{"id":2460,"date":"2020-12-02T02:30:32","date_gmt":"2020-12-02T02:30:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/travelbeing.com\/?p=2460"},"modified":"2024-06-04T20:33:40","modified_gmt":"2024-06-04T20:33:40","slug":"letting-life-live-you","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/travelbeing.com\/?p=2460","title":{"rendered":"Letting Life Live You"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In his book I just finished, \u201cBecoming What You Are,\u201d Alan Watts suggests a change by \u201cletting life live you for a while instead of trying to make yourself live life.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During this pandemic, I\u2019ve been hearing things \u2014 from others and in my head:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019ve got to pay more attention.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019ve got to lose some weight.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019ve got to write that book.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019ve got to get a job I like.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019ve got to\u2026\u2026\u201d fill in the blank.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I was never a goal-setter \u2014 too confining, too limiting.  I prefer to be open to opportunity. What if I set a goal and in the process, realize another? Failure of one in pursuit of another?! Sounds kinda hamster wheel-ish. Further, goals tend to live in the repeat zone. Sometimes for years. In the short-term, repetitive self-talk can be an avenue to action as in, \u201cThe Little Engine That Could\u201d \u2014 \u201cI think I can, I think I can.\u201d In the long-term, however, the effects can be pernicious. When the psyche hears the same intent over and over without ever reaching fruition, it\u2019s got to play a number on self-esteem \u2014  either do it, or stop saying it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For years, I\u2019ve reminded myself to practice awareness. Every day. Sometimes it works; sometimes it doesn\u2019t. On Thanksgiving Day, as I rushed out the door I noticed the box that held the berry pie I was bringing was undecorated \u2014 no ribbon, design, nothing. I hastily drew a hand turkey, like the ones we made in kindergarten.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I arrived to my destination my friend, Jerome, noticed the image on the box. \u201cThat\u2019s sweet. But for future reference, a turkey has only two legs.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

It took a second to digest his words. Then. Oh no. No. I am a college graduate, for crying out loud. Twice. And yet I draw four legs on a turkey?!?! Dead or alive, where have I ever seen four legs on poultry?!?! When I put pen to paper, did I even think about what I was doing?!! Looks more like a female cow-turkey\u2026and drawn with an ‘udder’ lack of attention.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Stunned, I had to laugh. Then I made a mental note to\u2026..<\/p>\n\n\n\n

stop repeating to myself that I\u2019m going to live in awareness! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let life live me for awhile. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“You can do what you want
The opportunity’s on
And if you find a new way
You can do it today
You can make it all true
And you can make it undo”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– Cat Stevens, “If You Want to Sing Out”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In his book I just finished, \u201cBecoming What You Are,\u201d Alan Watts suggests a change by \u201cletting life live you for a while …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[54],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2460","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-54"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/travelbeing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2460","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/travelbeing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/travelbeing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/travelbeing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/travelbeing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2460"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/travelbeing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2460\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2474,"href":"https:\/\/travelbeing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2460\/revisions\/2474"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/travelbeing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2460"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/travelbeing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2460"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/travelbeing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2460"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}