Dear TSJ Friends,
Do you have BSs in your life? I sure do!
When I began writing a blog I quickly discovered that when you expose your opinions, your 
stories, your heart and your hopes, it takes courage. Self revelation always takes courage if done with others, sometimes even when by yourself. Sharing your truth, however, is one path to discovering your own BS (blind spots). And those are like the proverbial “elephant in the room.” Our spouses and friends can see them!
But then, life itself takes courage to live full-out and freely with honesty, integrity, enthusiasm, recovery, loss, uncertainty and hope, doesn’t it?
Over and over we find ourselves struggling to “get up and show up” as many coaches say. And we have almost as many ways to hide our true feelings, especially our doubts, fears, disappointments, discouragement, anger, loneliness and betrayals – as there are personalities. We all have ways of defending ourselves against hurt.
Still, most of us at TSJ long for a better world. And as individuals, we long to be better than we are. We long for contentment and harmony. We long for understanding and wisdom. We long for forgiveness and compassion. We long to belong. We long to be understood….to be deeply heard …. and validated.
I have made an equally profound discovery that when writing or openly sharing your stories you can discover aspects of yourself that awaken you from thinking “the same old way” you have always thought. Perhaps slowly at first – rather like a groggy fly in the winter that clings to the window but will tumble at the slightest whisp of air crossing its body. Sometimes we reluctantly wake up and roll over.
Often our blind spots have lulled us into believing we are right. And there is no impediment to personal change and loss of creativity greater than believing we are right. It is our own BS.
This week I have been blessed by a deeper realization that personal and communal change is always possible if we are willing to discover our BS and tap into our inner strength and wisdom. The challenge is getting out of our heads to dig deep into the interior of our being where we can open our eyes to see something new – the pearl that is in formation from life’s irritations. A pearl shows us the value of our experience and gives us courage to trust in life’s processes.
The very I AM who spoke to Moses in the bush lives within our interior. Waiting. The I of us is the personal I that was given the gift of freedom of choice. We can choose to trust or we can choose to tremble with false fears. When we embrace this truth we are open to being awakened.
Admitting our blind spots doesn’t take work; It takes will. A willing spirit makes all the difference.
Mel Robbins has given a TEDx talk about how quickly we can change once we realize it. She maintains the “Five Second Rule” for managing your brain and making immediate change. She has several You Tube presentations to check out if you wish. Essentially, she had a moment of awakening that propelled her into her future. And it came out of a tough situation. Such are the pearls of life for all of us.
She maintains that if you give the brain five seconds it will talk you out of change. So she suggests counting backwards as soon as an idea comes in … “5-4-3-2-1 action!” (kind of like a rocket launching). Do something immediately to activate your idea.
My change story this week, like all change, starts with my first step – awareness. Some of you will remember that I lament that my vocal cords are not cooperative. I find I cannot even sing “Happy Birthday” without unwanted sounds. Though I shared a history of being restricted when growing up, that is not the entire story. I have fallen into an “I can’t” attitude and fed that dragon (belief) well.
So my action was to sign up for an online voice coach’s home study program called Sing With Freedom. No one has to hear me but me. And Per Bristow has an incredible approach to inspire change. You can can take a peek at TheSingingZone.com where you can read his qualifications. I want to do this even for strengthening my speaking voice! And I want to do this program to move through false beliefs I have accumulated and face my own Blind Spots about who I am. Like you, I want to walk courageously on this earth and be creative in problem solving.
I am learning from Per Bristow that the goal of this program is learning to embrace the “freedom to express – to be authentic, spontaneous and confident.”
Solomon and I want that for you too. And when we discover a worn out belief we hold onto like the Linus blanket, and when we get a tiny vision of what is possible for us – just maybe, Mel Robbin’s five second countdown will launch surprises we have never imagined possible.
In the meantime, let’s have fun digging deep and discovering our pearls and believing in the God who shepherds us through our blind spots and leads us into greener pastures.
Margie
