It's that time of year again! We are sending our kids back to school to begin a new chapter in their lives, a new year of learning math equations, grammar usage, the classics, the Pythagorean theorem, and whatever else this school year holds.
We graduate high school, maybe college, and begin our new lives, new careers, and years later, we look back and say, "What did I really learn?"
Yes, education and graduation is required in our society in order to get paid for what we learned. But each day, we graduate in a very different way: we learn a little bit more about ourselves and our relationship to others.
When we leave this earth and look back on our lives, it is how we related to others that we will review the most. Of course, we will be congratulated for all of our accomplishments, our victories, but what we will evaluate most intently is who we were to others. Did we learn what we asked to learn with our parents? Did we learn how to be strong communicators? Were we kind and loving, not judging of others who we didn't understand? Did we work at building ourselves up, without tearing others down? How did we view ourselves in relation to those around us? Did we judge ourselves harshly and let others take away our power?
Every day we are given the opportunity to learn something new about our lives and our relationships. Our purpose here is to grow inside and out, and make adjustments as new information comes to light about who we are and how we fit into our lives.
This month, I invite you to keep a journal about what you are learning. Each night, take five minutes (surely, you can spare five minutes ;-)!) to jot down some notes about what you learned that day about yourself and others. It might look something like this:
"9/5/16 10:15pm
Today, I began talking in the grocery line with a lady who had a screaming infant. I told her I had been there before, and promised her it would get better. She half smiled at me, wanting to believe it. I put my hand on her shoulder and said, 'No, really.' My hope is I gave her hope. I remember those days so well and wanted her to know I wasn't judging her, even though you could tell those around her were."
Get the picture? This is not about the great things you do; it is about the small things and your observation of them. Here's another example for you:
"9/6/16 10:05pm
I talked to a friend today and she unloaded all of her stuff on me. I felt so heavy and sick after talking with her. I realized as she was talking that I was taking on some of her anguish. I have to stop that. It's not my job to do that. Yes, I love my friends, but I don't need to make myself sick. Tomorrow, I am beginning a new thing. I'm going to say, 'What's mine is mine and what's yours is yours,' in my head before I talk to this friend. It is not my energy and I do not need it in my body."
Observations. Learning. Expanding. Growing. That's what this is about.
I would love to hear your experiences with this exercise this month. Feel free to
email me with your comments!
If you need any assistance figuring out how to shift your perspective to learn the lessons of this lifetime, click on the button below to schedule your "Back to School" session!
