I’m taking the One Little Word class by Ali Edwards at Big Picture Classes. It’s a year-round class and you can start anytime. Every month on the 1st you receive your prompt challenge for the month. A group of class participants are using their blogs to share their thoughts on the month’s topic. To see all my posts listed, go to the top menu bar under “Documenting Life” and click on One Little Word.
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Ha ha ha, very merry month of May! How you got away from me! I had a nasty chest cold for the first couple of weeks and then spent the rest of the month either playing catch up or greeting Spring. I am proud to say I managed to get the one little word challenge completed!
I was really excited by Ali’s challenge this month. We were encouraged to listen and take note of the things we tell ourselves. Kind of the sort of thing I was already doing anyway. We were to document the things we repeat to ourselves and create something with the phrases.
As usual, things don’t go quite as expected. My biggest problem wasn’t stopping to listen. Oh no, I was eager and willing. There were several times I recognized a thought and tried to keep it in my brain. I’d finally get to a piece of paper and the words would escape me. Several times this happened!!! I had some gems…
Then one day I had a couple hours to myself. I decided to make some 3×4 cards. I used mists and sparkly paints… very fun! I made three and then didn’t get back to making more. I’ll show them here so you can see what I did.
Initial Attempt:
Finally, I decided to just do smaller cards in a baseball card sized page protector.
For the centre card, I put my word and a little title. I used a journal card and trimmed it down to size. For the surrounding cards, I used a piece of scrapbook paper and taped pieces of washi somewhat randomly. I used letter stickers to make my phrases. Despite my memory issues, I did manage to collect several of the things I tell myself on a regular basis. In a perfect world, I’d have a photographic memory and get it all down just right, but I did the best I could.
Here, I’ll explain why I think these thoughts.
Relax: This is for those moments when I am way too tense. Either I’m nervous, fearful, or stressed out. Just saying the word deflates the tension.
Let’s get this party started: This amused me when I realize how often I think this. Sometimes it is when I’m about to do a craft with the kids, but it can be for something annoying like vacuuming. Something to get me pumped about a situation that I either don’t enjoy (vacuuming), OR something I like that requires some energy and thought (craft projects with kids).
Loving Kindness: This is a new one for me. I’ve been taking meditation classes for a few months. One meditation we do is a Metta. It means “loving kindness”. You meditate on sending love to yourself, to someone you love, to a stranger, and to someone you have conflict with. I’m not sure what our teacher said that made me think to use the word outside of meditation. Now when I’m annoyed with someone who is doing something out of my control (crazy driver, violent people in the news) or something difficult to control (my son not wanting to go to bed), I think the words “loving kindness” in hopes that the offending person will feel love and maybe become a bit more enlightened in their lives. It also gives me a chance to stop reacting and be more mindful.
Make it happen: I’ve been saying this for years. Do I want something? Well, I’d better make it happen. It gets me started on goal setting. My husband would say I’m very good at voicing this phrase as well (Honey, make it happen!).
Be mindful: This one doesn’t usually enter my mind as a way to de-stress. It is more of a reminder to myself. I say it to myself when I wake up, or maybe after I haven’t been mindful enough.
This is the life you always wanted: It is good to remind yourself of the blessings in your life. Sometimes it is so easy to get carried away with the “next step”, the challenges, or wanting a break, that you don’t appreciate the moment you are in. For me, all I’ve ever really wanted was to be a Mom. I dreamed I would find a wonderful husband and live in a nice house where I would get to raise my kids. What do I do now that I have it all? I live in fear that I might lose it all. I waste my energy fretting. I get stressed out over small things. I constantly remind myself that I have actualized my dream and should darn well be “awake” and happy enough to enjoy it.
This too shall pass: Just something I say when I’m frustrated with a situation. I know that like anything in life, things are temporary. Phases, events, tribulations….
Stop & let yourself enjoy this: I’ve been saying this to myself a lot lately. When my daughter wants to play Barbies and I’m trying to figure out what to make for supper. I can stop myself from saying “no, later” and realize that my chores can wait a bit. I don’t always have to be in “take care of business” mode. I can stop and just have some fun. I can spend an afternoon building forts and messing with playdoh. I can take a moment to step back and just observe my beautiful babies laughing as they chase each other around the yard. I can.
So, those were my phrases. I just remembered I forgot to make one that says “Choose your battles”. I think that one a lot too.
Final Attempt:
Thanks for reading all of that. What can I say? I’m full of words. Have a fabulous weekend and a fabulous June!
You came from Michelle’s blog. Next up is Veronica’s blog.
If you need to start at the beginning, please go to Lee’s blog.
Namaste!
Melanie Ritchie 