I have recently resumed a practice that I started several years ago—a weekly TGIF reflection. I began this practice due to weekly posts by Brene Brown at the time, using the same format, and I found it a beautiful way to reflect on my week and reconnect with what is important to me in the moment.
Dr. Brown used the TGIF acronym for structure.
Trusting – What am I trusting in right now? Answering this question honestly often surprises me. there is often something just under the surface of my awareness that I realize is holding me steady as I move through my days. Other times, engaging with this question helps me remember that I can choose to trust in That Which is Beyond, that I can soften my habitual grip, my compulsion to try to control my circumstances and reactions, and can allow myself to be carried by the Wisdom that is beyond me.
Grateful – We hear often about the importance of gratitude. I have tried various ways of making it a conscious practice, and this weekly check-in with myself often brings a sense of “oh yes, I am grateful for …” and a list begins unfolding.
Inspired – This is my favourite component of this practice. It turns my focus to the good that is around me. I freely admit that there are many days when I find it easier to see the difficult, the negative and the heartbreaking. It helps so much to have a weekly reminder to pay attention o what inspires me.
Fun – This is my biggest challenge. By nature and by nurture, I am always attuned to the work that needs to be done. I enjoy working hard, and I enjoy Getting Things Done. I need a weekly (or more likely, daily) reminder that fun is also important, and that if I don’t make a conscious choice to engage in fun, it won’t happen. And yet, fun is an important component of soul-nourishment.
Using this format periodically in my blog carries with it the hope that my reflections on what has meaning for me sparks reminders or new awarenesses for others. I also believe that simply putting soul-nourishing content into the cyber-universe is its own benefit. I want to be part of growing the current of that which is good, honest, and true.
So, for this week, here is my list:
This week, I am trusting in the power of intentional listening to those whose opinions are uncomfortable for me to hear. We just finished a federal election here in Canada, and I’m keenly aware that the results were not what people dear to me were hoping for. There is no political party, in our country or otherwise, that stands for all of the values I hold dear. I am sitting with the discomfort of knowing that the system is set up to benefit the few, regardless of political affiliation, and that the only way to be completely happy with the results is to close my eyes and ears to those who were, in one way or another, left out of the conversation. All I know to do at this moment, is allow myself to hear those voices. I can’t fix anything, but at least I can be a compassionate presence.
This week, I am so very grateful for sunshine! It feels to me like we’ve experienced one overcast day after another. While rainy days soothe my heart, merely overcast days feel gloomy and weighted. Today, the sun keeps showing up between the clouds, and I’m loving the appearances.
I continue to be inspired by the life and memory of Pope Francis. His was a complicated life, and his final role in history even more so. There were issues (such as the role of women in the church) on which he was unable to open to a new perspective. Yet, there were others in which he reminded us all to keep our hearts open—care for the marginalized, care for the earth, and the importance of humility in our relationships with one another. I’m holding close to my heart the memory of the compassion he showed again and again, the difficult issues on which he did make a difference, and the comfort of a visible Christian leader who wasn’t afraid to be gentle or admit that the organization he led has gotten certain things very seriously wrong. To borrow a phrase from the Jewish culture, “May his memory be a blessing.” As I researched this phrase to ensure that I’m not misappropriating it, I learned that woven into the words is the intention that the memory be not just a passive one, but an active bringing to mind of the qualities he embodied that I want to cultivate in my own life.
And for fun … open water fishing season has resumed in my part of the world! I have two excursions planned in a five day span, and I could not be more delighted. One of these trips will be with people other than my favourite fishing buddy, so it involves moving outside my comfort zone … which is an invitation to growth, right?
What has meaning for you this week? How is fun showing up in your world?
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