I once applied for a job that didn’t interest me all that much. With that “nothing to lose” attitude, I asked for an inflated salary, to work only 30 hours each week but to receive full benefits, and to have an extra week of paid vacation tacked on each year. The representative kept responding that the answer from “above” would certainly be no, but that she would ask anyway. She did ask. The answer was yes. I took the job.
That was years ago, but I still smile when I remember how lovely it felt to hear Yes. It feels even lovelier when I can provide that answer for myself, in regard to things that actually do interest me. Hearing Yes in the mind can feel so spacious. I don’t know why we accustom ourselves to hearing no instead.
When I feel stuck in my own no-ness, I sometimes ask: What questions can I actually answer with Yes right now? Can I really just turn off my computer and take a walk?...Can I really ask somebody to help me with a chore that I’ve been dreading?...Can I say yes to saying no when asked to volunteer, simply because I don't want to volunteer right now?
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| Can I really have 2 carbs at 1 meal? |
I’ve decided right here, right now, sitting on the deck with a glass of wine, to continue with this practice of yes-ness. If it makes you smile inside to think of saying Yes, will you actually join me? And then, without giving ourselves time to change our mind, may we get quiet enough to hear ourselves say YES.
God Says Yes to Me, by Kaylin Haught
I asked God if it was okay to be melodramatic
and she said yes
I asked her if it was okay to be short
and she said it sure is
I asked her if I could wear nail polish
or not wear nail polish
and she said honey
she calls me that sometimes
She said, you can do just exactly
what you want to
Thanks God I said
And is it even okay if I don’t paragraph
my letters
Sweetcakes God said
who knows where she picked that up
What I’m telling you is
Yes Yes Yes
