trajectory of a life

For anyone who has ever spent more than a few hours at my home or has been a houseguest — especially on a weekend — you’ll probably notice the constant stream of talk radio. Unless I’m really trying to concentrate, which requires either silence or instrumental music, it’s fairly certain sounds of the news or one of my favorite radio shows/podcasts will be filling the air.

This also extends to my car and, over the past year, the train. I adore talk radio and radio shows/podcasts for so many reasons, not the least of which is that they enable me to learn new things and obtain information in environments and situations which don’t allow for reading. I have a number of radio shows + podcasts I count as my favorites, including This American Life, StarTalk Radio, Hidden Brain, Wait Wait . . . Don’t Tell me!, Freakonomics Radio, Stuff You Should Know, TED Radio Hour, Invisibilia and Radiolab.

Another that is included in my listen list is Tranquility du Jour, hosted by the uber-talented Kimberly Wilson. The weekly episodes typically feature interviews with folks in the areas of mindfulness, yoga, creativity and giving back. This week’s episode featured Mark Coleman, mindfulness teacher, author and wilderness guide, and his thoughts on making peace with your mind. The episode resonated strongly with me — so much, in fact, that as I listened en route to home on Monday afternoon, I pulled over (unfortunately it was a drive day, not train) to jot down a few notes + reminders. I’ve included them below.

• Don’t feed the critic.
• We are not our thoughts.
• Thank critic for point of view + perspective but recognize it’s not the objective voice of truth.
• Critic undermines our sense of goodness.
• Identifying the critic: should, always, never.
• Shift from negative.
• Learn, forgive, grow.
• RAIN: recognize, allow (just as it is), investigate (with kindness), non-identification.
•  Nature doesn’t judge itself. it just is.

As you can see, much of my takeaways were centered around the “critic,” (or, inner critic) which is something I struggle with pretty regularly (likely, many of you do, too). Mark’s words were such a great reminder as to dealing with the critic in a positive manner, which I appreciated.

Now comes the more difficult part of remembering and applying . . .