"God gave you a gift of 86,400 seconds today. Have you used one to say 'thank you?'" - William A. Ward
"Finding Angela Shelton" - Day Fifteen...
When's the last time you thanked yourself for doing the right thing? When's the last time you said to yourself, "You are awesome. Thank you for taking care of yourself. Thank you for being strong." Betcha haven't done it... I know I haven't... until today.
Today's task: Send yourself a thank you card.
Excuse me?
Send myself a thank you card?
HAHA! That's nutty!
For real?
Well, okay. If you say so, Miss Angela...
This is another one of those things that you never would have gotten me to do ten years ago. I would have looked straight at you and said, "You go do your little self-help crazy thank-you-card sendin' weirdo stuff and I'll just watch ya. How about that?" But guess what? I'm not too proud to try something new nowadays. Nowadays, if you were to tell me that jumping out of an airplane had the potential to help me get past the effects of my traumatic experiences, I'd more than likely find a way to do it (even though I am terrified of extreme heights).
When I made the decision to heal this time around, to be honest and to listen to my therapist and to read and study certain books that would aid in my quest for peace of mind, I knew there were going to be times that I would not want to follow the advice I was going to get. But with each new technique, each new idea, each new day, I find that the more I let go and just sort of go with the flow, the better off I am.
So, I did it. I mailed myself a thank you card. Here's what it looks like:
Here's what it says (the words were copied directly from today's task bar in the 30 day journey email):
I'm not gonna lie, it feels kinda silly... but in a way, that's what makes it work. I'm stepping out of my little box and trying something new. I'm taking the time to acknowledge that this hasn't been easy. I'm reminding myself that I'm making a difference in my own life by taking this journey. By making a difference in my own life, I'm making a difference in the lives of many others. What I do effects everyone around me, and it gets passed on in one way or another. It's like a ripple effect. I'd much rather be spreading joy than wallowing in sadness and spreading ick... so I welcome the silly. I welcome the weird. I welcome whatever comes my way.
Because of the healing process I'm seeing the world in a whole new light. And you know what? By golly, I do deserve some thanks for all this hard work!
4 comments:
Beautiful. It's called acknowledging YOU. Most people don't know how to do this and when abuse is the issue it's such a strange concept. I love what you wrote and I love that you share this with so many others. Thank you for opening your heart up. Yes you do deserve some thanks....lots of it in fact.
Living la vida fearless,
Jan
Jan, again, thank you so much for your encouragement. This is definitely a strange concept for me but the more I think about it, the more I'm able to embrace it and I've gotta say I kinda like it. LOL
Nuther great one, Megan. I like the card you chose and what you wrote to yourself. May we all be as embraced in the oneness of self. I do hope you would wear a parachute when jumping from that airplane, LOL. No, I take that back. Anyone who can send themselves a thank-you card would definitely strap on a chute. Congrats on taking yet another step forward and you do deserve that card. :)
Thanks, Lori! =D Someone would have to SHOVE me outta that plane! I'd be hanging on for dear life. lol
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