“Sometimes the gift isn't in what happened. It's in what we choose to see because of it.”
Hey friends 🩵
A couple of weeks ago, I sat down in my brand-new little podcast studio and recorded an episode of (re)Parenting Radio. For an entire hour, I shared stories, reflections, and teachings that had been on my mind. But when I went back to edit the recording, I discovered that something had gone wrong with the audio.
The volume had dropped dramatically in places, and eventually the sound disappeared altogether. The entire episode needed to be recorded again.
Now, I could have been frustrated. I could have decided I'd wasted an hour of my time or made the experience mean that something had gone terribly wrong.
But, the interesting part is that, while I was recording, I had actually been thinking that the conversation might be better as two separate episodes. There was so much I wanted to explore, and I could feel that I was covering two distinct teachings.
And suddenly, the audio problem gave me the opportunity to do exactly that.
Instead of rerecording one hour-long episode, I created two shorter, more focused conversations, each with its own message and takeaway.
And then I realized something else. I had a weeklong trip to Mexico planned to spend time with my husband, Brian, and having two episodes recorded meant I could schedule one to publish while I was away. No scrambling, no missed week, and no trying to squeeze a recording session into my vacation.
What initially looked like a problem had become the perfect solution.
And I couldn't help but laugh, because isn't this exactly what I teach?
Everything is information.
So much of our experience is shaped by the meaning we give to what's happening. The audio failed. That was the circumstance. But what that failure meant was entirely open to interpretation. I could have called it wasted time, but instead, I saw an opportunity to create something better.
And that's the part I want to invite you to consider this week.
How often do we decide that something is happening TO us before we've had the chance to discover what might be happening FOR us?
A plan changes, an opportunity falls through, or something doesn't work out the way we expected, and immediately our minds begin telling a story about what it means. We become frustrated, disappointed, anxious, or discouraged, sometimes before we've even had a chance to see what might come next.
And because our nervous systems and subconscious minds are so influenced by our previous experiences, we can find ourselves responding to what's happening now through the lens of what happened before.
But what if we became curious instead? What if, rather than immediately labeling something as good or bad, we gave ourselves a little space to see what else might be possible?
Our first interpretation isn't necessarily the only one available to us.
Not every difficult experience is secretly a gift, and we don't have to pretend that disappointment, grief, or frustration are wonderful. Our feelings are real, and they deserve to be acknowledged. But we can also recognize that the meaning we initially assign to an experience may not tell the whole story.
And that is such an important part of (re)Parenting ourselves. It's learning to become aware of the stories we're telling ourselves, recognizing when we're reacting from familiar patterns, and consciously choosing how we want to respond.
Sometimes the unexpected detour reveals an opportunity we wouldn't have considered otherwise. And sometimes, what looks like an interruption is simply an invitation to do something differently.
What if this is happening FOR me?
That's the question I'd love for you to carry with you this week. Not as a demand to find the positive in everything, but as an invitation to become curious before deciding what an experience means.
As for me, I'm back from a wonderful week in Mexico, grateful for the time away, two recorded podcast episodes, and my sweet little home here in California.
Life doesn't always have to unfold according to our plans to unfold beautifully.
And isn't that a wonderful thing to remember?
🤍 Want support understanding your own patterns?
Through my (re)Parenting Method, I help adults recognize the beliefs and behaviors they've developed through their life experiences and learn how to create something different in their relationships and everyday lives.
If you're ready to explore the patterns that may be keeping you stuck, I'd love to connect.
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Have a beautiful week, friends. 🤍
With love,
📩 Email:[email protected]
🎙️ Podcast: (re)Parenting Radio
