I just got a voice note from my friend, Laurie. It contained a secret to the universe: "What we say is what is real."
I'd left a voice note for her earlier telling her that I was watching the tricks my squirrel mind was playing on me. How it was trying to tell me that January is a hard month. That I am lonely now that I've returned from trips to Hawaii and Ohio, both filled with lively, spirited communities of people I love. That, ho-hum, I will never change when it comes to this or that.
What we say is what is real. It's what we live into. How we introduce the next moment of our lives.
Thankfully, while I was leaving Laurie my message, and then in getting her thoughtful response, I got to see through that squirrely trick. I changed what I said, mid-sentence, even. I saw that I still have that lively, lovely community. In fact I had just emailed my mom and laughed over a new running joke we have. I was connecting to Laurie by sending her my thoughts. And now, here I am, writing to you.
It is January right now and this isn't hard. This is quite nice.
And who knows whether I will ever change when it comes to this or that. Maybe today I will try something brand new when it comes to this. And maybe I will try something I've tried before with that. Just to see what happens.
What we say is what is real.
See that crazy Photo Booth Alien pic of me above? That's what it is like when we tell ourselves stories about ourselves and our lives. We create an image that appears to be true. It looks real from every angle. But many other possibilities exist. It doesn't have to be what we think of as real. We can know that it is a moment's illusion.
What are you saying to yourself right now?
What would you like to be saying to yourself in this brand new year? Can you whisper it right now? Or say it out loud to someone you love and trust?
Choose the moment you want to live into. It's waiting for you.
xo
S.
S.