Writing Rights and Wrongs

A friend who helps older folks organize their thoughts told me that in order for people my age (ahem) to remember a date or appointment, they must "make a memory".  What she meant is that you need to actually write down what you want to remember.  Those of you who live and die by lists and appointment books, feel vindicated!  Your choice to schedule will help you keep your life in order as you grow older.  Those of us who are "sure we'll remember" names, dates, and serial numbers might want to start writing stuff down.  The odds are that we won't remember, especially as we age.

Writing something down is really important.  I've had life coaches who encouraged me to write down lists of what was happening in my life.  One insisted that I write down all the bad stuff I was thinking first thing in the morning.  She said it was a way to get rid of the negativity and start the day fresh.  Another said not to focus on the bad stuff, but write down all the good things you can think of about people and situations in your life including your dreams and goals.

It felt terrible to write down the bad stuff, and sometimes I was so stuck in negativity that I couldn't think of any good stuff to write.  It was a problem.  Then I found this little guy lying in a parking lot.

This cheerful green pup--green being the fourth chakra color of healing--is an eraser.  He gave me an idea that solved my problem, and here it is: I write down the all bad stuff in pencil just to get it out of my system. Then I read what I've written.  Sentence by sentence, I erase the bad stuff and write down what I want to see instead over it in ink! 

This little technique works great!  I'm able to work through the negativity, and by acknowledging and accepting it, see what I'm wanting instead a lot more clearly.  Plus, when I then write down the opposite aspects of the negative thought, I begin to feel a whole lot better: more hopeful, more powerful, and more in control of my emotional landscape. In a subtle way, I think this technique is helping me to change my habitual, mildly pesimistic approach to life by bringing awareness to my thought processes and how they effect my energy.

Somehow, just by doing this little technique first thing in the morning, I'm noticing that I'm feeling generally happier and a lot more optomistic. I may not be making memories, but I sincerely believe I'm making a more joyful life.

Love, Kristine