Here's one example. I attended a book writer's club this past weekend and obtained a whole list of things I "should be doing" in order to get the most book sales. I sent myself four emails of things I "should" do in order to be a successful writer. After about an hour I decided to leave the meeting early because I didn't want to hear any more. I had gotten some good nuggets, but more would have been too much, overwhelming even.
Today when I looked at the emails I had sent to myself, I felt that overwhelmed feeling again. The list of to-do items did not seem relevant to me (learning WordPress, finding free writing events, writing to agent's desires, the #MSWL-manuscript wish lists, etc.). It's not that the speaker should not have spoken about all these things. It's that not everything needed to be for me and I did not need to take all of it on. Sensibly, I needed to take the information that felt helpful to me (what to expect at a book signing, for example) and then get back to the stillness (journaling/meditation/prayer space) that leads me to a simpler, God-filled life.
God wants me to know that I should keep grounded and centered, do the work and follow up when I feel an urge to do so. (Note: I picked the "badger" meditation card from Medicine Cards by Jamie Sams and David Carson, Illustrations by Angela Werneke and James Finnell).
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Now for the reflective questions which you can journal about or if you'd like to share your story, the community and I would love to hear from you! Your comment could have a major impact on someone else. Most likely it will be just the right thing at the right time for one of the readers. For me, God* wanted me to know that helping even just one person is wonderfully impactful.
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Reflective questions:
1. Do you feel a call to change something in your life but can't let go of it because of some previous notion that holds you to it?
2. What does God* want you to know about this (ask directly, "God, what do you want me to know?")
* I use the term God as a universal term. You may decide that Great Spirit, Allah, Higher Power, Sensibility, etc. better suits you today. It is not for me to decide.
Photo by MH
Note: These posts are part of a broader call to do spiritual journaling (read more at CardinalTouch.net).
