Every day, each of us endures something, even if
inconveniences of greater or lesser magnitude. If you find you face a challenge
or situation you believe you can do nothing about, take possession of it,
meaning take possession of how you relate
to it.
Here is a partial line from a P.D. James novel: “.
. . preserving always the same look of puzzled acceptance of a life which had
to be endured rather than possessed.” Some endure much more than most of us
will ever have to think about or ever want to. Do you endure your life (or any
part of it) or possess it at this moment?
When you take possession of something, you take
care of it and care for it; or, at least, that is the idea and responsibility underneath
the concept of true possession. Yet, self-possession is not the message most
people are given about their lives, their self-worth, or their personal
happiness and fulfillment.
Do you feel you possess all aspects of your life?
In order to do and be this way, you’d have to possess, that is take ownership
of, your beliefs, feelings, thoughts, words, and actions, as well as your
ability to shift into this owner mode when something rattles you out of harmony.
However, please release the belief that you are “supposed” to stay in one
emotional state of being at all times. That’s not possible for humans who are
enriched with numerous emotions—for good reason. However, you do want to be
able to regain your footing when your stumble.
To possess your life, you have to possess or own
the choices you’ve made and the outcomes they’ve created up to this moment
(preferably as life lessons rather than reasons to self-judge), and do this
consistently as you continue forward in life. You have to decide if what you
experience causes you to endure life or to live what you desire, “desire”
meaning you deliberately choose how you wish to experience yourself and your
moments, and from which chosen level
of awareness.
Henry Ford said, "Don't find fault, find a
remedy." Granted, though wise and accurate, that’s not how we always
respond when our emotions are triggered. But, you can decide to take possession
of what you choose to feel and do about whatever you feel you endure. When you
do this, you are on your way to finding a remedy, first at the inner level,
which may then resolve an outer level matter. I say “may resolve” because
though the inner level experience is always a priority (because it is where YOU live), there are occasions when an outcome
is an undesirable given and you have a responsibility to yourself to engage it
in a way that supports you to have the highest level experience you can. This
applies to those times when you find yourself in a scenario you believe you
never would have chosen. But, what are you going to do with it? How and who
will you choose to BE at such times? What is this experience attempting to
teach you about yourself?
There are aspects of your life you wholly possess
at this time and, possibly, others you endure. Look at each part you endure and
ask yourself how you might possess it and what that means to and for you. On a
scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being “Not At All” and 10 being “Completely,” how much
do you feel in possession of your life? What about how you choose to feel about
your experiences? If, say, you’re at 6 for either of these, what would you be
willing to do to make them an 8 or a 10, whether this is at the inner or outer
level or both?
What might it feel and look like if you endure
your life? What might it feel and look like if you possess it? Here’s a thought
to play with: Let’s say you believe your outer life reflects your inner life
(emotionally-charged thoughts and beliefs); or stated another way, your outer
life (experiences and outcomes) are created by your inner beliefs and thoughts.
Now think of the holodeck in the Star Trek programs. If you were using the
holodeck and wanted to alter something (scenery, character, story/plot, etc.),
which would be more genuinely effective: trying to change something in the hologram
or altering the program/pattern in the computer to affect the hologram? A
change attempted at the outer level is best started or ignited at the inner
level. You know this, but do you always give it proper attention or realize its
point-of-origin importance?
There’s a fast-food philosophy about change: It’s
supposed to happen overnight or nearly that. If you gain an extra twenty
pounds, you don’t do it overnight. Neither do you lose it overnight. And a
crash weight-loss program may create a desired outcome, but it won’t last and
it isn’t healthy. Nor have you taken possession of a healthier lifestyle. There
is no philosophical difference between how you effectively approach weight loss
for the body from “weight loss” for your thoughts and behaviors.
If you’re ready to wholly possess your life, start
with understanding you have a right and responsibility to yourself to do this.
Let go of the crash-diet approach and allow yourself to make choices about what
supports you as you move forward one “pound” (aspect) at a time. Whatever you
can and cannot alter, seek head-and-heart alignment about any choices you make
about this, as well as pay attention to what you can learn about yourself so
that you can adjust it, and you will keep yourself more on course than off and enjoy and appreciate the journey more. It’s
a good practice, one you’ll appreciate.
Practice makes progress.
© Joyce Shafer
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