Questioning the worst that can happen starts with being willing to notice the thoughts

How you holding up?

I am finding the power of inquiry right now is invaluable.

(Remember First Friday is this coming Friday, April 3rd 7:45am PT-9:15am Pacific Time. Join zoom meeting:

https://zoom.us/j/988954937. Meeting ID: 988 954 937

With your phone if not connected to internet dial +1 408 638 0968 US.)

I know things are intense for some of you, and you may even feel afraid of being afraid.

I have a friend of a friend who was fighting for his life with the virus in ICU in California. Fifties, great athletic condition, non-smoker. Now recovering.

A couple who owned a popular restaurant here where I live (near Seattle) both died of the virus last week. I didn’t know them, it’s in the local news.

I just received the written work of one of the amazing Year of Inquiry members.

(Year of Inquiry as you probably know is a group that gathers together for an entire year online to practice and deepen The Work in live zoom calls, writing on a forum, sharing a different topic each month, pairing up)….

…..but this YOI member….she’s got it.

The Virus.

Hospitalized, frightened.

And what did she do?

She noticed her fear. She noticed her mind going insane with anxiety and pain about what was happening. And then….she did The Work.

She sent her work in writing to me, she shared on our forum, people in the group were so moved.

Her thought?

“I’m going to die this week”. 

A terrifying thought. The body fills with adrenaline. Images are rapid fire of dying, not being able to breath, seeing children living without a mother, a partner living without a mate, ventilators getting removed and a dead body left.

I personally don’t like imagining not being able to breath either. I can see the picture of it, being the one unable to take a breath. Terrified. Freaking out about what will happen next.

What is your worst fear about this virus, or really, about anything in life? 

It seems like this virus thing is kicking up the muck, the greatest fears, on the bottom of our consciousness: I won’t survive. This is dangerous. I have to work hard to be safe. There’s no way out. 

Don’t we all think this about life sometimes (or maybe…often)?

I won’t have/I don’t have enough: money, love, connection, time, safety, contact, attention, friends, purpose, clarity, freedom, support, life.

I notice when having this orientation of sheer terror or upset thinking about a threat….the reaction is MORE fear.

The mind says “Let’s shut this down! Don’t think about it! Think of something positive, quick! Run away! Play dead!”

Fight, Flight, or Freeze. Maybe a combo of all three. You may already know your usual defensive patterns.

You need to stop thinking about the terrifying events possible in the future. You need to fix your mind ASAP. You shouldn’t be having this experience, even of thinking.

Is it true?

Oh. Right.

The Work! I almost forgot. Heh heh.
Is it absolutely true, it shouldn’t be happening–even in the mind?
Is it true I shouldn’t notice and sit with my thoughts? Is it true I shouldn’t be having such desperate thoughts in the first place?

 

No. Not true.

 

