"The Topic"

We have hiccups. Problems. Challenges. Invitations. They run in the background of our lives, sometimes coming up to the front. Louder. Brighter.

When that happens, they make us believe that they are going to last forever, that they are very very important, that they are the boss of us.

And often, we are happy to oblige and to give them the place of honor. They become “The Topic” of our thoughts, our conversations, our time.

Eventually, we either get bored with them, or they become resolved, or they go away. Maybe they just fade in the background. Get filed in our Archives.

Until the next one comes along and shows up in bright colors and loud voice, and we give it our time, our attention, our conversations.

What was “The Topic” for you, three months ago? How about six months ago? One year?

Where is it now? Is it gone, is it as bright or has it receded in the background?

Is it filed in your Archives?

Right now, my personal “Topic” is doing its best to make me believe it is so very very important. It’s loud, demanding and actually painful.

It seems to demand that I let it become the most important thing in my life and that I orient all my thoughts and decisions and interactions around it.

And even though I hear how loud it is, and feel its claws on my body, I’m also aware that I can drop the capital letters and just call it “the topic.”

Demote it a little.

Just doing that, starts to change things.

Next, I can further that demotion by talking about it less, maybe making a decision about what “the next right step” is about it - and then paying attention to other topics, having other conversations, with others and with myself.

Remembering that I am the boss of my thoughts.

And then little by little, because our thoughts create our emotions and our emotions create our reality, today’s Topic will just become another item in our Archives.

Here's to paying attention and then deciding who's the boss.

XOOX

- Laura