“yes is a world
& in this world of
yes live
(skillfully curled)
all worlds”
~ ee cummings

Wouldn’t it be great if we only did things that were a real resounding YES like that? Of course, the whole point is that Meg is “faking.” But I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately…

Did you ever listen to how many times a day you say “no?”  To others?  To yourself? I feel like we are a very “no” society. No is easier sometimes. Inaction or holding back is easier than opening up, exploring, moving forward.  I try to say yes to my children as much as I can…not for the sake of being indulgent, but for the sake of opening up all the worlds that yes opens up. Yes is empowerment. Yes gives ideas flight instead of throwing cold water on them. Yes opens the door.  Yes is jumping out of the airplane and trusting that the parachute will open.

But on the flip side is the yes we say when we really mean no. When we give a lip service yes where there is an internal no, we are saying no to being our authentic selves. When we say yes to an extra meeting, an extra cookie, an ideology we don’t really believe, anything that is not a true YES – we are saying no to our inner selves. When we say yes to things that don’t resonate for us, our bodies rebel.  Think of that knot you get in your stomach when you say yes to a commitment you don’t have time to fulfill.

Imagine how good it might feel – body and soul – to only live in your true yes world…letting go of everything that doesn’t make your heart sing.  Obviously, I’m not saying that we should all throw our responsibilities aside. But if something you do on a regular basis is met with a huge internal NO, maybe it’s time to re-examine whether it belongs in your life.

I’m doing an experiment this week and trying to get out of my head a little…feel free to join me:

Pay attention to how your body feels in response to your yeses and nos. Any big Meg Ryan yeses? Any knot in the stomach yeses? Any nos springing from “stuckness” and fear? Any nos that bring you calm because they are a yes to what you really need?