tax week. i survived.
just barely, tho. it was also my busiest week in memory with lots of very physical hands on bodywork going on. and i had more epiphanies than i can shake a stick at. too bad about the ephemeral >poof< factor there! so that was the week that was. my body is sore. there’s more to go. and me and the irs are friends. now what shall we talk about, eh?
simple like a seesaw
okay then. one of the things that came really clear for me this week was the bloody real-time truth of everything, true on the big stage as well as the small. when i’m working a lot with people physically, hands on, it is so obvious that everyone is different. and even from one minute to the next, from one part of the body to another, people are in constant flux. which plays havoc with any system that isn’t either simple enough or sophisticated enough to roll with it.
push and pull
so if i’m working on someone and i get distracted, my mind wanders, then my tendency is to push. i’m a pusher. if what i am offering doesn’t work, my unconscious habit is to repeat with more force. that oughta do it! yeah.
so if i’m being present and aware, i will just go with what is present, and i won’t push too much because i’ll get some feedback that says pushing more is not helping–in fact it is soon going to be hurting–literally!
so i’ll back off and switch to an invitation. muscles are like animals–as are people by and large–and it’s often pretty effective to go with the carrot or the stick. too many carrots and you end up with a spoiled donkey. too much stick and you are likely to get bit!
and when you are on it, paying attention–then it’s fucking beautiful! push a little here, get all soft and inviting there…and the next thing you know you have a very happy client, smiling and relaxed, with wonderful associations between you, your name and face, and the pleasure of living in a pain-free body–or whatever it is that you deliver to the people you come across, personally and professionally. ultimately, i believe, it is all personal…and it is all service!
so then of course there is also our relationship with ourselves. again, i’m a pusher by nature, and when i don’t pay attention i will push myself off the bloody cliff. and i know that a push is just an offer on speed, and my true nature is to be very offering…and try telling me that when i’m hanging over the edge of a 50 foot drop!
the power of procrastination
so now, having stacked my schedule as tight as it will get on the already most stressful week for the year for me, it’s all about the hot ginger tea with echinacea and astragalus. it’s the 8 hours of sleep hopefully and the looking forward to sunday afternoon when i get a little break. and luckily, now that the big procrastination is over, i can get back to dealing with some of the little procrastinations.
like that piece i’m writing on the power of procrastination, or my garden. just as long as i keep my eyes and ears open, my awareness on, i should be able to get just the right push-pull carrot-stick to get it all done. and smile all the way!
a couple other things
found this poster at city feed and supply, a local healthier food grocery, deli and coffee bar over in jamaica plain, that i hashtagged #irony on twitter a couple of days ago…or was that yesterday?–bank of america supporting a buy local campaign. ah, the richness, especially given the big conversation around buying local over at the fluent self.
and winter finally retreated for good! so from here on out it’s planting sunflowers and kale and tomatoes and spinach and…all that stuff. so if you see me on twitter ask me how my garden growns…that ought to get me off my ass and on my knees, hands in the dirt instead of on the keys! and i hope you are planting seeds of something tasty…in the ground, or in the air, or in your simple daily life. until next time…
peace and procrastination!
chas
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
TheGirlPie 04.19.09 at 5:13 pm
What a cool way to think about a ‘push’ — although for me it’d be “a push is just an offer on Steroids ~ ” but your bright post reminds me that I can catch more flies with honey than with a flyswatter (or some other appropriate “push” metaphor!)
You wrote another gem that’s sticking with me: “…any system that isn’t either simple enough or sophisticated enough…” ~ so true.
Keep up the good works — hope you’re out ‘in the dirt instead of on the keys” this afternoon ~ !
chas 05.02.09 at 9:23 pm
As long as i don’t get dirt on my keys or lose my keys in the dirt…