I’ve had a ton of thoughts that never manifested, and horrifying thoughts and images, throughout my life…and I’m still here, sitting in a chair at the moment.
Oh, you too?
Nothing actually came true. Not even from movies I saw about a story that WAS true (and is no longer happening, and I can’t know it was true to be honest).
And believe me, I’m not saying it’s easy to notice this, or trying to diminish your sense of no safety. I’m not saying terrifying things didn’t happen that set you off. They did.
This is about the thinking and imagining that happens after the “horrible” event. The thing that labeled it as horrible, without question.
For example the movie Apocalypse Now which scared me half to death and then made me cry with the grief of it when I first saw it long ago.
Or Bambi. When I saw that movie when I was about seven it was the first time I realized mother’s can die. Seriously, it was awful.
But not true that seeing these movies was a bad idea. Or that recognizing fearful thoughts meant I shouldn’t have them.
I also notice my worst thinking was the subject of The Work, and sitting with it brought immense unexpected freedom. A brilliance I can’t describe.
Definitely not true I shouldn’t even think about the worst that could happen, let alone experience it.
What happens when I believe: “This threat shouldn’t be happening! This is unsafe! I’m dying! They’re dying! I won’t have enough!!!” And then on top of it, I should also NOT be thinking fearful thoughts?
Fear. Anxiety. Images. Horror. Worry. Sleeplessness. Hate. Anger at This Mind. Freaking Out.
I notice what I believe a fearful thought means. It means it’s true and it’s possible. It means something worse, something more terrible will happen in “real” life. You know, later on, in the future. That “real” place. (Ahem).
Feeling fear means agonizing suffering, for me and/or for other people. It means non-enlightenment, wrong-ness, abandonment. It means the universe and reality is very, very unfriendly. God does NOT have my back or anyone’s back.
Yikes.
It really is a horror show and crushingly terrifying.
So. Deep breath.
Who would I be without the belief “I don’t have enough, I won’t have enough, this is totally dangerous?! AND I shouldn’t be thinking this in the first place!”?
Wow. Holy Moly.
Just the willingness to pause for a second and set that thought down that there is no way out and it’s a devastating horror show?
Yes. Pausing. Letting the thought be here.
Something expands. Something is underneath all that fear, dread, disgust, terror. Something surrounds it.
Like it is there, the horror, but it’s inside something greater. The boundaries aren’t so harsh and hard.
Thinking is happening.
Something other than thinking is also happening.
Noticing there’s air in the room right now, and I’m not having trouble breathing in any way whatsoever in the moment.
Now, noticing wind chimes and the sun beckoning to come outside.
Without the belief that thinking a fearful thought is bad, and so not having enough later on in the imagined future is bad, and feeling fear is bad….
….I notice a little dance of humor.
Maybe for you this is going a little too far. Humor?
What? Seriously?
Maybe it’s heartbreak you notice.
What Is doesn’t seem like your preference.
You’re not in favor of the thought….but it’s OK for it to be here. Because it is here.
Something feels lighter without the belief I need to be against fear, and jump into defense mode, reaction mode, terror mode.
I’m willing.
I’m willing to sit here for a moment without the belief I have to get rid of my thinking.
I’m willing to sit here.
I’m willing to apply the four questions, but not with a motive. Not with a plan that it will get rid of my thinking….although it might.
I just notice self-inquiry is the only thing I really can do that offers true peace without force or control.
Turning It Around:
I will have/I do have enough: money, love, connection, time, safety, contact, attention, friends, purpose, clarity, freedom, support, life.
It’s enough. I’m surviving. I’ve always survived so far. I’m alive. I can relax.
It’s OK that I am thinking a dreadful thought. It’s just a thought, after all.
Can I notice how safe I am, even while I think of the future in terrifying ways? I’m breathing. I’m surviving. My mind is active and interesting. I’ve got the four questions. I’m willing.
I am willing to think terrible thoughts. I am willing to be afraid. I am willing to notice.
I look forward to thinking terrible thoughts. I look forward to being afraid. I look forward to noticing.

Being human. Nothing more, nothing less.

“Every time you try to change someone, you’re trying to change someone who doesn’t exist. They only exist in your own head. People can only be who you believe them to be, never more.” ~ Byron Katie

This includes ourselves.

Finally, this amazing inquirer shared her inquiry a few weeks ago. She didn’t get “enough” of something….and notice how she discovered what was really true for her.

You can also listen to this episode on itunes and most audio apps or download it here.

These sessions are offered as open no-charge sessions for people wanting to do The Work in exchange for public sharing. While all the sessions filled immediately when I first opened them up to scheduling, some people have needed to switch their time. Take a look here if you’d like to do The Work and be a part of the peace movement for others to benefit. Thank you.

Much love,
Grace

Spring Retreat Online, Peace Talk Podcast with Edie, and Love. Just Love.

I’m lighting a candle for you.

First of all, I’m sending thoughts of rest and connection and peace. I really do hope you’re faring well enough in these strange times.

The Work is a way through grinding, repetitive, terrifying thinking patterns. That’s what I found and still regularly find. I’m constantly surprised at the new discoveries working with others, listening, being with my own mind.

First Friday, always free to anyone, is next week on Friday, April 3rd. Mark your calendar for 7:45am Pacific Time. We use zoom, and you can turn off your camera and sound if you wish.

First Friday zoom link is always right here.

