Promises... Made and Kept?

Rainy season can bring traffic snarls, flooded streets, and reminders that we are not in charge.  Sometimes we slow down and are more cautious as we go outside with rain coats, umbrellas, and other ways to protect ourselves.

With our long-delayed rainy season in Southern California, this past month has been a pleasant reminder that rain -- and sunshine! -- create conditions where rainbows populate our heavens: a biblical reminder that God made a promise never to destroy the earth by flood again.

How do you react when you see a rainbow?
(Photo: Rainbow over Rio Tapajós, Brazil - Larry Gardepie)

Promises and Reminders of Promises... these are charged words in today's news-flooded and politically snarled world.  For many people, it's another way of feeling that we are not in charge.

What do we need to protect ourselves in this current climate?  Where are the rainbows that can make us feel safe against real and perceived destruction?

What is promised at the end of your rainbow?
(Photo: Rainbow in the North Atlantic Ocean - Larry Gardepie)

I remember my mother telling me as a child not to make a promise I could not keep.  I guess that is why I am skeptical when someone makes a promise to me:

• Does this person have the ability to fulfill what was promised?
• Will the promise - kept or broken -- change our relationship?
• Are we equal partners as the results of the promise? 

You may have other questions or ways to understand promises, other ways to slow down and protect yourself from false agreements.  But, more importantly, where are the rainbows -- where light shines through our darkest times?

Where do you expect to see rainbows?
(Photo: Rainbow while out shopping, San Diego - Larry Gardepie)

Time will tell whether the current climate changes.  But, through dialogue, we can shine light on what we hear: Promises Made -- Promises Understood -- Promises Unfulfilled -- Promises Kept.  Not to create a scorecard, but to support an understanding of our relationship.

To quote Dolly Parton:

"The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain."

Protect yourself during your storms... and hope for the rainbows!

Larry Gardepie

Dialogue San Diego Consulting

Promises Arising

We are within the first week of a new year:  How are you doing?  Have you recovered from the holiday season... the travel, family gatherings, Christmas plays, concerts, and parties?  Are you tired or energized?  Did you make any resolutions... and how are you doing in your resolve?  What is your outlook on this new year... a Leap Year... a Presidential-Primaries-and-Election year... a Summer Olympics year?

So many questions... and hopes, dreams, desires, and promises for a Year Unwritten!

What beauty is rising in you today?
(Photo: Sunrise at Sea - Larry Gardepie)

It's like the sun rising each morning: if we are awake and look closely, we might see Beauty Changing before our eyes.  The palette of Colors Unending as the Painter-Creator reveals the New Day Rising before us.  Can we linger in these moments of awe and discovery?

As mentioned in earlier posts, we have a Choice in how we show up and how we respond.  Whether tired or energized, we are invited to Awaken... to Slow Down and Notice:

• What is being said or unsaid;
• How we respond or don't respond;
• Whether we choose to stay in relationship or not.

The choices may be small or large at the best of times, but when we encounter dark moments, it is good to be reminded that we have the Freedom to Choose!

Can you rest in this beauty and be at peace?
(Photo: Sunrise near Nuuk, Greenland - Larry Gardepie)

I am reminded of people who have survived their darkest nights during World War II -- people like Elie Wiesel, Corrie ten Boom, and Viktor Frankl.  In their writings, we hear of the atrocities they encountered or suffered.  We also hear how faith, kindness, and human dignity informed their choices:  to survive, remember, forgive, and accept the pain and darkness.

Viktor Frankl shared the following insights:

"When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves."

"Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms -- to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way."

He also describes a space that exists between stimulus and response.  "In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom."

Will you see light streaming beyond any darkness?
(Photo: French Polynesian Sunrise - Larry Gardepie)

This is why slowing down and noticing are so important in dialogue practices and in relationships:  The Pause provides the space to choose!

The message I am considering during these New Born days of 2024 is the importance of protecting the freedom of choice -- for myself and others.  I assume that many of us see and experience life differently due to our cultures, upbringing, faith and religion, politics, and many other ways.

What choices will you make this year?
(Photo credit: Mandy Hale, Victory Community)

My prayer and hope is that we can listen and learn from these varied experiences... and choose to keep an open mind.  The invitation is to live honestly and authentically according to the values and truths that we were taught and have accepted.  The challenge is to honor our experiences and truths while respecting those of others.

It is possible!  Remember, we have a choice!

 

What are your thoughts about this New Year?
 

Larry Gardepie

Dialogue San Diego Consulting

(click on link for website)