Be Impeccable with Your Word...or, not...

This is one of the first of Four Agreements written by don Miguel Ruiz based on ancient Toltec wisdom. It's an amazing and simple (yet not) book about how to live a good life. Recently though, I have not been - even a little bit- Impeccable with My Word.

Let's rewind....

I've always had a thing for gossip. It's been a hobby of mine, a vice is probably a more accurate term. I like to communicate and connect and with my sharp tongue, sometimes keeping in the jabs feels like locking a vault with a toothpick.

But still, I recognize this is a very negative habit and I've tried my best to reel in my gossiping.
Now, I preface any comments with "I shouldn't be saying this, but..".
Because that's better?? Probably not, but alas, I am a work in progress.

Last week though, last week, the universe handed me quite a lesson and I was forced to attention.

Last week, a friend sent me an Instagram story by an author we both follow. This woman has been an inspiration to me and her autobiography truly changed me. I mean, I have one of her quotes hanging one the wall of my bedroom...

So this author is someone I respect.

The story was about her husband and it was a little...odd. (But who am I to judge what's odd in the first place!?!) So, I sent my friend a DM in response to the video, making fun of this author's husband.

Except.

I didn't send it to my friend. I sent my jab directly to the author.
And she responded, much to my dismay.

At first, I was mortified. But, laughing, because it was just so ridiculous.

But as the night wore on and I thought about my words and I pictured this woman reading them. I was beside myself.

What had I done? This is a woman who I respect and admire and I basically made fun of her husband to her face!

However, what I realized was, the only reason I felt so bad was because I got CAUGHT gossiping.

I got caught. I was heard. And suddenly I realized how un-Impeccable I was being with my words. So, so many of them. How judgey I was being, not just on social media in this instance, but in my day to day life. Man, that made me feel such shame.

In the click of a button, I became an internet troll. Is that who I want to be?? Not even close.

We teach children to use "positive language", to be kind, to fill people's buckets  and I turn around and forget all that. I don't walk the walk or practice what I preach.

Instead, I engage in low-vibe gossiping for the sake of a laugh.

Uugh, it pains me to even admit it.

I can't undo what's been done. I thought of emailing said author (because obviously now I'm blocked on IG) and apologizing. But she won't unhear my awful comments, so really, what's the point in that.

All I can do is move on and do better.

I can use my words to lift up others and breathe through those moments that trigger Judgey-Laurie to the surface. I can fill buckets and make positive choices.

I can walk the walk and talk the kind talk.

I can be Impeccable with My Word.

So next time you see me, and I say "I shouldn't be gossiping but...." just walk away. Let's make it easier for the both of us!

Down the rabbit hole

So I went down a bit of a rabbit hole this week.

I stumbled across my old journals in a box of keepsakes, and something made me open them.

 And then I proceeded to read them obsessively, in chronological order.

It was like reading a novel that I just couldn't put down, waiting to see what would happen next. Except these chapters were (long-forgotten) memories and the main character was...me!

The journals went as far back as high school and continued on through college, and graduate school. Almost a decade of my life's recorded history.

Many of the entries made me cringe, many more made me laugh. But I learned a few things along the way.

First, I learned that I haven't changed much. As much as I like to think I've become a whole new person; wiser and more self-actualized. What I realized is, at the core, I'm the same person I've always been.  A person who feels first, speaks second, and thinks last. A person with a big heart and an even bigger mouth. And while I'd like to believe I now use this power for good, I know that's not always true.

Another constant are my struggles. The struggles I had then, I still have now. (Food included, my goodness, how many pages did I waste documenting everything I ate and how many times can a person join Weight Watchers!?!?!). Maybe now I handle them better. Maybe now I have more effective strategies and coping mechanisms but my struggles and faults remain a constant.  It reminded me of "A Wrinkle In Time" when one of the Mrs. tells Meg to use her faults and they will help her defeat the IT. Now I can see that these struggles have helped me, and continue to help me. They give me perspective and ground me. They allow me to grow.

My faith has always been a huge part of my life. I was blown away by some of the things I wrote about God when I was younger. It took me a while to recall sneaking out of my apartment on Sunday nights to attend local churches , even after nights of too much booze and too many bad decisions. To me, my faith feels new or at least renewed, but alas, at my core, it's always been there.

Secondly, I felt such gratitude. In those pages were detailed the most "exciting" parts of my life. Adventures and late nights. Dancing until dawn and nights that I'll never remember. Heartbreak and love. Family struggles, bad grades, and difficult decisions about the future. Among those experiences; the good and the bad, were friends. Many of whom I'm blessed to still call friends today. Roommates who dealt with silent-morning Laurie. High School besties who've traveled decades with me. How blessed am I to (continue to) be surrounded by such an amazing group of women...you all know who you are.

And the most important lesson of all is a message to my 20 year old self that this 38 year old version still needs to hear....

It will all be OK

 

 

There was so much angst in those pages. So much worry. What would the future hold? Who would I marry? Would I ever find someone to love me? What I so desperately wanted that girl to know is this....
 

"It will all be OK. As a matter of fact, it will all be so much more than OK. Just go along ,have your fun ,live your life and worry not. The path will reveal itself in time. "

 

I sit here as an almost 40 year old mother of two. And although I've learned to quiet those angsty "what's next?" voices, they are still there. I worry about my kids and their future, I worry about my career. I worry I don't do enough. I worry I play life too small. And yes, I still worry about how much I eat.

 

If this almost 40 year old mother of two learned anything from that 20 year old girl, it is this...
"It will all be OK, just go along and have your fun and live your life. The path will reveal itself in time"

 

Also, stop worrying about how much you eat :)