Look, Listen, Leap
There is a saying often printed on a wooden plaque or found on Facebook with a picture or maybe even on a greeting card. The message is “Don’t look back; you are not going that way.” Makes sense as it can be dangerous to spend too much time in regurgitating the past, rehashing old wounds and oddly enough it can even keep us stuck thinking about the “good old days.” I had intended to use the phrase to encourage the looking back. After all looking back can bring to mind fond memories and the folks we shared them with. Looking back can help us see the many and diverse roads we may have journeyed. It can help us realize all of the experiences we’ve shared or endured. They have contributed to the becoming of the person we are now. However when we spend too much time there we are not looking at the present, where we are right now or where we might want to be in the tomorrows we have left while we are eldering with attitude; doing it consciously.
As I write this I am hearing my voice. I am listening to words that are turning this white page into a smattering of characters who are trying to say something. How many times does this, my voice, appear and when do I choose to listen to it? Not often enough I think. Oh, yes, I have good intentions. I make promises to myself to be still and listen for my inner voice and the inner voices of others as well. It would be a great deception to present myself as always having a wise, authentic, eccentric voice. But it would not be deception to say that it is what I strive to accomplish. Looking back at my personal history I can see the times when I have made the good choice to let my voice be true. I can acknowledge the blessing I have received in my life by listening to the true voices of those who have traveled the road of life with me. Listening with an open mind and heart even at times while straining at the bit to judge or recriminate seems to come with more ease now as I enter my wise woman years. My voice and the voices of others I find are worth the listen and so I will give it a good go!
What is left? Leap? As I come to the end of this short article it occurs to me that you might find it worth the read or you might say, “wow, she taken quite a leap with this one.” I encourage you to take a look at what you see in your own rear view mirror, listen to your authentic and wise inner voice and take a leap of your own. Just don’t let it be a detour to your present or a no U turn sign, you can always return to the present; to spending these years aware of each day, and those you share it with, each new experience and each wondering into what the future might bring.
It is a rather interesting although a somewhat scary experience; to place black characters onto a sheet of clean white paper. Go ahead……….TAKE THE LEAP….. SEE WHAT YOU MIGHT HAVE TO SAY!