The shoulds leaked out and I didn’t even notice!
Blogging like this, it is becoming a part of my spiritual practice because it invites not only reflection for me but humility as I see myself reflected back on these pages. And you see me.
Should has it’s root in shall as in obligation; as in the right or suitable thing; a command, a promise, a determination. Obligation – the act of constraining oneself by promise or contract to a particular course of action.
So lots of possibilities in those words for loving promises like Lain’s comments spoke to as well as harshness.
Thanks for your life -affirming comments.
4 responses so far ↓
1 Marilyn Oct 25, 2005
Sounds like you’re getting a glimpse of how life-affirming, supportive and enriching blogging can be. It has completely altered the landscape of my life in the last couple of years. To a fly on the wall, I might appear to be just a middle-aged woman sitting at a laptop…but in the blogosphere, I can FLY! It’s where I never fail to find hope and unconditional love and a ready ear and support of whatever dreams I can possibly think up. It’s a place where others gently remind me that it’s best when it’s a “should-free” zone…when I allow it to be a safe place where entire new worlds can open up to me…where I can make connections I’d have never imagined…
2 Karen Oct 26, 2005
As a friend of mine says, “Don’t ‘should’ all over yourself!” I am so enjoying your blog. It has become part of my spiritual practice to read and reflect on what you have written. Thanks for being real.
3 cindy Oct 26, 2005
i hope my comments yesterday did not sound harsh. they were not meant that way. i am a little bit of a rebel as if u cant tell from my comments:”who says…” my words were meant in good intent. im sorry of they sounded harsh. please forgive.
4 Mindy Oct 26, 2005
I can SO relate to this. “Should” is a frequent visitor in my vocabulary. I have been trying lately, though, to focus less on where I “should” be in certain areas of my life… and more on how I want to show up in the world, what is good about my life right now, and how I can be MYSELF more fully. I get so caught up in “doing” sometimes that I forget about the pleasure of just being… being myself and not measuring my self-worth by whether I’ve accomplished goal x,y,or z!