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Sat 11/06/2022 7:37 AM View in browser The Beatles sang, Let It Be. What do you reckon the pronoun it refers to? Let this present moment be? Let this situation be? Let The Now be? Whisper words of wisdom, Let it beeeeee. I’ve been reflecting on these three words because one of my favorite parts of the day is listening to Jeff Warren’s guided meditation on Calm. He always has me chuckling. Like today, when he said that in his youth he got a tattoo with the words, Let it go only to realize later that Let it be struck more of a chord. With his words still resonating in my head, I wondered whilst sitting alone in my local café eating a cooked breakfast of smashed avo on stale bread, poached egg and mushies, whether I was going to tell the young waitress that I had asked her when I first arrived to please toast the uncooked grain-free bread I’d brought from home. As I chewed on my stale bread, I looked at my motivation for reminding her about the bread, and sure enough, I noticed there was a slight irritability in my mind, an intent to harm, to make her feel bad for getting it wrong. Let it be Jen. Let it be. Could I? Amazingly, I did. As I took my last sip of coffee and got up to leave, I turned around and wished her a great day. For once, I let it be and it felt somehow liberating. When my youngest son was working as a cashier at Woolworths, he said that nearly all the people who complained were women around my age group. It’s so easy to do, there’s a sense of power and enjoyment in having a moan because you know you’re right. Yet, it can become an addictive habit where you start to find fault in well, pretty much everything. Nothing is right. It’s as if we look out at the world and our mantra is Let it piss me off.
Speaking from experience, unless we give our critical mind a break, it will lead us down the path of misery. Today, after feeling so good as I left the café, I decided I was going to let everything be. Not only was I going to let it be, but I was also going to say, Thank you for it being this way. Just for today, my mini-mental project was to not find fault with anything. Could I do it – for the whole day? I sure as heck was going to give it a crack. So today, under my breath, I muttered out loud the words thank you. I mean, ALL DAY! As I walked and felt my legs moving and my feet touching the ground, as I drove along with my hands on the steering wheel, as I got in the car, as I got out of the car, as I sat down, as I ate, as I read, as I turned my face up towards the heat from the glorious star we call sun, as I felt the cool wind on my skin, as I read my book, as I listened to others talk, as I put away clothing – all day I whispered thank you.
You know what? I gotta tell you, it worked a treat. This evening, as I am writing this to you, there is a sense of sunny contentment in my heart. I feel lighter. I feel softer. It’s as if I’ve got a yellow smiley face tattooed on my heart. All those mindful thank yous that I uttered out loud have filled my daily happiness bucket. Actually, it’s overflowing. Because I’ve been so consciously grateful today for all the moments and all the components that made up June 10th, I have arrived at the end of the day feeling different. I feel like I know where today went. I was there thanking it – every single step of the way. I wonder if I can do the same thing again tomorrow. Not with the words Let it Be but rather Thank you for it being. Let me know if you give this a try and also tell me if it works positively for you. I can tell you one thing for sure; it will not take you down the path of misery. A grateful mind and a critical mind cannot co-exist together. Take care. Stay safe.
Best wishes, Jen 😊 J