Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Step Two: Show Up


“Showing up is meeting life with fascination and curiosity rather than fear, worry, and foreboding. And if there is fear, you can show up anyhow.”

Showing up can be anything from saying hi to a stranger, dragging yourself out of bed on a bad day, signing up for a class, getting counseling, or going for a walk and taking everything in.

During the last week I have been showing up and noticing how things feel. Showing up for a 6:00 AM workout left me exhausted yet energized for the day. I have never liked being the new kid or in the worst shape but I have gotten over that fear and managed to show up and enjoy the fight. It was my curiosity that got the best of me when the workout was 55 pull-ups and 55 handstand push-ups. Of course I had to modify it, which entailed an additional 55 sit-ups. Needless to say showing up paid off. And breakfast after wasn’t too shabby either. Showing up has left me with a feeling of vitality and flow. All of the past week’s experiences have offered an opportunity to see something new and enjoy the newness of things. There is a joy that comes with flowing through experiences and being willing to put yourself out there.

Today on the other hand was a different story:
Showing up for me today has been going to work. It took a little bit more effort than I would like to admit. This morning I felt violated. I got angry, I cried out of anger (the wrong reaction, I know), I let the anger out in a healthy way, and then I moved on. I moved on by standing up for myself. This violation is not something that I am going to let just pass- I will not be victimized any longer. So here I am at work, still a little uneasy, but here nonetheless. I am disappointed with the actions of another individual. I cannot change their actions but I can control how their actions affect my emotional state. I should have learned already that this individual will not change and I must change in response. I will sit with the disappointment and feel it then I will let the disappointment go (like so many times before). What I learned in step one was to notice what left me feeling stuck. This morning I felt it and recognized it right away. So if today brings nothing else it has given me my very first experience with the ability to notice what hurt and to recognize how I felt. I felt debilitated. I no longer feel that way.

By showing up today exactly the way I am I have created self-acceptance.

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