(I should have bought zoom stock when I first thought of it…and apparently that is not true because I didn’t).

Second, thank you to everyone who’s written about whether or not there will be an ONLINE version of the Spring Retreat this year.

YES!! May 14-17, 2020. 

In fact, careful consideration is underway to make a pretty cool event.

Here’s how it will work (more details to come):

There will be six segments total, each 3.5 hours long. You can come to one, or all of them. It doesn’t matter what your time zone, if you can make it…you can attend.

It will also be recorded, for those who want to join but not attend everything “live”.

  • Segment One Thursday, May 14th: 9am-12:30pm PT/ Noon-3:30pm ET/ 6pm-9:30pm Europe
  • Segment Two Thursday, May 14th: 2pm-5:30pm PT/ 5pm-8:30pm ET/ Sidney AUST 7am-10:30am on May 15th
  • Segment Three Friday, May 15th: 9am-12:30pm PT/ Noon-3:30pm ET/ 6pm-9:30pm Europe
  • Segment Four Friday, May 15th: 2pm-5:30pm PT/ 5pm-8:30pm ET/ Sidney AUST 7am-10:30am on May 16th
  • Segment Five Saturday, May 16th: 2pm-5:30pm PT/ 5pm-8:30pm ET/ Sidney AUST 7am-10:30am on May 17th
  • Segment Six Sunday, May 17th: 9am-12:30pm PT/ Noon-3:30pm ET/ 6pm-9:30pm Europe

Topics for each Segment will be shared soon on the retreat page. Head here to learn more or register.

This is going to be a wonderful new experiment and I can’t wait.

Everyone will get to pair up with others in zoom rooms, do some wonderful active exercises with The Work, and connect with people from all over.

I like to think of Spring Retreat as spring cleaning. A mental cleanse to make everything fresh and sparkling, a feeling of being cleaned out.

This spring it’s looking like this is the way of a bit of cleaning like no other. Even my daughter was in her college apartment “social distancing” going through her clothing to take half to Goodwill. Later of course.

Speaking of the peace of doing The Work; a new Peace Talk podcast is released.

It’s my privilege to welcome Edie Thomajan, Facilitator of The Work, who’s been practicing this self-inquiry and sharing it with others for many years.

Listen on itunes here.

Watch on youtube here:

Sending you lots of love and warmth and restful thoughts from my corner of the world.

Much love,

Grace

Something terrible is happening. Not a new thought.

When we do The Work, the very first place to start is finding a situation we hold as difficult, upsetting, horrifying, irritating or depressing.

The feeling we have about a situation can be anything uncomfortable, whether slightly uncomfortable or massively, outrageously uncomfortable.

The difficult feeling is the result of us thinking.

Isn’t this alone absolutely fascinating to notice?

The mind is activated, we see images and words, or hear sounds like when a song is playing in our heads.

Images, sounds, words….it happens amazingly fast. Brilliantly fast.

Our bodies feel it. The nervous system is activated.

Some of us think: “I need to stop thinking” or “I need to avoid the news” or “they should stop thinking” or maybe “they should be thinking MORE about this, just like I am”.

But this is just another set of thoughts from the mind’s Thought and Feeling Management Department.

I love that we get to notice feelings, and actually respect and honor them.

I used to hate them.

If I started to feel in a big way upset, angry, afraid, terrified, worried….I’d basically immediately begin to think about ways to divert these feelings, or shut them down, or find the “true” answer out there so I could rest assured all was well and I was safe.

Other people don’t like big feelings, right? We need to suppress them. They are terrible, we think.

How do we react when we believe “SOMETHING TERRIBLE IS HAPPENING!!!?”

We may be used to believing this, even about our very feelings and emotions, from very young.

A few different strategies the mind will come up with (at least I always did) for handling any Terrible Thing:

A) Let’s try not to think about it. Distract. Focus on peace. Do your mantra. Get upset with people who are talking and posting about the virus. Eat. Drink. Smoke. Clean. Avoid.

B) Worry about what you will FEEL if/when that image you’ve read about or seen (or remembered) happens….most of all death. Or perhaps, suffering. Pain. Not breathing.

