Olaf
I was meant to go to an event this prior weekend, but due to a massive onset of winter here in Bavaria it got cancelled and the suggestion was given to use the freed-up time to enjoy the snow. Having the topic of the Artist’s Date from the week before still fresh on my mind, I decided to do just that and build a snowman or something from the heap of snow in our front yard. I was actually thrilled by the prospect since I hadn’t done this in I don’t know how many years. I was really looking forward to it.
When the day came I procrastinated getting ready. Later, when I was prepared to go downstairs, somebody was shovelling snow around the property. “Ah, let’s wait.” When I was finally outside all ready with gloves and hot tea in a thermos I noticed the craftsmen from the downstairs business loading up their trucks. More hesitation. Just kicking the snow instead of building something from it.
I had to ask myself what all this hesitation was about. “What might they think seeing me, a grown woman, building a snowman in the front yard all by myself? Won’t they consider this a childish endeavour?” There it was, clearly visible out in the fresh cold winter air, the reason to halt any action any time: “What will others think?”
Putting this in black on white makes it sound so ridiculous, how powerful this little question is. I had seen in real life how it made me procrastinate the fun I had scheduled for this day! It felt like I could anticipate other people’s internal frown on my foolish action. Real frowning or just an imagined one made no difference, the mere idea made me stop.
The solution? In this case: just doing it anyways. So I began shoving the snow, treading it, taking some to roll it around and around to start forming the snowman. I used little branches I had found on a prior walk, some coal I had left from smudging and the tip of a carrot. The craftsmen had left soon after I started, people walking by while I was working either ignored me or gave me a little smile while I had created him: my first Olaf (shiny teeth included)!
After I was done I leaned over the white fence, looking up and watching the wind drive clouds across the sky. I intentionally entertained the thought “What will others think?” to see my reaction. In that moment I was so deeply present in my body I simply didn’t care. I just thought: “If that’s what anybody is thinking right now they are missing out on enjoying this sky!”
What an AHA about how to live as a happy and successful empath! When I am fully present in my body I am less likely to deviate from my own goals. I am able to stay better connected with myself and create things unimpaired from the environment. It’s that simple: I can stay true to myself by being present in my body. What a straightforward approach to more self-generosity in 2019!
Written by: Sabine Roggermeier; Gluecklich Im Sein
