It’s overstated. It borders on cliché. Okay, if I’m to state it honestly, it has absolutely become cliché. But the truth of this cliché and its potential to bring us exponential happiness can’t be denied—life is precious.
Your life is something to be savored. It’s delicious to the last drop—if you make it so, that is. The more you make it your business to find those delectable morsels, the more you’ll find.
24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 52 weeks a year (I could go on here, but I’m sure you get the picture) we have a choice. We narrate every single event in our lives. We are the ultimate story tellers. As surely as the sun rises every morning, we set the tone. Will it be a tragedy? A comedy? A romance? A quest? It’s your call.
Life comes fast and furious; it slows and drags; trips over bumps and soars over challenges. It’s hard sometimes—numbingly and overwhelmingly so at times. As children we learned the alphabet and how to divide and multiply but no one helped us develop our story telling muscles. In fact, most parents and teachers unwittingly did quite the opposite.
But we’re not children anymore and we get to chose what we learn. Nothing will serve you better than to get a handle on your internal storytelling skills. Storytelling is a skill and it can be developed.
Just start by listening in. Notice. What are you saying to yourself? If you find yourself in the pits, stop and listen in. What is the dialogue right beneath surface? What is the story you’re telling yourself? Awareness is the first step. Surprisingly, this first step may take a little time because some of us can’t hear the dialogue right away. If you fall into that category, don’t worry, just stay with it, keep listening in and eventually you will hear the story.
Next, if that internal storyteller is spinning a negative yarn, very gently elbow your way into the conversation and start playing around with some alternatives…
Stuck in traffic? The sound track may sound something like “I can’t believe this. I’m never going to make it to my meeting. What’s wrong with these idiots? Why can’t they drive? I can’t believe this is happening to me!” Of course, this is accompanied by shallow breathing, beating heart, elevated blood pressure, tight stomach–not a fun feeling.
The alternative might start with a deep breath…. “Okay, here I am. This traffic is awful. Yup, I may be late for that meeting. Hmmmm…. not much I can do about that. But I could breath. Maybe this is a challenge from the Universe, a game to see how relaxed I can get in the middle of turmoil. Okay, Life, you’re on….” Your breathing begins to relax. Your focus comes back under your control. Perhaps you notice the trees are covered with buds. The breeze coming through the window smells delicious and before you know it, you’re absolutely back to the present moment and life is good even as you creep through heavy traffic to a meeting to which you know you’ll walk in late.
Happy storytelling!
