Trust in the Good, Trust in the Bad

I have a slight modification to my recent post on cultivating trust in one’s life. One of my best friends emailed me after reading my post, and told me she liked the post, and that she was trying to cultivate gratitude in her life. So, I wrote her back, and said, “Well why don’t you turn it into a gratitude box instead? Just write down things you are thankful for and slip it into the box.” She emailed me back and said “Okay, I will.”

Shortly after, I went through something kind of upsetting, and once it was over, I reminded myself to trust that all would be okay and to let it go, AND unexpectedly I also felt thankful. I was happy because of the immense support I had during the incident. So, I took out a piece of paper, and wrote “I am thankful for my friend, and her unconditional love, support and understanding,” and slipped it into my trust box.

When it comes to trust, I believe we need to trust in the good and the bad that happens in our lives. Often we fixate too much on the bad, and too little on the good, but it is unfair to give so much of our attention and energy towards the bad incidences. There is so much good that comes our way, and recognizing and appreciating that good is just as (if not more) important as letting go of or moving on from the bad.

SO, I would like to revise my trust box directions slightly, and suggest that you also use the box to practice gratitude. I started doing this, and have found that in times of strife, when I can also see the good, it helps boost my mood, calm my worries, and of course build my trust muscle even more! Also, it reminds me to be appreciative of all the good that I have in my life, which I admittedly tend to forget.

Here’s how it works:

• On a small piece of paper, write down something good that happened recently or in the past, or something you are thankful for.
• Then, fold the paper up, and put it into your trust box. Practice the act of identifying the good in your life, and appreciating the positive things that come your way.
• Every day take time to write it down 1-3 things that went well, and put into the box to help build your trust muscle and to energize yourself.

And I’m out,

Ida

How To Cultivate Trust in Your Life

If you are anything like me, you struggle with trusting people. I hadn’t really realized this until now, but my lack of trust in people has developed into a lack of trust in the universe. Uh oh, this is not good, especially because I constantly preach that everything happens for a reason. Yes, I do strongly believe this to be true, but I suppose I have forgotten to remind myself more often to trust that the universe has got my back. To remember that when things go wrong, I am simply getting rerouted into the right path. When times are good this is of course much easier to do, but when times are bad that pessimistic voice enters the mind. So it is time to take action…or try to. Join me?

If you can’t already tell I don’t like uncertainty, and I love to have control over situations J But of course this is not realistic, and ultimately results in feelings of worry, anxiety, stress, and perhaps depression. So, I was listening to a lecture the other day, and I loved the idea of creating a “Trust” Box. Say whaaat?

Okay, here is how it works:

• On a small piece of paper, write down something you want or that you’re concerned about.
• Then, fold the paper up, and put it into your trust box. Practice the act of turning it over to the universe and releasing the need to control.
• Every time you have a desire, concern or worry, write it down and put into the box to help build your trust muscle and to calm yourself.

This also works great for worrywarts, another lovely characteristic I possess. For some, there may be several papers to fold up and throw in the box in the beginning. That is okay. The point is you are practicing the act of building trust and letting go. Will it work? I don’t know, but I am on Day 3, and it seems to be helping. It feels good to write down my worries, and turn it over to the universe.

Now, let’s not go crazy here and start handing everything over. No, your laundry will not wash itself. But, there are some things, we can only put our best effort into doing, and trust that the ultimately things will unfold as they should.

You can use a shoebox, a small gift box, or whatever you desire. Place the box somewhere special and visible (as a cue and reminder for yourself). Decorate it, keep it plane, do whatever your heart desires. It’s your box. Now get to writing and start building your trust muscle. Here’s hoping the tactic works for you and for me.

And I’m out,

Ida