keeping an open mind...

Yeah, I know... how obvious is that?

But it bears repeating and reminding ourselves of. Because you know what? You just never know...

Even when we think we know for sure what's going to happen or what someone's going to do... sometimes life surprises us.

I just had several examples of this and it reminded me about keeping my mind open to possibilities, even when they seem remote or impossible.

One example: someone I work with, someone who sadly is very, very ill with her eating disorder, and who has had virtually no motivation to make any changes whatsoever, finally decided that the ED symptoms were getting too much in her way and she might want ot try to change that. I was floored. I'd been working with her for months and months, trying to find a way in with her, trying to find some way to get her to notice her life... and I was becoming resigned to it not being able to happen.

But life it funny, you know... and something came up in her life that she found intruiging enough that she's willing to try something different....

And that's just one example. There are many times when things happen in life that we maybe had hoped for but had all but given up hope for (either within ourselves, or in relationships with others....). And sometimes it is true that nothing does change and nothing does happen. 

We ought to keep our minds open to the extent that we can (you know, while being realistic and balanced and all that...I'm not suggesting we all live in la la land here....). Because, well, you never know...

Comments

[wendy]

Thank you for the post. I know sometimes in my own recovery, the point I feel and probably show the most resistence is when I am about to want to really make a change, but am terrified. I think I finally took the approach of being open and trying, with the understanding that if what was being suggested wasn't working we could reevaluate and try a different approach to reach the goal. Of course the suggestions always worked, but it helped me to know they were flexable if it didn't...giving me a feeling of power and control over recovery and a feeling of being in a partnership as a full blown adult.

[PTC]

I'm still stuck on the whole not wanting to gain weight thing, and my T says I have to be a certain weight. (this has been going on forever). Well, she's back from maternity leave and we still have the same problem. She said, "You must not trust me and trust that I know what will be best for you." I trust her, I just don't want to gain weight. Getting weighed on Monday will be a blast. She's not going to be happy.

[Kelsey]

Thank you for this.
I started posting my own eating disorder story over on my blog today.
By giving voice to this disease, we can conquer it!

[tee shirt homme]

(this has been going on forever). Well, she's back from maternity leave and we still have the same problem. She said