Until…

I was talking to a client who is in her 70’s and she shared this story with me: I believed that prayer worked until I was 14 years old and caring for my dying mother. As I was growing up, I was taught to pray and that my prayers would be answered. But when she got sick I started praying at least every hour for God to save her, remove the disease, help her live, keep her alive, don’t let her leave me all alone. None of it happened. I lost my precious mother when I was only 14. As a child, I believed in prayer until I couldn’t anymore.

In our lives, we all have these “until…” moments.

We believe things until they no longer ring true.

We think about things one way until we learn more.

We reject ideas until we open up and get more curious about them.

We neglect ourselves until we learn to befriend ourselves.

This week, I invite you to spend some time thinking about your “until…” moments in life.

These are important pivots, evolutions, and growth areas of life that are worth honoring. Remember we are all souls here in human school learning every day how to do this thing called life. We are students, growing and learning, then growing and learning some more. Spend some time thinking about all that you have learned so far.

What you have started, stopped, or paused doing/thinking/being/saying because you learned something new?

The Jewish Talmud says “Every blade of grass has its angel that bends over it and whispers, 'Grow, grow.'“ I think this holds true for us too. Notice your own whispers of growth this week.

Here are some verbs to get you started:

Some of these pivots come from hard-won wisdom. Some might reflect a disappointment, some might be transformed into something better, and some might remind you of your endless inner strength.

We are doing this exercise as a group in the Compassion Fix Community online classroom this month. We are each sharing our stories of our “Until…” moments. We are just getting started, so join us if this interests you. Yesterday was our first day and it was so powerful that I thought I should share it with you. Click here to join. If online isn’t your jam, click the green button below for September and October in-person classes in Kansas City.

One of the women in the class suggested using this “Until…” list to start conversations with her friends and family the next time they are together. She is going to invite them to share their own pivot moments. Brilliant! We can do that too. It will likely lead to some great conversations and more meaningful connections with those we love.

Keep growing.

Until next week,