“It is in learning to focus on what can truly be instead of the insecurities that take our attention away that builds us up.”
Another gem from Scott Forrester’s book, The Aware Athlete.
My paraphrase: When I pay attention to reality (look at facts not feelings, how things really are, not how I wish they were), I will become more confident. I will be able to trust myself.
The hard part is stripping away mistaken notions so we can see reality. In the comment section Scott wrote about the difficulty of seeing the elusive obvious. It occurs to me that the elusive obvious is reality.
I woke up early yesterday eager to go for my walk. My feet felt tired. I didn’t wear the right shoes for Tai Chi Balance class on Tuesday. This is the reality, the facts of what happened. My mistaken notion is that I should always push myself. The elusive obvious: I need to give my feet a break today and not go for my forest bath like I planned.
When do you avoid reality? Do you trust yourself? Does it make sense to you that the elusive obvious is reality? I’m very curious about your reality! Please email me. If you don’t hear back from me, assume that your message didn’t go through and try again! Blogger is not as reliable as I wish it were but that is the reality!
CLUE: We are over half way through 2019. Did you have ideas of what you wanted to accomplish this year? Are you on schedule? Are there projects for the next six months that need attention? I really want to have the chapter revisions for my memoir completed by December 31.
Thanks for exploring the mystery – Nicky Mendenhall
Image: A favorite photo of mine that I received (as opposed to taking) six years ago. How can it be a half dozen years since I was given this gift?
6 comments
’m not sure that I can avoid reality. So I’m not sure that it is elusive. Other than staying healthy, I don’t have any plans for the rest of the year.
Sorry Nolan – part of your message got cut off when I pasted it in but I believe we can figure it out. Good point about not being able to avoid reality. I think that Forrester's point is that we often don't see reality for what it is. I know that my mistaken notions get in the way of me seeing what is really going on.
Staying healthy is such a good goal! I'm proud of you for knowing how important that is. Good luck. It is a full time job to take care of ourselves isn't it?
Thanks so much for the comment – so good to hear from you!
Nicky, your paraphrase is great. When we really open ourselves to what is instead of what we see through the lens of old habit then things are new and we can grow.
Thanks Scott for the kind words. The words "lens of old habit" are so helpful. The question to myself is, what are old habits that are preventing me from living life to the fullest? I think one is the thought that I can't. I remember teachers preaching – don't say you can't! I will notice when that comes up this week.
Thanks for reading and commenting!
I find it hard sometimes to know what reality is! We are always looking at the world through our own lens. When I'm not sure, I ask others for a reality check. That helps! Sometimes my original take is validated; other times, I learn something new–see something that my lens was obscuring.
Hi Diane,
Knowing what reality is, is difficult! How do we figure out which lens? Thanks for expressing my feelings too.
It is exciting to be validated but once the shock wears off when we see something new that we hadn't seen before, it feels very rewarding indeed.
Thanks for reading and commenting!
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