Example 1: if someone in my family dies, it’ll probably be me, and my kids will suffer for the rest of their lives. Example 2: if someone in my close circle dies like my mom or my husband or my child, I will suffer for the rest of my life.

Example 3: anything else I’ve heard about suffering, pain, death and dying and imagining it or remembering it.

C) Plan or prepare what you will DO if/when that threatening thing happens.

Example 1: Buy lots of stuff right now.

Example 2: Plan what you’ll do today, or this week, that helps manage the anxiety (See A above)

What I’m really struck by today is noticing the endless habit the mind has to figure it out, make a good plan, be ready, KNOW.

It’s not like I haven’t had the thought before;“something terrible is happening”.

Loss, worry, emptiness, death, attack, absence of what was hoped for, failure….all of this has occurred in my perceptions of What Is over and over again.

These are the topics of my worksheets. These are the experiences I’ve brought to The Work.

So who am I without the belief “Something TERRIBLE is happening?!”

A brilliant moment to notice this profound work is not about denial or pretending something is NOT happening that actually is happening (although in my quiet little cottage I haven’t seen any virus yet, just saying).

Who or what are we without this story?

Last week a wonderful inquirer in the Year of Inquiry group shared a fabulous question in our monthly discussion about The Work and questions or concerns or thoughts about doing The Work:

What if we do The Work and we’re just whistling in the dark?

But as we all shared and contemplated our experiences in questioning our stress, we noticed doing The Work is about accessing reality in a clearer way, aware there’s a pandemic and being with What Is without panic or rage.

We don’t even wish our fear would subside. There’s value in this energy called “fear”. Or perhaps we could call it alertness, awareness.

I notice “fear” changes.

Who am I without my belief “something terrible happened”or “something terrible is happening right now” or “something terrible will happen later”?

Having an honest conversation with Reality.

Without the thought, I’m not against other people and what THEY are doing, I’m enjoying my own mind and my own company, I’m amazed by the beauty of the rug on the floor.

Seriously.

Without the thought I feel a sense of falling but it’s like flying. So beautiful, and fun. Loving All This. Resting somehow, noticing the peace right here now. Following the simple directions, without panic.

Without the belief, I have a broader, wider, kinder, unconditional perspective. My conversation with reality is one of trust, like with a good mentor I adore and respect.

Turning the thought around: Something Wonderful Is Happening. 

Could this be just as true, or truer?

As someone said in this morning’s Year of Inquiry group call: I’m sitting with awareness of my own death, how I’m here temporarily. Feeling the closeness of others who have died (the inquirer spoke of her own son). 

Other examples of the belief that something wonderful is happening, (never meaning to be harsh, this is only about noticing):

a) people are at work studying viruses and immunizations

b) nature is clearing things out, pressing the control-alt-delete button (which has great advantages)

c) I get to study the human experience of death, my own mortality, and feel it without fear–which is incredibly empowering

d) the drawers and closets and outdoor shed beckon for spring cleaning–it’s uncanny how many people are suddenly aware of their “stuff” and interested in sorting through it

e) I get to see all my usual clients at their usual times instead of being on silent retreat for 10 days as I had originally scheduled at this time–on zoom of course

The most powerful turnaround is: something terrible is happening in my mind.

My thoughts fill with images of the devastating future, a sick world, torn apart families, inability to breath, fear, ruin, failure, comparison, greed.

The mind forgets to notice what’s outside my window, the whirr of the heater still pouring out heat on a windy spring chilly afternoon, the sound of birds chirping, the wonder of what is right now, today.

This moment, how would God or All of Reality look at whatever we think of as Terrible?

“As we question a stressful thought, we see for ourselves that it’s untrue; we get to look at the cause and effect of it, to observe in sobering detail exactly what modes of pain and confusion result from believing it; then we get a glimpse into the empty mirror, the world beyond our story of the world, and see what our life would be like without the thought; and finally we get to experience the opposite of what we have so firmly believed and to find specific examples of how these opposites are true. Once we deeply question a thought, it loses its power to make us suffer, and eventually it ceases even to arise.” ~ Byron Katie in 1000 Names for Joy

Much love,

Grace

Death is coming, a terrifying thought. But does it have to be? Is that thought even true?

