I am...

...the focus at our yoga class on Sunday night was the "..." behind the "I am..." statement. As Dean pointed out, we all have scripts in our heads. Stories that play over and over again, often without our even pressing the imaginary "play" button. Stories that seem to be on auto-pilot to start playing as soon as they are triggered. And he suggested if we could just quiet those scripts sometimes or re-write them and insert some other ending to "I am..." then whatever is to follow might just come to pass. For the rest of class, we tried it. I am strong. I am balanced. I am graceful in reverse warrior. I am steady in standing splits. I am safe. I am kind. I am loving. And so on and so forth. One that kept coming to mind for me was I am here. A constant WIP for me to be absolutely present. Even when I think I am, I am aware that some part of me is somewhere else...dreaming of another time or place...planning my next move, task, dream. I wonder what it would be like to be fully present? I wonder if I ever have been? I would like to think so. I would like to believe that if I keep telling myself, "I am here" then I really will be here or there or however you would say that.
And I love that my meditation for the evening was about storytelling and the voice that we all have within us. "Each of us has a story to tell and our own way of sharing it with the world. It comes out through our words, through our work, and through the simple actions of our daily life. Listen to the stories of the people around you. Listen with your soul. Learn to value without judging and listen with an open heart to the beauty of each story and the importance of the storyteller. Learn to value and appreciate the story you are living now. Awaken to the storyteller within and share your story with the world. Tell it with joy and flair. Commit to telling it with love and passion. Tell it through living your life, doing your work well, and creating the best life you can. Be who you are and love being that." (Journey to the Heart)
So I guess my "I am..." story would begin with "I am Elizabeth. And I am proud to be Elizabeth. And I am learning to love Elizabeth, for who she is, for where she's been, for where she's going, and for who she might become..." And the rest of that story I am continuing to create.