The Discomfort of Miracles

 

 

    

How Uncomfortable are You with Miracles?

     My belly button popped out last week.  No need to panic, at least not yet, it hasn’t detached itself.  But just over six months ago I was an “innie”.  Now I’m an “outie”.  See, I’m six and half months pregnant with our fourth boy.  Oh boy!

 

  My belly button did not protrude like this during my previous pregnancies.  This is a completely new condition and, to be honest, I’m curious, wondering exactly what could be going on inside of me that would cause this phenomenon.  

 

     Maybe this little guy is far more active in uterus than my previous children at this stage of development.

 

 

      Maybe…because I’m craving spicy, exotic foods, my belly button reacted as if feeling attached to a foreign entity.

 

 

      The thing is, though I’m comfortable with most of the changes going on during this phase in my life, this belly-button-thing threw me for a loop.

 

 

      For example, I was fine at the start of the pregnancy, when my booty grew faster than my waistline.

 

 

      Four months into this journey, I was OK while teaching a Yoga class though I could no longer balance in poses requiring just one leg.

 

 

       At five months pregnant, it was fine with me when attempting the Chattaranga (better known as a push up in Yoga), I no longer needed to bend my elbows because my belly already touched the ground.

 

 

      Last month I was stuck “in” the couch and my husband needed to push on the center of my back, helping me stand from the now-too-soft-cushions.  I simply laughed at myself.

 

 

      But when I awoke with my sweatshirt rubbing a part of my skin that has never been touched, I almost jumped out of bed.  It wasn’t just that this inside skin of my belly button was extra sensitive or that the friction from a shirt felt rough.  The sensation was new, different.  And because it was different, it felt frightening.

 

 

      This is often how we feel with the miraculous changes occurring in our lives.  These changes may be wonderful, like someone who typically allows you to do all the work suddenly offering a helping hand. 

 

 

     Frightening!

 

 

      Even the good, helpful changes alarm us as if they are touching some untouched area inside.

 

 

      In coaching, I see this quite often.  A client may have challenges receiving.  Receiving compliments, gifts or help.  I’ll work with someone who has finally carved out creative space for their dreams and then they panic.  These gifts feel like a new and awkward sensation, and that sensation, though a good thing, can scare us.

 

 

      We can even sabotage these wonderful changes, out of fear, pushing ourselves and our journey ten steps back. 

 

 

 

     How can we handle this from an EMPOWERING PERSEPCTIVE?

 

 

     Look for the miracles when changes occur in your life.  That miracle moment could show up in the shape of a new opportunity to learn patience, tolerance, or acceptance.  That miracle moment could be the door opening just a crack for your deepest desires, you know the ones, you have buried them and have almost forgotten they once existed.  So instead of sitting in discomfort of a new “sensation” in your life, slow down, breathe in, breathe out and seek the miracle unfolding before you.

Press Pause

Are you living a life pro-actively or reactively?  How would you know the difference?     

A reactive life is a life full of automatic responses, almost habit-behavior.  This is prevalent with couples who have been together for a long time; they squabble, finish each other’s sentences, and order one another’s meals.  They are embedded so deeply in a life that has routine predictability that they barely need to engage.  This is not a negative observation, simply an observation.     

We live reactively all the time.  As a parent, I hear myself reminding my children to use “an inside voice” so frequently that I often ask my husband to do the same.      We react when someone cuts us off in traffic.  We react when we wake up late in the morning.  Sometimes we react when a piece of chocolate cake is placed in front of us.     

Proactive living looks different.  There is a moment that exists before the response occurs in the life of someone who is proactive.  Proactive living is stopping long enough to think about our choices in every circumstance.     

For example, someone cuts you off in traffic.  You have a few options:

1.      You can yell.

2.      You can honk your horn.

3.      You can say a prayer for them.

4.      You can turn your radio up a notch.A proactive thinker stops long enough to discern the BEST choice.  Which option will be more aligned with their true character?  A proactive thinker pauses to look ahead and is able to ask a few empowering questions in that moment: 

• What will my response do for me or anyone else in the future?
• What will my response hinder?

 The challenge for each of us is that we are trying to become proactive in a reactive world.

One empowerment tool that I can share with you is called PRESS PAUSE.  Think of your remote control button.  PAUSE.

Simply PRESS PAUSE in every circumstance for the next week.  When you PRESS PAUSE, you slow the world down long enough to process the situation at hand.     

The process looks like this:

1.      Press Pause.

2.      What is going on right now?

3.      What are my options?

4.      Which choice will bring me closer to who I am?

5.      Which choice will lead me to my long-term goals?

6.      Which choice will bring me or others lasting peace?

With PRESS PAUSE, you take back your power.  Power over your life.  When you react, you give up your power to habits, which initially seems like a much easier existence.  But the truth is that a reactive life is usually more painful, explosive, and destructive.A proactive life is a life that is mindful.So, now that you have finished this article, you can PRESS PAUSE.  What are your choices?  Will applying what you have learned bring you closer to your long-term goals?

Reaching for God

Does your inner journey and your outer journey match.  I believe the aim, as we navigate through life is to align our inner and outer walk in life, to get back to God.  We start off centered on God and then our path veers and we often end up lost.

 Are you reaching for God?  Or are you further away than ever before?