Say Yes to Life


 I recently watched a film called “The Yes Man” with Jim Carey taking the lead.

Without going into detail, his world changed when he began to respond to requests or invitations….saying Yes rather No

Of course it was exaggerated comedy but nevertheless it did leave me thinking about the message it had to give.

One of the first words we learn to use is no.  You may have experience of young children and the defiance from this one word, said quite loudly with accompanying physical and strong non-verbal communication.

No is a potent word.  A way of asserting our sense of identity and self.

As adults we may be more socially adept at saying no, without actually saying the word.

When feelings of vulnerability occur, we naturally wish to guard against a threat and this can the reason for saying No

Or maybe we have already experienced disappointments, been upset by news or by other people and we automatically go into retreat, into hiding.

We risk missing out on fully experiencing everything life has to offer us.

Yes comes a few months later into our vocabulary but can lack that energy found in No.

Have you considered the implications of these two small words in your life?

How do you make that decision to say either one of them?


Yes has the power to open the door to possibility.

It opens the door to others.

It opens the heart.

 

Mindfulness teaches us to stay as best as we can with the raw experience of a situation: the sensations in the body, the stirred up fears and anger, even the paralysis.

As we learn to observe whatever is passing through, feeling the ground, we can stay a witness to it without being flooded by it.

It is counter-intuitive but as we do this, gradually we find what is most helpful for us…a new perspective which includes opening to a possibility.

We can perhaps sit with a “maybe”  until we become clear about which direction to go.

And this may not be an answer from the mind but a sensing into the heart and the body, for that “yes” or “no”.