This whole virus mayhem is pretty intense. Around here, a friend of mine was referring to it as the zombie apocalypse.

Which totally cracks me up.

But this doesn’t mean I’m not in here with you, aware of the actual reality unfolding around us, watching with deep interest.

As someone in Year of Inquiry said last week….“shit’s gettin’ real”. 

So for Facebook Live Mondays (usually at 2:30pm PT) on my regular Work With Grace page I walked through a belief that came up in Year of Inquiry group: 

“Death is coming”. 

Just a little light music for your inquiry listening pleasure.

LOL.

Is it true the D word is coming?

Yes it is.

Can you absolutely know it’s true?

Not in the way I’m believing and thinking “death” is, when I say “death is coming”. I feel foreboding, sadness, grief, anxiety…but can I know it’s true that “death” means what I think it means…and that what I think it means is coming?

No.

So what happens when I think “death is coming” and I’m listening to news about The Virus?

I really, really start to wonder what it’s like for people with this virus. Like, are they ALL insanely sick? Would I be a good candidate for death? Is my immune system good, and what about my family? What about the neighbors?

Will I be bored, with all this Not Leaving The House stuff?

Did I leave the house all that much already?

Will I be going to France in June to teach retreat, or maybe not after all?

And what about May Retreat in Seattle? That one already seems like it’s a no brainer as in Not Gonna Happen.

Although, someone asked for it online and that idea sounds fun and very possible. (More on this below).

What happens when I believe the thought that things are going to END? FOREVER?! (Isn’t that what death is)?

Images of what it might feel like to die, to suffer, to have a fever, to not be able to breath, to run out of food, to use grass from the front yard for toilet paper.

So who would you be without the thought “death is coming”? 

What if it was more like using the tone you’d use when an old friend is coming by who you haven’t seen in years….

….Wow! Death is coming! OMG this is so exciting!

But I’m getting ahead of myself. Question four is simply who I’d be without the belief that it’s coming?

Hmmm.

Silence.

Unknown.

In that blank moment, I look out the window on this sunny spring afternoon in between clients and groups I run on zoom, and the facebook LIVE a few hours ago, and wonder what that actually means at all, to say “death is coming”?

Families walk by with kids on scooters. A group of teenagers, everyone laughing, speed past on skateboards. Bikers pass. A crow lands in the cherry tree. Four adults with dogs on leashes, meander by, talking loudly with smiles. Wind chimes wave in the breeze.

Back here now, without the thought. Aware of this temporary life, this temporary moment, unique, passing through, already changed.

Quiet, spacious. Jet plane sound (someone’s still flying apparently).

Not in denial, aware, and seeing all of this. All This. Like a sweeping hand in a moment of gesturing at everything in every direction.

All This.

Beautiful for a moment. So beautiful. So very quiet without thought.

Turning it around: My thinking is coming….especially about death. 

It’s actually already here, I notice.

All the news and circumstances and imaginings of the future, and images in my head of photos I’ve seen at the top of articles about The Virus.

Breathing tubes and hazmat suits and weird round purple balls with pointy dots sticking out of them floating amongst pictures of cells.

Plus about 50 thousand emails from every list I’ve ever been on about their policies about the virus.

Turned around again: Life is coming. Death is NOT coming.

Could be that is just as true or true, or just as frightening (or more frightening). Chuckle.

What is death anyway, and why am I ever afraid of it coming? What is death? Nothingness? Unknown? Darkness? Forever gone? Infinity? Over? Done?

Could this be a most amazing adventure?

Nothing is coming. Mystery is coming. Emptiness is coming. Unknown is coming. Space is coming. Silence is coming. Forever is coming.

All of this not even coming….but already here. Unknown. Wild. Strange. Unusual. Mysterious. Wonderful. Brilliant. Dark. Light. Over.

One more day, never to happen ever again. Life ever morphing and evolving into something different.

If I were not against death, not against a virus, not against anyone and how they are, not against anything, not against What Is….who or what am I?

All I know is, that question makes me smile wide. And take a deep breath.

