I have become quite good at blocking out what I don't want to hear or notice.
I have become such an expert at this that, even when not in crisis, I don't hear what other people are saying, including my children. I can be looking straight ahead at the television and not know what I'm watching. This is a survival skill that I acquired in order to protect myself from frightening or potentially dangerous situations. It served me well in the past, but it no longer serves me. It is difficult to change this pattern, but now that I'm aware of my zoning-out behavior, I can learn to consciously come back to the real world.
Today I will practice paying attention and tuning in to the sounds and events around me.
All acts performed in the world begin in the imagination. --Barbara Grizzuti Harrison
We use our imaginations to plan how we're going to build a model car or plane, rearrange the furniture in our rooms, even dress for a special party. The imagination is like a big piece of drawing paper on which we sketch the way we want something to look.
When we don't know just how to begin a task, the imagination gets us started. It's like having the directions for playing a new game. Dreams about the future, where we want to go, the jobs we want to have, are made more real when we "draw" them in our minds. The imagination gives us courage, too.
Do I have the courage today to imagine a better me?
