Sunday Feast: Self-awareness

Opening the door to a better life

Ajijic, MX door

"It’s all about self-awareness. We cannot be more connected to other people than we are to ourselves." — Brené Brown

                                               You are, and always will be, 
                                               the center of your universe. 
                                                   That’s not a bad thing; 
                                                  it’s simply the real thing. 
                                                 We are an alchemical mix 
                                                        of shocked stardust 
                                                   in the presence of water 
                                                    fed by a day/night cycle. 

                                                 From cell to consciousness 
                                                      in a few billion years.

Within us, 37 billion cells (plus or minus a few) are at work, each doing a job they’ve learned along the way, collaborating round the clock in ten major teams we call systems, mostly without guidance, outside help, or even a thank you from the that thing we call our “self.”

Not only are we the sum of these systems, this “self-thing” we inhabit is driven by our mind, something we can’t see, hear, feel, taste, or touch. No wonder life is such an adventure. Fortunately, we have a few tools to deal with this endless and wondrous gratitude-spiked cocktail of life. 

Somewhere, somehow, out of those mysterious cellular and consciousness depths, we have learned to pay attention to our experiences and the thoughts and feelings generated by them. 

                                      Out of all that, arose the foundation 
                               of a zillion books, podcasts, YouTube videos, 
            TEDTalks, coaches, psychiatrists, psychologists, ministers, and gurus:
                                                       KNOW THYSELF!

Self-Awareness Model

For those of you working in the Gratitude Mojo workbook: A simple way to get to know yourself better is to track the promises you make to yourself. If you repeatedly decide to meditate, do yoga, or learn a new language but then don’t follow through, that is NOT a reason to beat yourself up … it is simply data, an opportunity for understanding why.

Perhaps you aren’t really motivated to do those things … or, maybe your life is just too hectic and complicated right now … or you need to rearrange your schedule or ask for help or eliminate some less essential time warps. (My personal demon is Facebook reels.)

At the beginning of each week, Gratitude Mojo offers you a chance to make promises to yourself. These aren’t graded exercises. They simply give you a chance to think about your aspirations for the week. At the end of the week, you can look back and see what promises you kept and think about why some were kept, some were delayed, and some were never even thought about again.

It’s all part of getting to know yourself better.

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In good times and challenging ones, practicing gratitude helps us recognize the good things in our lives and build resilience for the challenges that come our way. Gratitude journaling is one of the best ways to better understand yourself and deepen your practice of gratitude. 

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