When in a bad mood
Especially at this time of year
They may call you Scooge
Insisting on holiday cheer
To make matters worse
You drag out your internal bat
Making yourself wrong
For this and that
Accept all of you and all that you are
No more excuses and no more blame
Turn that bat into kindling
Stoke your internal flame
Hello one and all,
I hope that your cup is still running over and that you are having the happiest of holidays. If you aren’t feeling quite as chipper as you think you should, this week’s blog will be right up your alley. Call it divine guidance or instinct but I was inspired to write about one of this holiday’s infamous characters, Ebeneezer Scrooge and how he lives in all of us. You might say “Bah!” to that statement but the sooner you embrace your Ebeneezer like qualities, the more peaceful you will truly be.
Though this is my favorite time of year, last week a friend of mine called me Scrooge because I wasn’t being my usual happy and jovial self. When I got home that evening I thought of how many times that I beat myself up because I wasn’t the (happy, smart enough, thin enough, pretty enough) person that I thought someone expected me to be. But this time when I was “accused” of not being cheery enough I laughed it off. I was able to laugh it off and remain unaffected by what the person was saying because I am able to love the Scrooge part of me.
As a coach, by asking my clients powerful questions, I help them to uncover parts of themselves that they have been resisting. One of the first steps in this process is to create a list of people (that you know or don’t know) that you don’t like or you would never want to be compared to. The next part is to make a list of that person’s qualities. So when I was called Scrooge I asked myself “what qualities does Scrooge possess”? Selfish, stingy, cruel, clueless, and angry are the qualities that I thought of right off the bat. The next step in the process is to ask “has there ever been a time where I’ve been selfish, stingy, cruel, clueless and angry”? The answer is yes to all of the above. I’ve been them all at one point or another.
You might ask yourself (I know I have) what’s so great about being selfish, stingy, cruel, etc? It takes practice but I guarantee that you will find a gift in that quality that you have resisted. For example, I’ve been selfish and stingy when spending time with my daughter because I do not get the benefit of being with her every day anymore. I’ve been cruel plenty of times to myself. I have lost count of the times I’ve been clueless and of course I’ve been angry. Even if I wasn’t able to recall a certain time where I’ve been these qualities, I have learned that being human and put under certain circumstances will bring out qualities in us that we didn’t know we were capable of.
The other lesson that I learned is that until we are able to accept everything we view as “bad” or “wrong”, we will be stuck and unable to stand in our power, shine in our greatness and share ourselves completely (body, mind and spirit) with the world. Isn’t that the real reason we are all here?
So if you find yourself wanting to say “Bah Humbug!” this season just remember that in order for Ebeneezer to show everyone the truly happy and giving person he was, he had to meet his “faults and misgivings” face to face and make peace with them.
Here’s to a week of decking the halls and loving it all!
Warm blessings,
Mary Laughlin Cunningham
Life Coach/Author/Workshop Facilitator
http://www.life4ce.net/
Where the difference is YOU!
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