Convincing others vs reckoning with yourself

Dear ones ~
The world = FIRE
Our reactions = FEELINGS + FIRE

How's your heart and nervous system today?

Instead of getting stuck in an activated loop (triggered, on fire, pissed off, blaming), you have the opportunity to empower, heal, and grow.

I'm going out on a limb to suggest that the most powerful thing you can do these days is your own inner work. Take responsibility for your feelings and your reactions to the world around you. 

I was going to say it's more powerful than voting, and then my husband asked me why I wanted to make such a big claim. That helped me realize - it's the same loop - using a polarizing statement/belief to convince YOU that I know something, and you should listen to me.

That convincing energy is sooooo sneaky.....we think we know something better than another person. We get attached to that belief, and it becomes more important than relationships, more important than listening and connection to others.

Trying to convince others creates push back and polarization. 

People react to being pushed, and not in a way that moves towards your goal. Here are some steps that bring more potential for change:

• being present to what is;

• then reckoning with your own feelings - griefs and angers;

• the cleanest way to make requests to others for change is after working on and with your own emotions;

• It's a much slower path, but it is infused with hope and potential for the desired result in this slow-grow-together path. 

• (This is not the path if you are experiencing physical harm or verbal abuse. That calls for an entirely different response and skill set.)

It takes patience to unwind from convincing others. The world would have us believe that fighting and convincing brings change, and that we all better do our best to create change, or else. Even taking stock of those fears and really investigating them, will bring some interesting growth and dividends for you.

It makes me curious right now about the urgency that surrounds us these days. How much urgency has been thrust upon us in the last 5 years? 10 years? Even longer? How much of that urgency is wisdom speaking to us, and how much of it is manipulation? Worthy questions to explore!

Warm wishes for your inner explorations!

Marta

PS - Photo by Wren Meinberg on Unsplash