Perhaps you are an
Enneagram
evangelist? Maybe you have never heard of it before? The Enneagram is an ancient personality system of interconnected numbers (1-9) based on what people do and why they do it.
I am a
six
on the Enneagram. Sixes are often known as
"
loyalists
"
are motivated by fear and are deeply focused on security and safety. I am someone who thinks through every possible outcome before acting. I'm often in my head. I ask a lot of people for feedback to gather as much wisdom as I can. I'm fiercely loyal to people I trust, I value things being fair, and I ask clarifying questions about everything. Being a six also means that I'm prone and often live into worrying.
Can anyone else relate?
Twenty-four of us are participating in an online Enneagram study hosted by St. Paul's. A local Enneagram facilitator is guiding us through the book
The Road Back to You
and the accompanying
study guide
. For our first week of reading, we learned about SNAP. SNAP is an acronym that the authors introduce as a way to snap out of negativity.**
Stop
- Every few hours, set aside time to take a few deep breaths. Scan your body.
Notice
- How are you feeling? Be kind to yourself as you notice different emotions.
Ask-
What am I believing now? Is it true? Is it helpful? Harmful?
Pivot-
Be aware of your usual scripts and see how you can change them in order to move toward self-awareness.
Consider practicing "SNAP" this at some point this weekend.
25
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?
26
Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?
27
And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life?
28
And why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin,
29
yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these.
30
But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith?
31
Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’
32
For it is the Gentiles who strive for all these things; and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.
33
But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
34
“So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today’s trouble is enough for today.
What stands out to you?
What images can you connect with?
What does it mean that "today's trouble is enough for today?"
A few weeks ago, I reflected about the Serenity Prayer being tattooed on my left forearm. Matthew 6:34 is on my right forearm. In times when my anxiety really spikes, my dad is often the first to remind me to look to my right forearm. He has read this verse (and thirteen other passages) for over thirty years now. These were given to him by the Navy Chaplain in Little Creek (Virginia).
I invite you to find a quote or a Bible verse to mediate on for this weekend.
Perhaps it's "Be still." Maybe it's a quote from your favorite novel. Choose one. Focus on the words and the wisdom that they have to offer.
A prayer for today by St. Teresa of Avila:
Let nothing disturb you,
Let nothing frighten you,
All things are passing away:
God never changes.
Patience obtains all things
Whoever has God lacks nothing;
God alone suffices.
Amen.
**Paraphrased from "The Road Back to You"
