December 19th, 2017

At Least Begin. Appreciatively Making Time For Self-Care, Learning & Nurturing Experiences Makes It Worthwhile.

Just begin. Sometimes we put off doing something such as exercise, meditation, receiving nurturing massages, sharing kind affection, writing our book, learning a new skill, etc., which is beneficial, growthful & nurturing in one way or another, because we forget & lose our appreciation for the benefits, enjoyment, pleasure & growth which come from making time-space to appreciatively engage - experience them.

This week a couple people who received massages from me again mentioned after their sessions wondering why they waited so long to receive again. Sharing that making time-space to appreciatively receive & being nourished in these ways refreshed their experiential appreciation & desire to prioritize including this in what they schedule into their lives more frequently.
( Hopefully they will keep that appreciative awareness enough to continue doing so in this, and additional realms. )

Likewise with my practice of cello, which is new to me. Sometimes I find myself not practicing, or feeling less inspired to practice because I am self-conscious about not yet being masterfully facile with it. And it can feel a bit like still learning what it is which is helpful to learn & increasingly become & be facile creating & exploring beautiful, emotionally artful soundscapes.
While making some less skillful, sometimes discordant sounds along the way.
Yet when I do choose to move through such less than always fully enthusiastic or confident feelings into appreciatively engaging, appreciation & facility grows.


With our willingness to playfully explore beyond confining dogmatic color by numbers limitations, fears, shame and inhibition, to not demand immediate or static ideas of "perfection" from ourself, communicating directly openly honestly any personal boundaries & preferences we have at any moment with whoever we are relating with so to be clearly understood & thus co-create increasingly satisfying & resonant experiences, and being vulnerably open to learning along the way & appreciating the process, we at least engage and thus open to enjoying & thereby benefiting from such experiences.

We warm & open ourselves to embodying expanding possibilities, awareness, capabilities and appreciative enjoyment. Relaxing with deepening breaths of respect for the fact that there is no ultimate end point of meaning, as appreciative immersion in process & the only moment that exists - the eternal present, is what gives meaning.


Same thing with "meditation", exercise, other practices & experiences.
Even if some days we dont feel as inclined, facile or relaxed enough initially to enjoy and excel at whatever it is, or with as much time as we think is ideal, at least setting aside some time now to engage with it is more supportive, nourishing and useful than none.