Be Gentle…

We can be our own worst enemies. I find myself wanting to accomplish so much and then mentally berating myself for not meeting my daily goals. I have the choice to be gentle with myself and celebrate everything I did do! I have found that I am doing other worthwhile activities that were not even on my mental to-do list (Aside…I made a typo just now, and it read do-do list…maybe that is exactly what it is). In an article I wrote back in February I suggested creating a Ta-da List.

The point of that article was to share a couple of tools to help us gain a sense of accomplishment by creating a mental shift. The first thing we did was reorganize our way of thinking on “what we NEEDED TO DO” and then  we proceeded to reinvent or recreate the familiar honey-do/to-do lists into something fun. We discovered the best way to get anything accomplished was to create a visual organizer or map to help us focus on the main item or items among all those daunting tasks that vied for our attention.  This was a mental shift from the standard To-do List to a Map of Hocus-Focus, which made it fun and fanciful. (for more go to To Do or Ta-Da?)

This is a lovely way to be gentle with myself and others. Another fabulous way is to accentuate the positive in our lives. It is uplifting to appreciate all the wonderful people, things, and events that have taken place and count our blessings. It stirs enthusiasm and it can be self-inspiring to spark the energy we need to get us through the challenges and tasks at hand. How are you gentle with yourself and others?

 

To Be Gentle and Patient…

I often need to remind myself to be gentle and patient…with myself.
~ Dr. Angela Kowitz Orobko

Transitions that I wish to make need to be gradual. I cannot expect to do it all in a day. It is impractical and unrealistic! No one decides in one moment to run a marathon and then try to do it the very next day! No! You need to start out gradually by slowly adding time to your walking/jogging/running routine. If daily exercise is not a part of your daily routine, then start out by walking/running for 5 to 10 minutes everyday the first week; then add time as you feel comfortable. Eventually you will be able to run the distance of a marathon.

This is the same for any major life style change we wish to make in our lives. If you wish to change your eating habits, you would gradually add and/or eliminate various foods over a course of a month or more until it becomes a habit. For example, if you wish to become a vegetarian, you would start with one or two meals a week eliminating meat and adding other protein sources. You would slowly and gradually create a bank of recipes and reorganize your refrigerator and pantry to support your life style change.

Right now, reorganizing is my pet project. I have decided to rearrange and re-do my studio so that it is more functional. I am streamlining it for efficiency, but this is taking me more time than I expected. I am going through a period of disarray, which is overwhelming. I need to remind myself to be gentle and patient…with myself. As with all things in life, it is a great reminder.

Rome was not built in a day. Gradual, doable steps are what I need to take; furthermore, I choose to do each step with joy or not do it at all! If it isn’t fun, why bother? I am also visualizing how wonderful my space will look after I have completed my project. Oh, YES! It is going to be AMAZING! I will post before and after pictures after the everything is done; but, for now, I am in process. And, I am choosing to be gentle and patient with my progress.  Are you choosing to be gentle and patient with yourself?

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…With tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.

Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.

Colossians 3:12 NLT

It is with a heart that is filled with love in which one is able to shower others with mercy, kindness, compassion, gentleness, and patience. In order to have a heart filled with love (and joy), one must let go of past hurt, anger, worry, jealousy, envy, pride and all those negative emotions that stand in the way of allowing a person to be merciful and kind. I have discovered that when I am able to let go of my hurt and worry, it is liberating! I feel relief and I am able to breathe easier. All the pent-up anger or hurt in people’s lives simply fester and hurt them in the long run. Why keep it all bottled up?

Can you visualize your worries, hurts and other negative emotions as large soap bubbles floating away in a springtime breeze? Sit with that for a long moment… pause… and breathe in deeply. Meditate or pray on it. “Lord, lift my worries, anger and hurts away, I do not need them. They are weighing me down. Allow me to be filled with love and the Holy Spirit so I may go out and serve others with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Lord God, I ask this in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen” Can you feel the positive energy as your heart fills up with love? That is God’s love you are feeling. Amazing isn’t it.

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