Life as a story.
Sunday, January 19, 2025.
“How attached are you really to those outcomes?” A question raised recently by Richard Rudd when listening to the Gene Keys. And, frankly, a question I contemplate often and invite others to do the same.
There are so many layers to explore here, so many nuances. At some point or another, I’ll dive more deeply into each as they arise. However, the piece I want to drop into today is life as a story, life as a drama, life as an experience you get to write, edit, direct and produce. And yet, we humans somehow allow our minds to trip us up, and dictate the story. Sneaky.
Here’s what I know: when we live solely from our minds, we miss out on the deliciousness of life itself. And when we let ourselves forget the power of our minds, we can sometimes fall victim to life itself. It’s such a delicate dance, a never-ending drama if you will.
But if you appreciate, truly appreciate, the beauty of life, then you probably love a good story.
When we’re immersed in a really great story, it’s felt. They may be sensations we want to feel, or sensations we much rather not. But with the power of a great story, we’re likely to feel something with deep conviction. And as humans, it is our natural desire to want to lean into that which makes us feel. Why? Because it’s a reminder we’re alive. We’re grounded here on this earth, with a beating heart and breath moving through our lungs.
Think of the last time you heard or read a really great story. Close your eyes. Take yourself, for a brief moment to that place. Notice the ground beneath your feet. Notice where your hands are placed. Notice the depth of your breathing. Notice if you feel relaxed or contracted in your body.
A really great story transports you. The question I have today, is how easily can you detach from that story? How easily can you relax into a present state of being? How easily can you trust that that story either gets to have a strong presence in your reality, or not?
“Detachment is about the subtle layers of desire. As you become more detached, you learn to become more playful. You come to know everything is for your further refinement.” — Richard Rudd.
When we are relaxed in our bodies, we can digest and detach from a story. Or, immerse ourselves more deeply, depending on that which we desire. We can bring a story from our thinking minds and into the body. But I ask you this, when you do this, what are the sensations you feel in your body? Are they expansive or contractive? Do you feel yourself melt and draw a gentle smile onto your face? Or do you notice your shoulders creep up and your jaw tense? Do you feel your breath all the way into the base of your spine, or high in your chest?
Life is really one great series of never-ending stories—chapter after chapter, series after series, scene after scene. You’re an actor in the plot. And when you remember this, you know you can pop back into any new scene, in any new character. Life is exactly this. Moment to moment, you get to live life as a story.
You get to choose the next scene.
I’m not talking about being God. I’m talking about allowing the God within you to take the lead. I’m talking about exercising your faith in the unseen, while simultaneously remembering your own superpowers. I’m talking about leaning into creation while simultaneously remembering you are a creation. I’m talking about knowing you hold the pen, while simulatenously remembering that something divine may already be unfolding on the other side of the curtain, in the next act.
Can you step back and witness your story as easily as you can fully immerse yourself into the play of life itself? Can you dance in the drama and also know you have the power to remove yourself from it and change the plot?
Will you commit to flip the script on all that you have learned or accepted as your truth, by someone other than you? And will you choose to soothe your nervous system so that you can feel your breath, your body and your holy heart beat in celebration of this life more deeply? Are you willing to let this game of life be playful? To be one truly epic story?
Do it for the plot, baby.
