It feels as though I've lost an entire month of outside time. The trees have buds and today is my first day noticing. A toe injury on January 13 significantly cut into my
walks. Prior to that, a week of snow limited my outdoor adventures. Lastly, I was sick for about ten days.
Today, was a great day to resume my walks with sunny and sixty degrees by 8 AM. While the trees remain barren from
a distance, the buds were easy to spot close up, set off by the beautiful blue sky, Some were green, some pink, and the buds on one of our trees are offering a brilliant sneak peek of crimson. I hadn't seen any of this prior to today, with all I've had going on.
Have you slowed down enough to notice the colorful promises of spring? Or has the busyness of
life kept you from appreciating what's beginning to bloom around you? We do that in life too, sometimes. New gifts start opening up around us, but if we're not watching for them, they may go undetected for a while.
Take a step back and widen your perspective. As one of my mentors often says, zoom out wide enough so that God is in the picture. Expand the
frame to exceed your limiting thoughts and expectations. Zoom out beyond the obvious and predictable. What else might be blossoming for you that you hadn't been aware of yet?
Another phrase that resonates with me, which I have saved as a daily reminder in my phone, is to notice what is, instead of dwelling on what if, which is usually
attached to a fear. But if you're using what if to envision the countless positive possibilities awaiting you, then keep asking that great question.
Do both! Notice what is, what's true today,
and what's good about it. And let yourself dream about what if, from an optimistic lens and without any limits.
If you’re going through a hard season, are you able to consider what good may come through
it? Make the phrase what if work for you, when you're in the middle of a tough season, instead of against you.
For example, ask, What if it DOES go well? What if it happens THIS way, instead of
that? What are some OTHER ways this could turn out, besides the one I'm dreading?
We have to put our energy toward hoping, rather than narrowing in on a worrisome outcome and camping out there. Easier said than
done, I know. I don't do it perfectly either. But remember, we usually find what we’re looking for so let's look past the junk.
Take five minutes to ponder a few outlandish outcomes for this year. Our job is to name
the what, not the how. In other words, we don't have to have the rest figured out. We don't have to know how it could happen, but we do need to know what we want. No one can dream our dreams for us.
Dare to believe that you are worthy of crazy, good things. How big could it get? How good can you stand it? Write a few of those wild ideas down, fold that piece of paper up and bury it in your sock drawer. Congrats! You’ve just planted a few seeds. When any next-step actions come to mind, trust the timely prompts and do them. You never know what could happen with an open mind and heart.
Life is too short to not hold awareness and set wild intentions for our blooming seasons. We have the choice to peel away distractions and negative thinking and let our imaginations run free.
