As we go about our day to day life we interact with so many different people. At times we enjoy the people around us. They make us laugh; they compliment things we do; they seem to have the right words we need to hear to get through challenges. If we had our choice, we would want them to always be enjoyable to be around. As you know….life isn’t always like that!
At other times, we may not want to be around those same people! Have you experienced that in your life? Maybe they raise their voice or cut us off in conversations making us mad; maybe we think they expect us to work longer hours without extra pay and we go home feeling drained; maybe they don’t respect what we do for them or they treat us in an unkind/abusive manner and we feel worthless. Things like that may not feel good inside. It’s not about changing and fixing so we don’t feel feelings! How can we shift our perception where we start to see people, things and situations in an empowering way?
In my best-selling mini book, Quick Shifts, I share how there will be times when our learning and growing comes through people who may not be pleasant to be around. They may be unkind or abusive in some way. Our learning and growing won’t be so much about what they are doing, as much as it will be about our awareness and mindfulness of what we are observing in those moments.
Empowering life lessons come from our observations of what is happening through relationships…doesn’t matter who or what. Remember, relationships are not only about people relating to people. Relationships also have to do with how we relate to the things and situations around us. We can learn a lot from the personalities of the people involved; we can learn a lot from the absence of something; we can learn a lot from the timing of when things take place.
Allow me to share a real life example of an opportunity that offers learning and growing.
Our wonderful daughter and her family were outside this past weekend enjoying the sun. Their two boys (both under the age of 4) were having trouble sharing. They were fighting over who was going to play with the toy lawn mower (it’s the lawn mower that blows out bubbles when they push it.) To keep peace in the family the parents bought another lawn mower so each child could have their own to play with.
It wasn’t long after buying the second lawn mower our daughter was shopping for something else at a different store. In the store, she went to buy one treat for the boys to share. Innocently, the older son told his mom to buy two treats so each child could have their own.
When my daughter told me this story…I marvelled at her awareness in putting those two situations together. She saw very quickly what her son was learning from those experiences. Feedback and wisdom can be so powerful for a mom as it can offer guidance.
I share this example to show you how brilliantly the Universe orchestrates the world around us. We don’t have a ‘how to’ manual in life. We do have the awareness and guidance from the Universe giving us ‘snap shots’ from different experiences helping us to learn and grow along our journey.
When we engage in life…life happens. We do not need effort to make this happen….life just happens. Our lessons show up…our learning takes place. Awareness plays an important part in all of that.
There will be times when things happen and we don’t feel good about them. We act on them as best we can in that moment. If there is a lesson or learning in those moments, we will be shown through relationships around us. Our lessons come about in many ways…ways we may not even be aware of yet. Personalities, things and timing help us piece together life lessons.
What I would like to add…when we have awareness there is nothing to change! Awareness allows us as the observer, to see what is there. Then we move forward with that awareness. That is the most empowering place to be in. No longer are we focused on changing and fixing people, things or situations. We grow to appreciate what shows up so perfectly orchestrated by the Universe around us. Then we move forward with that awareness.
When someone does something that doesn’t feel good to us…observe what they did and observe how you feel in that moment. It is in that moment of awareness…healing takes place. You are that loved and supported.
I invite you to find your own truth in that. There is no one way to live…there is only your way!
May you experience wonderment as you journey into summer!
Sheila Unique, Coach/Intuitive
