For this week’s bettering yourself exercise, I allowed myself to be more spontaneous in small ways. I let my son choose which burger place he wanted to eat at for lunch, and I let my husband choose what he wanted me to cook him for dinner, instead of going to the routine restaurant, and cooking the same thing for dinner.
When I went shopping at Costco, I didn’t wait for a spot close to the door where it’s easy to find my car – I simply parked in the first available spot. I felt free changing these few small things. I didn’t have a pre-conceived plan that I had to stick to, but simply went with the flow.
I was surprised to learn that saying no can be spontaneous too. I was invited somewhere that I didn’t want to go to, as my son is going on a trip and we had to get traveller’s cheques, and new shorts. Instead of going to the event out of a sense of duty, I said no, and told my friend I couldn’t make it, and she said it was okay as someone else was going to go with her.
Later, I took my dog for a long walk, and sent prayers and good wishes to the person that the event was for, and sent a message for her, and felt a release of stress by honoring my feelings. Being spontaneous feels great, because you are acting out of your heart, and good things come out of honoring our true feelings without worrying about what other people think.
I have been reading The Tao de Ching, and found a great quote on being spontaneous in one of the translations:
“ Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. Don’t resist them-that only creates sorrow. Let reality be reality. Let things flow naturally forward in whatever way they like.”
Lao Tzu, Tao de Ching
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