Putting Should and Should Not's to Rest

You should be where you are not, you should not be where you are, you should do something, you shouldn't do that, they should, they shouldn't.  It's quite funny really, when we acknowledge the role we have assigned the should and should not's to play.  Instead of being honest about where we are right now, or who we are, or how we are, or the reasons driving our actions, we get to live in the world of should/should not's.  It's fun to have something controlling you into good and right action, or out of bad and wrong action, don't you think?  The benefit of the should/should not's is that they can occupy our time and attention, entertain us, keep us busy thinking about things, and keep us from really acknowledging where we are and choosing something different.  

If at some point we decided that we couldn't handle the truth, or couldn't be with what's really going on for us, the should and should not reality is a great escape.  And equally, if we decide that we can't handle being next to someone as they are now or witnessing their actions or behaviors, we can impose the should/should not's on them.  If you or someone you know is committed to not changing, or staying stuck, or frustrated the should/should not's are great!  They'll zap you of your creative energy, attempt to control your behavior patterns and keep you in denial of what's really going on.  If you don't get present to or become aware of what's truly going on for you, you will not be able to access your ability to change or transform it.  I heard a quote once, "The only way out is through."  The should and should not's keep us from activating our creative abilities to change by keeping us in denial about where we are and how we feel about what's going on in our lives.

​What if now is the time to put the should and should not's to rest?  Together we can take a deep breath and become present and aware of everything we decided we couldn't handle, and didn't want to know, or see, or feel.  Our power comes through our ability to be here with our lives as they are now and activate the pathways through it, into something greater.  We can't deny where we are now and expect it to somehow be different in the future.  That perpetuates powerlessness.  Today is the day to wake up from our slumber and reclaim our talents and abilities to change and transform our lives, as well as receive and embrace who and where we are now.  Are you up for it? 

​Here is a poem I wrote a few years ago.  I hear it differently as I read it now.  As we do become present with what is here now and activate our ability to change and transform, we don't know where it will take us, or what will happen.  The mind can't predict the outcome, it is unknown and uncertain.  There is no reference point, or anything from the past to compare it to.  What's beautiful as we tune into the heart of compassion and the acknowledgement that we've come this far and have survived our past, we can access the knowing that it will be greater now and in the future.  Instead of it being scary or hard to let go of the protection of the should and should not's, it's exciting.  The enthusiasm and desire for living can be reborn in us and even the curiosity, the spontaneity, the playfulness, and the fun!  We can activate the wonder about what new possibilities await our arrival.  As these should and should not's are put to rest, what new experiences can we step into and celebrate?  How much fun can we have being with each other?  And how much joy can we wake up to, as we come home to who we are, and call in the experiences to match that resonance of being?

Walking Into Uncertainty
 
Withholding forgiveness
Expecting others to know better even though they have no access to their loving, creative capacities
Many are still mesmerized by the fear-based focus on survival and accumulation of resources
Trying to protect themselves from the unknown that could destroy them
The question being, how to get more in order to feel safe and secure
No answer will satisfy
No amount of stuff will lead to a feeling of peace
It’s not easy to let go of all the conditioning
The time will come though
If an end to suffering is desired
Life will show us how
When we are ready to listen
Accessing compassion for what has been and what is now
Things are exactly as they should be
Given the patterns and belief systems we have internalized throughout time
If we’re willing, open and receptive new possibilities can show up
Creating a new reality through participation in the unknown
Becoming comfortable with uncertainty
Acknowledging fear and anxiety as part of the process
Dropping the masks
Opening our hearts and minds
Accepting the experience of growth
Discovering sources of support for new ways of being and doing
Enhancing our ability to love and be present for one another
Living our truth
Revealing our authentic Self to the world
Saying Yes to life