When Life Feels Crushingly Familiar

Sometimes, life can be too much. Sometimes, it can feel too little. We struggle with how repetitive it can all be. This practice helps us settle into what is, to honor the ordinary, the familiar. It's a time to breathe, live, love, be.

Transcript

Hey, Have you ever noticed life can feel crushingly repetitive? We do the same thing over and over. And so many times our spirits long for something new to wake us up, To make us feel alive. And of course, It can be great to step into the unknown to see what might happen. And at the same time, What would life be like if we made friends with the ordinary, The repetitive, The same old, Same old? That's what this practice invites us to do. Gertrude Stein is a poet that frustrates many readers. And she once wrote, To write is to write, Is to write, Is to write, Is to write, Is to write. You get the picture. And her words can seem pointless, But what she's getting at is sometimes in life, There is no way out but through. Sometimes to do what we want to do, We have to do what we want to do again and again. And we're invited to do it, As another writer put it, Without hope, Without despair. We do it because it is what matters to us. So we show up every day and live and act in these ways that are a part of who we are. They are woven into the very fabric of our being. Because as another great writer, Annie Dillard said, How you live your life is how you live your life. So because life can feel like a repetition of days and choices. What if we embrace that? What if we choose the simple, The repetitive, As intentional choices that help us to live who we are and who we want to be. When we can do that, We align with what we value. And then we are able to live out of our deepest self. So sit, Center. To breathe is to breathe, Is to breathe, Is to breathe, Is to breathe, Is to breathe. To love is to love, Is to love, Is to love, Is to love, Is to love, Is to love, Is to love. To live is to live, Is to live, Is to live, Is to live, Is to live, Is to live. To breathe is to breathe, Is to breathe, Is to breathe, Is to breathe. To be is to be, Is to be, Is to be, Is to be. And live light and shine.

Reviews

I really appreciate the every day, ordinary bits of encouragement on these long, cold, endless days of winter. Thank you.

Amazing as always in the simplicity- yet deeply powerful and profound. I think it was Robert Frost who wrote that the meaning of life is that it goes on. Blessings Betsy :)

Thanks for bringing the perspective of celebrating the repetitive as a gift.

You have a way of hitting me right where I am with these short talks. My problem with repetition is when I feel it is not intentional, not a choice, but something that is happening to me.

The older I get this gets truer every day! Thank you!🙏🏻