We Are All In the Middle of Our Beautiful Lives.
August 12th, 2008 |By Jennifer Lehr, MA, MFT
Click here to contact Jennifer and/or see her GoodTherapy.org Profile
“I am in the middle of my beautiful life”. I tell myself this on occasion, and it always moves me into gratitude and also opens me up to feeling. It is a way of honoring my life, with all of its complexities, flaws, joys, heartaches, etc. Even the parts of me that hurt or are small or broken are part of the beauty of my life. It moves me out of a perfectionistic attitude and into an owning of what it is to be human: beautiful and amazing, yet imperfect and wounded. It allows me to see my life stretched out from infancy to a future I have not yet created. I honor this life, this moment, this journey that I am on. This moment is part of a bigger picture, a bigger pattern, a bigger life than I may realize. I open up space for myself. I create grace.
We are all imperfect, but we have choice. We can choose what we tell ourselves. We may not be able to alter the past, immediately change patterns, or remove limitations currently affecting us, but we do have choice in how we speak to ourselves, and in the attitudes that we hold. We can tell ourselves that there is something that is wrong with us and make ourselves bad for it, or we can chose to honor ourselves despite the pain our imperfections require us to bear.
“I am in the middle of my beautiful life”. Say it to yourself right now and notice what comes up. A feeling? A thought? Maybe you are rejecting this idea, maybe embracing it. Don’t make yourself wrong or right, just notice. This is how we get to know ourselves, how we find out who we are. It is only when we know ourselves that we have the power to enact change.
©Copyright 2008 by Jennifer Lehr, MA, MFT. All Rights Reserved. Permission to publish granted to GoodTherapy.org. The following article was solely written and edited by the author named above. The views and opinions expressed are not necessarily shared by GoodTherapy.org. Questions or concerns about the following article can be directed to the author or posted as a comment to this blog entry. Click here to contact Jennifer and/or see her GoodTherapy.org Profile
August 14th, 2008 at 6:17 am
I feel the GRACE and the HEART. This is beautifully written and helpful! Thanks for this!
August 15th, 2008 at 4:29 am
Having just been through a painful breakup it has been too easy for me to sit around and feel sorry for myself. But this has inspired me to take control again. I AM in the middle of a beautiful life and it is time to start living that way again.
August 18th, 2008 at 5:08 am
That’s great Derek. Sometimes it takes something very painful happening in our lives to remind us of how much we take for granted. Yet it is situations like this which also can serve as reminders of how much control we have over our own destinies and that the way we can control this in a positive manner is to remember and be thankful for the good that is provided to us every day.
August 18th, 2008 at 2:33 pm
This is something that I really need to hear, I’ve been going through a lot in my relationship and I’m noticing some thought patterns that are creeping up that I’m not comfortable with. When I’m having a discussion with my husband, I’m so quick to place the blame on me and I don’t like it. I want to accept my feelings, my hurts, no matter how irrational I seem to other people. My husband is constantly making me feel like I’m over reacting and he is not taking my feelings into consideration. It’s okay to accept and love myself at this very moment in time.
August 20th, 2008 at 2:56 am
I am using this as my uplifting post of the day! Felt like yuck when I first got up but I think this one is gonna help me all throughout the day. Thanks!
August 21st, 2008 at 3:02 am
Like so many of you I have been going through a difficult period in my life what with a divorce and all. But articles like this inspire me to focus more on the good things in my life rather than always seeking out the bad and it gives me hope for me for a better tomorrow. Blessings to all.
August 24th, 2008 at 7:34 am
this post makes my day… i try to always focus way more on the positive things in life that I do on the negative and this just reminds me that there is a reason for this. i have the power to change things in life that i do not like and i in complete control of the things that happen in life. that is actulally very reassuring to me. i am in charge of my destiny.
August 27th, 2008 at 3:05 am
Good post to get me out of my rainy day blues. :-)
August 30th, 2008 at 7:19 pm
I am appreciating and enjoying reading everyone’s comments. Thank you!
Jennifer Lehr
September 10th, 2008 at 6:43 pm
Life is beautiful; not just in a movie but really. The religious would call it count your blessings and thank God. The point is how much of this beauty are we giving away to others? Do we stop every once in a while to make someone else’s day. I think the beauty of a wrinkle or grey hair is kind of lost in this world of perfections. The toothless smile of a child or the wrinkled knotted hands of a grandma are things that we see only in photo exhibits. This world is beautiful not because of uniformity but because of diversity. Let’s always remember that!!
November 12th, 2008 at 12:01 pm
Я от них безума!
November 12th, 2008 at 1:18 pm
фантастика!…