On a level road, a car rolls along at a steady speed. We may have it in cruise and it shifts automatically as we travel up and down hills. If we prefer to manually control our speed, we adjust the pressure on the gas pedal as the terrain and road conditions or situations change. Driving also requires that we occasionally have to put on the brakes. Stopping, slowing down, speeding up and cruising are constant shifts as we travel.
Daily living is much like driving a car – it is continuously shifting — and we have to be self-aware to know when to slow down, speed up, cruise or stop. Let me explain. Did you ever wake up in the morning in a grumpy mood? As you get ready for the day, you know that you are irritable, and impatient. You just want to growl at everyone and everything. Your car is in the ditch and if you continue into the day like this, you will spin your tires, run over everything in your path or have a motor breakdown. Knowing this, you have a choice – to make a shift. Start with an inspection of yourself. Ask what is going on with me, why and how can I change this to give myself a better day? Look at the flow of negative thoughts and feelings, filling your gas tank. This is not always easy, because these negative gremlins can fill the gas tank to overflowing. How can you empty the tank of these characters and instead let some positive ones fill the tank? Be aware of them and shift them one at a time. This is a stop and go process. Stop, look, choose to change, and be the opposite of the fearful/negative feeling. If you are sad, look for something that makes you happy. If you are angry, look for some way to let the anger go. If you are overwhelmed, stop and shift into slow gear and take one step at a time. If you are limping along at a crawl, speed up and get involved. Put the gear shift in smile instead of frown, speak to someone instead of ignoring them, and listen carefully instead of always doing the talking.
As your car travels the streets of your day, other people will cross your path and they might also be having a cranky car day. When you shift your car into cruising smoothly, you also help them to do the same. We are all more alike than different and throughout the day there are many opportunities to have a mechanical breakdown. We can help ourselves and others to have better days by shifting our thinking, feeling, or attitude.There are more benefits to shifting our gears than staying in a muddy ditch of living.
I.M. Heart is about noticing feelings – all of them, not just the loving ones. Shifting is a tool to notice what is driving your car today. It is about being aware of those feelings that are gnarly gremlins and choosing to change them. That choice does not mean that you never deal with them. It means choosing not to let them totally dominate your driving and life. It’s like arriving at work with a carload of snappy words, frowns, or anger and instead of taking them in the building with you, closing the car door on them and saying – See you later, I’m going to have a good day. They will wait patiently for you because they are a part of you and need your love and healing. They will shift also.
As you begin each day remember these words from Ralph Waldo Emerson — Write it on your heart that every day is the best day of the year.”