Poem: Notes from Self

If we arrive 15 minutes late to everything, it must take 15 minutes longer than you thought. Please plan accordingly!
If you choose crappy food all day, we are going to feel like crap. Please prepare a healthy meal!
If you don’t get some exercise, we are going to feel like a fat toad. Or a sloth. Please get going!
I hate to tell you, but you’re not all that! Stop acting like a know-it-all! (Your sh!t does stink!)
Please don’t use that whiny voice. It makes me crazy!
Please say thank you! More often. And better.
That’s it. Are you okay? Don’t get all butthurt. Just calm down. Let’s be quiet for a minute and figure out what to do next.

..

About the poem:

I brighten up when I hear myself say, “Ah, note to self…”. What follows is a realization that I’ve made a mistake, but don’t need to do it again!

Also, in this poem I was thinking about the ‘self’ vs the ‘Self’. I really enjoyed reading Eckhart Tolle’s description of this. He talks about how the turning point in his life was when he realized he was in a continuous internal conversation with himself. Wait a minute? Who all is in there? Thus, there is the little self (the whiny, needy, afraid one) and the big Self (the timeless, love, peace, joy one.)

Mindfulness, to me, is noticing when there is a division and working to reunite so there is only one of me. So when you talk to me, there’s only one answering, rather than you stepping into a fight with myself.

It’s the ‘ notes from Self’ that are helping me with micro-victories. I remembered a note from last week. So, this week I hopped on my bicycle instead of walking, to arrive at my dental appointment a few minutes early!

In the last few years, I finally agreed with others who told me that being late is disrespectful. Though I’m not always on time now,  I don’t like being late. Just this little thing of being on time more often is a tiny boost, rather than a ding, to my integrity. And it’s important to my self and my Self!

Korea reigns in cuteness: the pen and notebook design! Case closed!

About the author:

Joan Gregerson’s books are available on Amazon and Kindle. They are her notes to herself and you, if you’re interested!