them or try to convince him to stop having them. I validated his emotions.
Sometimes two parts are in direct opposition to each other. Like the hyper adolescent who enjoyed when I rushed to work and the elderly whispy-haired grandma knitting on a rocking chair who was pleading with me to slow down.
This morning one of my parts resorted to smoking a cigarette. I could see how on edge and restless he felt.
Like a child acts up when they want our attention. Our presence. Seeing them. Just as they are. Listening to them. Empathizing.
When I take the time out to listen and be present with my wounded parts, they feel seen and heard.
There are a lots of parts inside of us. Past hurts. Grudges. Traumas. Disappointments.
We are all overseeing these many parts 24/7. Even if we are not consciously aware of it.
When we sit and listen. When we bring our present selves to them. Our presence. These parts become more at peace. They don’t have to yell anymore or parade around. Or engage in self-destructive behaviors.
And when our various fragmented parts feel more at peace, so do we!
Mindful Nuggets 