Living Lent - Day 5

Posted by Kelly Lewis Share Your Voice

Kind. Clear. Fair. Firm.  Four words that played in my mind and heart this afternoon like my favorite song while riding to the beach on a sunny day.

I was talking with my friend, Kate, about the "a lot going on storm" that I appear to be swimming around in at the moment.  A storm that many of us find ourselves in daily - sickness, challenging relationships, uncertainty, old ways of thinking and reacting.  

I was asking Kate for some perspective on the challenging relationships part of my storm that I am not weathering so gracefully and she offered me some very wise advice that I thought others might find valuable.

1.  Ask yourself the following questions always and often:

• What do I need right now?
• What can I give right now?

2.  Accept the reality of the situation and being surprised by how the person behaves (for me that looked like her saying, "Quit saying, Really????"

3.  Always be kind, clear, fair, and firm

I suspect these four words are part of me learning to be in this relationship when my reality is different from my hope, want, or desire.  I don't have to be things I can't authentically be for this person, I just have to be kind, clear, fair, and firm. 

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Kelly Lewis Hello! Here are a few things that I have found support me in creating the life I want, keeping myself in check, and leading with courage and compassion: a slow walk with my hubby and our pups, my work, honesty with myself, the smile of another, and mother nature.