Stop "Shoulding" All Over Yourself

"To affect the quality of the day, that is the highest of arts."

~ Thoreau, Walden

To affect the quality of the day  - I love the strength of this statement. That our days aren't something that happen TO us but something we actively engage with...

If you pause to think about what you actively engage with during your day, I'm guessing it often sounds like something like - I engage with anxiety. I engage with anger. Or fear. Or frustration. I practice being carried away by my emotions, my likes and dislikes, my thoughts and my feelings. And what happens with practice? It makes perfect.

Instead of perfecting our fears, what if we instead engage with being present, aware, empathetic and accepting? Can we be intentional with how we affect the quality of our days?

When we embody the present moment we do it without waiting for the right moment to begin and without judgement of how we are doing. Catch yourself with all the "should haves" we say to ourselves. As a friend and colleague says, "stop shoulding all over yourself" (say it out loud. it's funny.). Embody the moment as it is - practice embodying wholeness, and affect the quality of your day.