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Beth's avatar

I saw an opportunity for kindness yesterday and didn't act on it. Was it because there were witnesses? Because it wasn't a way I typically show kindness? No matter what I'm still thinking about it!

I think the discomfort all these hours later is greater than the discomfort I would have felt in the moment.

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Em Capito, LCSW's avatar

Inner transformation of beliefs and ways of responding begins with awareness! It's huge to simply notice new possibilities that perhaps we wouldn't have before.

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Cherie Hall's avatar

Nobody judges me as harshly as I imagine; virtually no-one cares about my own trivial concerns. Although nearly everybody looks like they've got it together, we're all carrying private burdens.

Trusting that nobody is focused on me both allows me to fearlessly lean into myself without concern for perception, and it makes space to wonder at the immense lived experience swirling around me in any given moment.

If I were to respond with a sense of awe and curiosity rather than fear, what might I learn about myself and others? What unimaginable beauty is already brushing shoulders with my life?

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Beth's avatar

Oof! "Trusting that nobody is focused on me." This seems both liberating and scary as hell.

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Em Capito, LCSW's avatar

Not so unimaginable in time ❤️

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Beth's avatar

When I create space, there's room to pause and be curious. Instead of letting fear have a chokehold on me and how I'll be perceived, I can be curious about why I'm reacting in a certain way to another person or even more space to wonder why they're reacting to me in such a way. Pausing and curiosity make room for me to act in a way that's more true to my deeper self and more understanding of others.

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Em Capito, LCSW's avatar

Fascinating how our fears birth their own realities. What a difference it makes to witness the stories rather than live inside them 🙏

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