“There is no greater misfortune
than underestimating your enemy.
Underestimating your enemy
means thinking that he is evil.
Thus you destroy your three treasures
and become an enemy yourself.
When two great forces oppose each other,
the victory will go
to the one that knows how to yield.”
~ Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching #79
translation by Stephen Mitchell

Much love,

Grace

P.S. Spring Retreat online May 14-17, 2020 Pacific Time zone. Come for one half day or the whole thing. This is gonna be fun. Thursday 5/14 and Friday 5/15 9am – 6pm with meal break midday, Saturday afternoon 2:00-6:00pm (optional morning dancing–we will see if online or in-person), Sunday 9am-11:45am. How to sign up? Stay tuned.

 

I have to do it right, not wrong…..I HAVE TO worry about this (eating, weight, conditions).

My right thumb was hurt (you get to see in this video–just the bandaids, don’t worry).
I just can barely type.
But I made you a video on a powerful topic, called WORRYING.
The mind will say “you need to worry about this!” (food, eating, meals, plans, body image, weight, size, shape, feelings, conditions….and much much more).
You might think “Well, duh. Of course I have to worry. Are you kidding me?”
Is that actually true though?
Are you sure you need to worry?
What if you did NOT believe this thought?
Wow.

Much love,

Grace

 

When daughters feel upset about their mothers….the Work

A beautiful group of inquirers came to First Friday Open Inquiry sessions last Friday morning 7:45am Pacific Time.

After filling out a Judge Your Neighbor worksheet, we got to sit in two different inquiries of the brave people who shared their internal world with us:

First, a moment in childhood where a woman remembers herself at nine years old when her mother displays disgust at her daughter’s rounder body in a bathing suit.

The thought we all sat with: I have to be skinny to be accepted. (I have to be x to be accepted).

The second situation we heard was also a scene with mother and daughter. Mother is crying and sad, daughter was about eight years old….and her belief “My mother is upset and it means that I’m bad”. 

How wonderful to notice how anxious we can be (as children, as adults too) if someone we care about is upset. Is it our fault? We notice how we believe it.

I love all the inquirers who come to sit in The Work on First Fridays. There’s a slowing down, a meditative attitude adopted, a quietness.

Some might call it very slow, perhaps too slow….but not if we’re honestly engaged in self-inquiry.

If you’ve had any of these stressful thoughts mentioned at all, or for any reason you’d like to follow along with the session–which can be so very helpful for reflection–then please enjoy the recording.

It was a beautiful mother-child theme for the day.

Who would you be without the story that you need that other person (mother in this case, or yourself) to be different in order to be happy?

If you want to pass the word along to a friend that these First Friday fabulous meetings occur, then send them the link here so they can get the zoom link to join in their Inbox and get on the mailing list:

https://workwithgrace.lpages.co/first-friday-inquiry-calls-with-grace/

Much love,

Grace

P.S. Spring Cleaning Retreat in May is remaining on the schedule even though Seattle has a Covid-19 Virus scare running through it. We’ll meet at my cottage, if we’re all still alive (little joke). Learn more here. I’ll be sure to keep you completely updated if there’s a need to cancel. So far, so good. Can’t wait to do The Work with you.

I made a mistake in committing to that person (and other relationship woes)

