November Gratitude Shorts, Day 11
“Mama, I like how your mood gets better when you listen to music .”
“You’re always telling us to eat less sugar, and you’re eating ice cream and cake.”
Thank God for my kids who call me out and keep me honest. They don’t do it to embarrass me or make me feel bad about myself. Their goal is not to shame me. They simply make observations of my behavior and its inconsistencies with my rhetoric. They are curious, and seek reconciliation.
Earlier today I reblogged Donna Cameron’s excellent post on the judgement required to determine when naked honesty is not always the best policy. I think talking about this stuff out loud, especially with our kids, is important. We need to be clear about our guiding life principles, and hold them up. We also need to practice flexibility and discretion. It’s not always easy, and we must keep trying.
I counsel people all day about the virtues of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and lean protein. And they would find me eating ice cream and cookies more often than I’d like to admit. I work on it every day just like everybody else. I need my own advice as much as the next person.
I think it’d be nice if we adults approached one another’s inconsistencies like children do, from a place of curiosity, non-judgement, and love.
Healing Through Connection 
Cathy, you are KILLING it with your November gratitude posts. I read and love every single one of them. I don’t know where you’re finding the time, but they are much more interesting and thought-provoking than the others I’ve seen. Thank you!
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Wow, THANK YOU, Lisa!! That is so funny because I was just starting to think that these are kind of a drag for people. I end up liking them myself, which is why I keep going. But I wonder if I’m saturating my audience and becoming noise.
It means so much to receive this feedback, old friend, thank you from deep in my writer’s soul!! xoxo 😊😘😁
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Trust me, Dr Cheng, they are not as drag. I’m enjoying them greatly and finding your wisdom to be inspiring. I hope you’ll collect these when the month is over and put them into a book, because I would love to have them all to refer back to again and again even when I’m offline.
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Aaawww, that is so nice! I step into the weekend with renewed energy and motivation because of your encouragement. Many thanks, as always. 🙂
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No, not a drag at all, quite the opposite. I’ve meant to comment on some of the prior posts too, but each time I let the day’s tasks get in the way. They are insightful and honest…keep ’em coming! xoxo
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Amen, Sister, amen! We all need to hold a mirror to ourselves far more often than we do and check our behavior vs our words. At the same time, we need to reject those internal voices that talk badly about us and just focus on doing better.
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Hi Tim! It’s always so gratifying to get an ‘Amen!’ from the crowd! 😉 And your comment is spot on, sir. Thank you!
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Gentle curiosity. That is my intent when observing myself as well as other. We have our ideal, then we have reality. Keep preaching healthy eating! It will become your patients’ ideal that they keep coming back to.
And, no, gratitude is never a drag.
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Thanks, Sandy Sue! Yes, ideals and reality–we can hold both at the same time! Gentle curiosity… maybe with a little brash curiosity thrown in every once in a while, just for fun… 😉
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I was thinking the same thing as Lisa: way to go with your challenge! Next month, when you’ve had time for a break first, please share with us how you managed and if you’d do it again.
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Hi Nancy!
Thank you so much! Yes, it will be nice to debrief at the end of the month… Right now it’s definitely a challenge to keep up, and also to restrain myself from spending all my time here, to the neglect of other things! 😉 I’m glad I started–we will see how I feel in a couple of weeks! 😁
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