As I’ve been doing these posts on my morning meditations, I’ve made some changes. Changing ‘persevering’ to ‘gritty’ was one of them.
Before ‘persevering’ the word was ‘persistent,’ but that one felt incomplete, as if I was rolling a rock uphill. I wasn’t all that happy with ‘persevering’ either, because it felt like walking through a flood.
Then I remembered Angela Duckworth’s Grit. Yes! Grit is Perseverance + Passion, and that’s the image I wanted. Not just the push, but the passion that fuels the push.
Another change to the meditation was changing ‘I am Authentic’ to ‘I am True.’ Authentic was so easily misunderstood. True is like True North. Unchanging no matter the circumstances or the audience. True with my words and true with my deeds.
One more change was to flip the order of ‘I am Intelligent’ with ‘I am Brave.’ Since I line up brave with my liver and intelligent with my guts, the way I did it before was out of sync with human anatomy.
The final change (at least so far) was to start from the bottom and work up rather than starting at the top and working down. So, instead of starting with ‘I am holy,’ I start with gritty and end with holy. That makes sense to me. It feels right to start in the earth and end in the sky.
My eyes are closed, I direct them to the base of my spine, and I say the words:
I am gritty.
Personal update
This past Thursday and Friday I was in Cleveland, at the Cleveland Clinic, for my annual checkup. Dr. Heiden pronounced my throat ‘beautiful’ and my labs ‘fabulous.’ I love hearing those words. And for some reason I need to put those words here, to mark them, to give them a place to be real.
Chewing the Cud of Good
Thankful for those who clear roads while I sleep.
You are gritty and you are intentional. There’s something about this post that feels whole and right and grounded.
May your find everything you seek, at the moment when you need it and have what you need to take full advantage of it.
Amazing work, my friend.
Dana, thank you so much! I’m heading into the middle build of my novel, so “everything you seek, at the moment when you need it and have what you need to take full advantage of it” sounds completely wonderful! Thanks again!!
Thank you for being a beacon of insight on this gritty, earthy path. When my daughter was in high school, we visited a school whose motto was “Grit and Grace.” I love that. Holy Grit! And also, Holy Grace. Your post is true to both.
Thank you, Jill! I love the “Grit & Grace” motto, and Holy Grit! and Holy Grace! Fabulous!