Drawing a blank
Taken from a newsletter by Betty Mahalik (http://www.dynamic-coaching.com/)
uploading it here cos it’s a bit dated and you may not be able to find it online..
3 October 2010
Today is one of those days when I’ve drawn a blank. As I sat down to write this week’s MMC it struck me that I wasn’t feeling particularly inspired about anything. And, I realized that I had fallen under the spell of the need to be profound, productive or “significant”. Guess what? No one can be profound, productive or significant all the time—especially not me. So this week I’m giving it a rest!
I guess you might call it an occupational hazard: the desire to make a difference can become so intoxicating that many of us don’t know what to do with a day where the most significant thing we seem to be able to do is figure out what to wear or have for dinner! We spend so much time “programming” ourselves for success, looking for the next goal to be achieved, the next mountain to be climbed, the next item to be checked off the to-do list that when we draw the proverbial blank we’re left floundering. I often have clients say when they have a break or a day off, they really don’t know what to do with themselves. So invariably they look for and find something to throw themselves into rather than simply embracing the lull.
Is it that we’ve become so identified with our “doing-ness” that we’ve lost connection with our “being-ness?” Are there not natural rhythms in nature where things seem to stand still for a moment; where even the sky and the trees need to catch their breath and “do” nothing?
I’ll never lose my desire to make a difference and if you’re reading this you probably won’t either. But how about joining me this week, for at least a few minutes, maybe even part of a whole day just allowing the blank, the empty space to be there. Who says that making a difference relies entirely on doing stuff anyway? The ocean tides are not always six-foot rip curls but the ocean is no less profound when its tides are low and gentle.
In the game of Scrabble when you draw the blank tile you can use it for any letter you want. It’s the ultimate wild card. Consider today your “blank tile” day. Use it for whatever you want or nothing, if that suits you better. If we can’t learn to embrace the blanks in life, we can’t fully embrace the activity, the creativity, the momentum either.
The next three months will fly by: Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, a new year. The busy-ness of the season will soon consume us. Why not savor a few minutes now and then just enjoying the blanks when they come along. I guarantee the world will not stop turning on its axis because you chose to embrace the blanks that show up in your life. And taking the time to step back may be the very thing your mind, body or spirit needs today or this week to burst forth in a whole new season of creativity, contribution and productivity.
So join me in taking a collective deep breath, let it out with a huge sigh of relief and celebrate with me the joy in drawing a blank!
Enjoy the lull.
Betty (signature)
uploading it here cos it’s a bit dated and you may not be able to find it online..
3 October 2010
Today is one of those days when I’ve drawn a blank. As I sat down to write this week’s MMC it struck me that I wasn’t feeling particularly inspired about anything. And, I realized that I had fallen under the spell of the need to be profound, productive or “significant”. Guess what? No one can be profound, productive or significant all the time—especially not me. So this week I’m giving it a rest!
I guess you might call it an occupational hazard: the desire to make a difference can become so intoxicating that many of us don’t know what to do with a day where the most significant thing we seem to be able to do is figure out what to wear or have for dinner! We spend so much time “programming” ourselves for success, looking for the next goal to be achieved, the next mountain to be climbed, the next item to be checked off the to-do list that when we draw the proverbial blank we’re left floundering. I often have clients say when they have a break or a day off, they really don’t know what to do with themselves. So invariably they look for and find something to throw themselves into rather than simply embracing the lull.
Is it that we’ve become so identified with our “doing-ness” that we’ve lost connection with our “being-ness?” Are there not natural rhythms in nature where things seem to stand still for a moment; where even the sky and the trees need to catch their breath and “do” nothing?
I’ll never lose my desire to make a difference and if you’re reading this you probably won’t either. But how about joining me this week, for at least a few minutes, maybe even part of a whole day just allowing the blank, the empty space to be there. Who says that making a difference relies entirely on doing stuff anyway? The ocean tides are not always six-foot rip curls but the ocean is no less profound when its tides are low and gentle.
In the game of Scrabble when you draw the blank tile you can use it for any letter you want. It’s the ultimate wild card. Consider today your “blank tile” day. Use it for whatever you want or nothing, if that suits you better. If we can’t learn to embrace the blanks in life, we can’t fully embrace the activity, the creativity, the momentum either.
The next three months will fly by: Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, a new year. The busy-ness of the season will soon consume us. Why not savor a few minutes now and then just enjoying the blanks when they come along. I guarantee the world will not stop turning on its axis because you chose to embrace the blanks that show up in your life. And taking the time to step back may be the very thing your mind, body or spirit needs today or this week to burst forth in a whole new season of creativity, contribution and productivity.
So join me in taking a collective deep breath, let it out with a huge sigh of relief and celebrate with me the joy in drawing a blank!
Enjoy the lull.
Betty (signature)
Quote of the Week “Sometimes the most important thing in a whole day is the rest we take between breaths.”~~Etty Hellesum
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