Dearest Readers,<\/p>\n
How spontaneous are you? Can you change your plans in a heartbeat? Do something wild and daring at the drop of a hat? Make a decision on the fly without knowing whether it’s really the right thing to do? If so, I admire your spontaneity.<\/p>\n
The dictionary on this computer describes “spontaneous” as “having an open, natural, and uninhibited manner.” It also says that spontaneity “occurs as a result of a sudden inner impulse without premeditation.” <\/p>\n
Although I like to think I have an open, natural and uninhibited manner the reality is I have a pretty regimented schedule, which contrary to the way it sounds, brings me maximum wellness. I need to be vigilant with my time in order for my spiritual and emotional health to remain in alignment.<\/p>\n
What this means is that I’m not the most spontaneous gal on the block. When I run into someone on the street and they say, “How about going for a coffee?” my answer is usually, “Can’t right now. Email me and we’ll set something up.” Scheduling ahead of time is the best I can do. And it works. <\/p>\n
Most of the time. Because vigilance has its downside. When vigilance becomes rigidity we’re in control-issue territory and its probably best to mix it up a little. Throw caution to the wind and break free. Let go and let spontaneity in. Take a walk on the wild side.<\/p>\n
Yesterday a friend asked me to go for coffee with her. She had just given me a lift to the bank and suggested we go to the cafe across the street and catch up. It had been a while since we’d spent any time together, the sun was shining and it seemed like the perfect opportunity to hang out. <\/p>\n
Internally, my first response was, “Oh no, I can’t.” But then I realized that, in fact, I could. There was nothing I had to do that couldn’t wait. The only thing stopping me was… fear.<\/p>\n
Fear of what? Oh, I don’t know. Changing my schedule. Fear of socializing or being seen. Fear of lattes. Whatever! Fear is illogical and ridiculous. It doesn’t make any sense. But it keeps us from living a full life and it will make our decisions for us if we let it.<\/p>\n
So I said “yes”. Pretty wild, I know. But I could think of no good reason to say “no” other than it felt more comfortable than saying yes. So I did the uncomfortable thing. I changed my plans in the moment. I acted spontaneously!<\/p>\n
My friend and I ended up having a really good conversation. I think we were both able to process a number of things going on in our respective lives. And it was fun! I know, fun, what a concept.<\/p>\n
At the end of our time together I thanked my friend for asking me to join her. She thanked me for being spontaneous. Open, natural, uninhibited. That’s me. On a good day.<\/p>\n
Inspiring Message of the Day: I will practice doing the thing that takes me out of my comfort zone. Today I will respond with spontaneity to something new that comes my way.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Dearest Readers, How spontaneous are you? Can you change your plans in a heartbeat? Do something wild and daring at the drop of a hat? Make a decision on the fly without knowing whether it’s really the right thing to do? If so, I admire your spontaneity. The dictionary on this computer describes “spontaneous” as…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,248,5,249],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-354","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-inspiration","category-just-say-yes","category-motivation","category-spontaneous"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.celiamcbride.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/354","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.celiamcbride.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.celiamcbride.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.celiamcbride.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.celiamcbride.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=354"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.celiamcbride.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/354\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.celiamcbride.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=354"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.celiamcbride.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=354"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.celiamcbride.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=354"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}