I just came back from a much needed 27-day sabbatical, and it was wonderful!

I rested, played, reflected, and envisioned what I want my life to look like in the months ahead. Even if you’re not able to take this much time for yourself at the moment, I hope that my choice may inspire you to give yourself the gift of time, even if you can only carve out a few minutes of each day.

When I got back into the office, I was blown away by the comments on my article, Has Your Wound Become an Addiction? These comments were so powerful that I want to share one of them with you here.

Speaking of her journey through cancer, THI said:

It is a scar that will never leave my body, however, it’s how I choose to navigate this traumatic experience that will define who I am as a person. I could have stayed angry when I was diagnosed with cancer, but I chose to live my life not letting the cancer defeat me. I have chosen to not let the betrayal defeat me either. I have so much to give the world, my community, my family and my children that I can’t let the actions of someone else define the life I want to lead.

I love THI’s clarity, and her awareness of the active role she plays in creating the life she wants to live.

The most powerful words in her comment are “choose” (which she uses three times), and “can’t”. These two words demonstrate that she is clearly in touch with what she wants — and what she doesn’t want. Saying “I choose,” and “I can’t,” mean that you know you have the freedom and the power to to say no to what you don’t want, and to bring to yourself more of what you do want.

Why would someone who has the freedom to take action by making a more powerful choice choose to remain powerless? We’ve all done this at one time or another.

I believe it’s because it feels excruciatingly vulnerable to remove our focus from the wounds of the past and construct a new way of seeing ourselves and our story. Another reason we often take the path of inaction is that it takes heroic courage to tell yourself the truth about what you really want, to speak your desires out loud, pursue those dreams without a guarantee of “success,” and to risk not receiving what you desire.

The choice comes down to staying in the comfortable discomfort of the painful known, or stepping into the terrifying, hopeful possibilities of the expansive unknown.

 In every moment there is choice. That is where your freedom and your power lie.

What would you like to choose today to create your best life? To what would you like to say, “I can’t?”

© Vicki Tidwell Palmer (2021)