If you’ve been reading this blog or watching my videos lately, you’ve probably noticed a theme of letting go. My belief is that when we let go of our tight grip on the story lines we’ve created about our lives, we get to expand our comfort zones and experience more serenity. We gain contact with unseen possibilities and become more authentic in the process.
But what does it mean to be open?
For starters, I think it means that we refrain from shutting down possibilities before they’ve had a chance to breathe. Our brain seems to instantly compute all of the possible outcomes, do a profit and loss check, and make a decision to NOT do something before an idea has even fully formed. “No” feels like a safe choice.
So how about a small shift from “No” to “I don’t know?”
It’s an opportunity to try on an idea without jumping in with both feet or losing out on a potentially good thing. Being open often requires that we feel some big feelings and assume responsibility for navigating them. We might have to tolerate the anxiety that can arise when we “don’t know.” We might have to negotiate a third option that hasn’t been proposed. Being present to the unknown requires more attention to the moment-to-moment process, more communication, and more courage. In my own life and experience I can say that the effort is so worth it!
We all love the familiar. It’s a familar blanket that helps us to feel safe. But how many of us want more for our lives than what is cozy and familiar? Being open allows us to see pathways that can take us to the very places we want to go. Being open invites bigger and better adventures than our safety plan would allow. Being open provides solutions and options that we never see when we remain tethered to our tiny perspectives on the world at large.
So, how are you being open to all that life has to offer today? Where might “I don’t know” take you?One thing is for certain, it won’t be the same old story that “No” has been offering.
Peace and Love, Jim
