Daily Gratitude: This makes so much sense if you think about it. Especially remembering one of my favorite quotes – from William Shakespeare- “Nothing is good or bad but thinking makes it so.”

I’m sure you’ve had the same experience as I have. A friend or acquaintance thinks their world has ended because of something. When you look at what’s causing them so much trouble it doesn’t seem to be such a big issue to you. And vice versa – something you think is going to be the end of the world for you and others just go about their own business as if nothing is going on.

It’s all how you frame things. The perspective you have.

Ask yourself about almost everything- “what am I thinking about this?”

Then take some time to come up with the real answer. It’s often effective to ask yourself that question again. See if you can go even deeper – “what do I really think about this?” Try digging deeper for 3-5 times.

There are often layers that you have to dig through to find out that you think and even why you’re thinking it – maybe you find that you’ve been indoctrinated to think in a particular way. It’s just a habit.

Once you realize it’s a habit, you can take steps to break it. It can be freeing.

Now you can begin to change that habit and start thinking in ways you choose.

Daily Gratitude: What do you make of this? What did you think of when you read it?

I felt a sense of relief when I read it but I can’t tell you why. I think it means that you can end something (a struggle or a relationship or a project for instance) without it being wrapped up in a tiny package (resolution) nice and neat. You may have to just release everything into the universe without that sense of resolution.

I think of release as unpackaging and letting go. Perhaps you’ve been hitting your head against the wall for a long time and don’t see any way for things to get better. It’s now time to understand that the universe knows what’s best for us. We probably don’t have all the info so it’s best to just let things happen just as they are supposed to without our interference.

Don’t ever think of a lack of resolution as failure. It’s just different and release is generally what’s best.

Daily Gratitude: I struggle with this. Since I learned IFS, I’ve become more understanding about things going on inside of me. But because I have seen progress, I fall prey to the “age of instant gratification“ and want it all “fixed” right now.

The left brain part, though, is smart enough, to know that things are happening as they should. I hear my parts yelling from their rooms “slow down Terrie”. And even though it just echoes all down the hallway, I still ignore them.

At least writing about it helps me be aware and awareness is the first step towards my being able to listen to these voices (parts).

What will it take for you to first know there are unsolved issues in your heart and then be patient while you unwind that big ball of twine inhabiting your heart. Just like the twine, it’s a complicated mess and one thing is connected to the next…and the next…and so on. Everything is related.

Logic says it will take time to unravel it all. But emotions often override logic. It’s one part of growth to learn to balance logic and emotion. That’s the first goal.

Remember it’s one step at a time.