A Simple Exercise to Encourage Opening

 

Oh my goodness! Spring has officially arrived! When I think of the season, the words that come are beginning, opening, transitioning, light, possibility, unearthing, and awe. The entire season feel like a "yes."  

In a recent A Mindful Life group, we did a simple exercise around saying, "yes." I want to share it with all of you because it is an easy way to help ourselves open our perspective and positively shift our experience from things that may feel mundane or that we may not see in a favorable light. It moves us toward gratitude and helps us not take for granted all of what we get to experience in being alive.

You can do this is as a journaling exercise, or in your mind, or out loud in the shower. The question is:

What today can I say, "yes" to (or what tomorrow can I say yes to, if you do this at night)?

Some things will come easily, but what if you also say, "yes" to those things that you might habitually resist, push away, or do by rote. And when you name it, take a pause and see what it feels like inside to be open to the experience, to be curious, to enjoy, to feel awe around it. For example, I can easily say "yes" to meeting my husband for coffee and when I take it in, I feel warmth, joy, excitement, and a smile comes to my face. I can also say "yes" to the discomfort I am having in my knee. "Yes" to the fact that my body is letting me know I need to shift something or pay attention, or rest, and yes to the fact that my body is protecting itself. I could say, "yes" to driving my daughter to her practice 25 minutes away and having that precious time with her in the car (of which I am aware will soon not be something I am needed for). Saying "yes" to these things opens me up to what is good in them, to what makes them possible, to the other people involved.

Whichever form you do it, be sure it doesn't become just a list you are making, like a to-do list, rather, stop with each one and try it on inside -- what is it like to open to the experience that you get to have in doing whatever it is. How does it feel different if you start by saying, "yes" rather than just go about it or maybe even resist or dread it? This is our life! We get to choose our perspective on it, how we go about it, what we bring to it, and we get to feel the joy of gratitude. 

Just like the spring says, "yes" to growth, to opening, to mud, to transitioning, to the possibility of everything, even as messy as it can be, we too, can meet our lives this way. It feels a lot better than its alternative. We can help ourselves lean toward joy.