One of the newer things we’re doing on Peace Talk podcast is Sessions in The Work. These are solo sessions where someone walks through their dilemma on a topic with me and takes one concept through the inquiry process.
My next guest brings a very common dilemma to awareness; the great question of whether I should stay or I should go in a primary love relationship?
You may find it very familiar, and the story-telling and analysis we do around this dilemma, and the stress of the belief “I made a mistake by marrying this person”. 
Listen HERE.
The thoughts about relationship and communicating and being with someone else (or not being with someone else) carry on like an old record playing in an abandoned city.
Maybe something very dramatic like Chernobyl.
Thoughts like:
  • he abandoned me
  • if only…
  • I wonder where so-and-so is now (accompanied by googling or facebooking the name)
  • she has a better life financially because of who she’s partnered with
  • we aren’t compatible
I work with people all the time on relationship dilemmas and they have all these thoughts, and more.
Just in the past couple of weeks I’ve heard the following thoughts:
  • being partnered is sooooo much better than being single–and since I’m single I’m sad
  • it’s important to find someone to take care of you or to have fun with who lives with you all the time
  • finances are much easier when you’re married
  • I’m doomed to live a life of boredom and lovelessness in my current relationship
  • I’ve lost the love of my life
  • my life is over since I’m divorced
Tremendous agony is felt with all this thinking and imagining about love. Love lost, love found, love desired, love unwanted.
But is the story we’re telling actually true?
Can we absolutely know it’s true?
What happens when you think that same old thought about relationship?
For example.
I have a thing about spaces looking neat and tidy and fairly empty-ish.
This past weekend, with the help of my mom and a hired worker, there was a lot of clean-up happening in my back yard where there’s been a small building project: a studio apartment for my mother’s future home.
During the weekend, my mind erupted in a little memory of a house project two summers ago with my husband: cleaning out the shed, which also sits in the back yard.
Those two summers ago, I had put on the weekend calendar in August “Clean Out Shed” and told our young adult kids about it. It was scheduled.
Boxes and boxes and old tools and filing cabinets and bicycles and equipment and camping items all get stored in this shed in the back yard. Many boxes were unlabeled and only 1/3 full of stuff, like old papers or my husband’s stamp collection.
No one joined me that long ago August weekend. I rearranged the boxes basically, and got some stuff removed to the dump or donation.
Now, with current painting and upkeep needed for this same shed, I circled back to the desire to get it cleaned out and organized.
Yesterday, I asked my husband if we could plan that again for this upcoming summer….five or six months away.
He wasn’t ready to make the plan. I suddenly had pictures appear in my head of tubs and boxes and disappointment from the previous attempt.
It’s happening again! GASP! 
The shed will never, ever, ever get cleaned out! It will always be hard to get the bicycles out! This will never be fixed in life!
Now….this is a tiny minor thing in the big scheme of relationship conversations. And it still felt like literally a momentary internal seizure, an eruption, a punch of frustration.
I demand this gets done!! 
My husband said I eye-rolled him.
Oh. Sigh.
Shoot.
The jolt of believing a stressful thought, and then aware I need to inquire.
With inquiry, I pause the forward motion of the dreadful story. I notice the picture in my mind is of the past, not the future.
Image of the past drops.
I apologize. He was right.
Real conversation about expectations happen.
Who would I be without my story?
A normal, calm, kind person making a suggestion and a request and waiting for the response.
I heard that he thought “clean out the shed” meant he was supposed to throw everything he owned in the shed away.
My words have been confusing the whole time. I didn’t mean “clean out”…I meant “organize”.
The image of the future became completely and entirely different: having fun removing boxes, spreading them out on the lawn and deck. Seeing what’s inside. Deciding with delight to save it, or to give it away, or to throw it away.
Noticing the joy of sorting through stuff, that it takes as long as it takes.
Noticing the fun of making a plan for a future month when the weather is better, and that’s OK.
Noticing right now is peaceful, and images of the future are all made up–whether positive images or negative images–and I have no idea really what will happen.
All is well.
Feeling right now the present moment, with unfinished and finished all here when it comes to tasks, and nothing actually required at the moment.
Could this be also true about any decisions about the future that are more drastic or dramatic when it comes to being connected with a partner?
TurnAround: My thinking needs to be cleaned out and organized right now, we do not need to make a full plan to clean out and organize the shed (or the whole relationship) right now, today is OK just the way it is. I did not make a mistake. I made a correction. My thinking made a mistake.
Listen HERE to Peace Talk Podcast Episode 156 to explore the a key belief about relationship investigation “I made a mistake in marrying this person”. 
Much love,
Grace
P.S. Spring Cleaning Retreat in May is for any thinking that feels, well, dirty. Cluttered, messy, sloppy. We will have an amazing time un-cluttering, tidying up, relaxing, understanding, clarifying. Learn more here. (Check out the new not-quite-fully-released website of all things Work With Grace and Eating Peace while you’re at it)!