Learning How to Bend
I’m still learning how to pray
Trying hard not to stray
Try to see things your way
I’m still learning how to pray
Gary Allan
I was listening to the iPod Wednesday morning, and Gary’s song Learning How to Bend really jumped out at me. To put it in perspective, Gary’s wife committed suicide a while back, and he has been on a different journey in life through his music. We have all heard someone say that’s just the way I am take it or leave it, or I’m just set in my ways, or I’m too old to change. Those are people needing to learn how to bend.
We normally think of flexibility in the physical sense relative to working out. In martial arts, one of the more common goals is to achieve the splits to enhance the power of your kicks along with the ability to kick to the head. In yoga, flexibility helps you in all of your poses and binds. When you think you have mastered one pose, you can make one small shift to change the intensity thus increasing your flexibility. It’s a work in progress. Heck, I’ve been stretching things I didn’t even know I had.
Being able to bend and flex in the emotional sense is also crucial. Your heart and head need to be flexible. Being flexible does not mean bending over all the time to accommodate others. It just means having the ability to adapt and shift when needed. Rigid thinking and feeling (being a hard ass), aka-walls, limits your growth, is detrimental to relationships, and impacts your overall quality of life. My life experiences have taught me walls limit your ability to bend. Remodel your thinking and your heart and remove those walls. Put up some nice boundaries with gates to let the good stuff in and to keep the bad stuff out.
How flexible is your heart and head? Do you know how to bend, or do you take the hard line approach?
Action Item – Remember the old saying: “if it’s perceived, then it’s fact.” How do you perceive yourself, and how do others perceive you? Are you thought of as a hard ass? If so, work on changing that perception. Learn how to bend.
I’m still learning how to pray
Trying hard not to stray
Try to see things your way
I’m still learning how to pray
Gary Allan
I was listening to the iPod Wednesday morning, and Gary’s song Learning How to Bend really jumped out at me. To put it in perspective, Gary’s wife committed suicide a while back, and he has been on a different journey in life through his music. We have all heard someone say that’s just the way I am take it or leave it, or I’m just set in my ways, or I’m too old to change. Those are people needing to learn how to bend.
We normally think of flexibility in the physical sense relative to working out. In martial arts, one of the more common goals is to achieve the splits to enhance the power of your kicks along with the ability to kick to the head. In yoga, flexibility helps you in all of your poses and binds. When you think you have mastered one pose, you can make one small shift to change the intensity thus increasing your flexibility. It’s a work in progress. Heck, I’ve been stretching things I didn’t even know I had.
Being able to bend and flex in the emotional sense is also crucial. Your heart and head need to be flexible. Being flexible does not mean bending over all the time to accommodate others. It just means having the ability to adapt and shift when needed. Rigid thinking and feeling (being a hard ass), aka-walls, limits your growth, is detrimental to relationships, and impacts your overall quality of life. My life experiences have taught me walls limit your ability to bend. Remodel your thinking and your heart and remove those walls. Put up some nice boundaries with gates to let the good stuff in and to keep the bad stuff out.
How flexible is your heart and head? Do you know how to bend, or do you take the hard line approach?
Action Item – Remember the old saying: “if it’s perceived, then it’s fact.” How do you perceive yourself, and how do others perceive you? Are you thought of as a hard ass? If so, work on changing that perception. Learn how to bend.
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