Feeling stuck is just part of being human
To illustrate what I mean, when I started nudgeme years ago, I came up with the name having heard a story about Pooh sticks from one of my favourite coaches, Michael Neill. I’m sure you’ll know, but briefly, playing Pooh sticks is when two people throw a stick in the River and see whose wins as the stick floats upstream to a given point. If one of the sticks gets stuck, it doesn’t need therapy just a nudge and it’s on its way again. Well that’s what I’m pointing to now.
There is no inherent meaning to any thought
This was HUGE to me when I got it! I now realise that the only thing that keeps me stuck, or out of the natural flow of living life with a sense of ease, is believing, or attaching meanings, to the myriad thoughts I have all day long! Now I see thought as just a transient energy taking form in the moment, it seems almost ridiculous now to take it seriously!! Which of course isn’t to say that I don’t get caught up and forget that at times!
The antidote is in the nature of the River
Feeling stuck is simply a part of the human condition – like those sticks sometimes they’ll float into the weeds and other times they’ll float on upstream, but either way it’s just the nature of the River and what can occur, and says nothing about the sticks themselves. Or, as I’m referring to, says nothing about the person who gets stuck!
The River is always flowing underneath, it’s not judging the stick, or saying “I don’t like this one, so I’ll push it into the weeds”. Sticks eventually get dislodged and go on their way. For me, the River is such a good metaphor for our innate wellbeing, wisdom, that’s always available to us. And just seeing the impersonal nature of how the River works is enough to nudge me from getting too caught up in the weeds of my thinking, and back into living more in the flow.
So my nudge for today is to just stop for 5 minutes and see where you might be getting caught up in the weeds of your thinking, and where might it help to let the River take over…nothing to sweat or overthink, just what comes to mind?
Have a great rest of your week, and, if you’re in the UK, enjoy this glorious weather we’ve been having…as the pic shows, it’s a stunning day on the River!
All the best for now
Tamsin
PS I shared this nudge earlier with the people taking part in my 100 Days to Create Something Miraculous project. I’m so enjoying our time together…all kinds of miraculous things are occurring, and I’m loving all the new insights people are experiencing. So much so, I’m considering running it again later in the year so if it speaks to you let me know!