Thinking instead of writing is moving the opposite direction of where I want to go. The new habit I’m trying to create is to go for it. Write. Trust the words coming out. Feel into it. Go inside and write from there. Inside of me is the source, not outside, and certainly not up in my head. My energy wants to flood into my body, it feels much better to do things from my body instead of from my head. Do you know what I mean? That’s where the flow comes from. We are an overthinking culture and I have fallen prey to that habit as much as anybody, and maybe more than most. Who knows? Is that what it takes to ‘succeed’ in this culture? That’s what the mind thinks, isn’t it? But so much of life is out of our control, outside of our linear logic. You can’t out-think life. When I try to think my way through everything, it puts strain on my system.

It even feels good to write without looking at the words that come out, without giving myself the space to see what’s happening as I go. The words that come out this way- what is their source? Are they more true? Can I let things out before I have time to stop myself? What are the things that aren’t being said? The buried things are probably the pieces we need to hear and process the most.

We have so much fear around what we say. There’s so much at stake. Everyone could hate something that comes out of my mouth, or out of my keyboard. People could reject me. I could suffer for it. I could offend someone and be outcast for it. I guess that’s what bravery is. Bravery is commitment to the truth. I strive to touch the truth with my words. If there’s a deeper purpose to my writing, it’s that. Reveal truth. Share what’s true for me. Do it as honestly as I can. It’s so important for us to develop our ability to look at the truth instead of at distractions. But we prefer to look at the things we want to look at, to pretend.

We all pretend in different ways. We can help each other grow by sharing our truth. It might reveal a blind spot for someone else. And collectively, we have massive blind spots. It takes the minorities speaking up for us to reveal our blind spots.

Never shame someone for speaking their truth. When I feel hurt because of something you say, that is for ME to look at. You have revealed something for ME. Nothing that happens in my experience is YOUR fault. This goes both ways in any relationship, any encounter.

I think we have a bad collective habit of blaming others for our struggles. In fact, we should be thankful to whatever or whoever in the world gives us challenge. These experiences are what make us grow and mature, and what else are we here for?

As much as we blame others, though, we blame ourselves. We feel guilty for our standing in life, for our blessings. This hurts us as much as being blamed by others. Life is something to celebrate. Our blessings are a reason to feel gratitude. Real gratitude is the healer of guilt. Don’t feel guilty for taking up space in this world, feel grateful to the supportive forces around you that give you a space. Everybody here needs to take up space and have an impact. You can’t exist here without having an impact, without leaving your mark on everything you touch. Don’t hold it back. We’re all meant to shine brightly.

Here’s to a month of doing something new and seeing what happens. Thanks for reading.