Finding the silver lining, making lemonade out of lemons, seeing the glass as half full – ideas like these can help reframe a “bad” situation in a positive way. Optimistic people do this naturally, and pessimists can learn to. Helpful as this seems, are we missing out by jumping to reframe our experience?
Let’s just say, the silver lining really is burlap, the lemons are soft and should go out to the compost pile (happy worms!), and the entire case of glassware is cracked. Can you suspend judgment and choose to live with an experience as it is, however it appears across the spectrum of positive and negative – to allow its meaning to unfold?
Put on the old threadbare jacket without the silver lining, sit with the discomfort, and see what walking up the street wearing it is like… Does it change your view of yourself? Do others see you differently? Do you feel the wind a bit more, notice someone whose jacket is worse, find a better use for yours, perhaps as a turban to shield your eyes from the sun? If you hadn’t walked with the jacket outdoors for a while, would this idea have come to you?
If find that if I am willing to embrace what is happening in my life and welcome it, and also express gratitude for it, then I am open to the unfolding of this experience, regardless of its nature. And by allowing for these experiences, I open the door to a new way to perceive and deal with them.
What are you resisting now?
What is an issue in your life that you are resisting? Could you commit a few minutes, an hour, or a day to embrace this issue just as it is? You may experience emotions and discomfort. Are you able to “be” with them? Do they shift?
Could you trust in the outcome, no matter what?
Even when your can’t find any obvious silver linings, by embracing a situation and allowing for changes, you may find hidden treasures in the unfolding, no matter how coarse the fabric on first touch.
Kind regards,
Louis
Photo credit: Kalyan02 via Flickr and Creative Commons
Recent Comments