Saturday, January 10, 2009

RECOVER


During my reflection time this morning I was remembering advice from a leadership mentor to remember to recover whenever you get hooked. Whenever anyone in this particular leadership group was knocked off balance, angered, or just plain scared, the reminder to recover was given.

Recover, recover, recover, was the chant, which was appropriate in any situation when someone was in a struggle. The reminder was called for whether one was in a physically challenging situation or in the midst of an emotional challenge.

What I love about this simple reminder is when one stops to focus on "recovering", they are instantly present. There is also an intent that is made to stop suffering and to recover to well being.

I thought of this word, recover, right after my abdominal surgery for cancer. When I focused on recovering, I could see myself pain free and well. It was one moment of focus that led to the next and so on and so on. As a result, my recovery was brief. I was back to normal sooner than I knew was even possible.

The recover reminder is just as powerful when used in some sort of emotionally painful situation. For me, emotional pain means I forgot who I really am. Something happens or is spoken that hooks me to fear. The accompaniment to fear is vulnerability. It is a dark place, so remembering to recover guides me back to the truth.

Of course, as with any new habit, it take practice to recover. I suggest whenever you feel yourself in a shaky situation, gently tell yourself to "recover" and allow all that is feared to melt away.

I believe without question, the more we practice "recovering", the more joyful we will be.

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