Sweet N Social

Tag: Awareness

  • Giving Expression a Place to Live

    Giving Expression a Place to Live

    A reflection on containers, capacity, and alignment

    I met up with my good friend, Melissa recently. Our conversation drifted toward something that’s been quietly shaping how I move lately — containers.

    I shared how much I enjoy hosting events and creating spaces for people to gather, think, and connect. But what I noticed while talking wasn’t just my excitement about events. It was the language I kept returning to.

    Container.

    It’s become one of my favorite words.

    Not because it sounds sophisticated, but because it helps me understand what I’m building. Each space I create holds something different. Some containers are light and reflective. Some are conversational. Some are deeper and more intimate. Some exist in real time, where voices and laughter fill the room.

    For a long time, I thought alignment meant doing fewer things. But lately, I’m realizing alignment can also mean honoring where each thing belongs.

    I can wish to host.
    I can want to write.
    I can wish to facilitate conversation.
    I can want to gather community.

    The work isn’t choosing one.

    The work is honoring the container.

    This week, I’m noticing how capacity and alignment are less about limitation. They are more about placement. It’s about understanding what each space can hold and allowing it to be exactly that.

    Maybe alignment isn’t about shrinking our expression.

    Maybe it’s about giving it the right place to live.

    Reflection Prompt:

    What spaces in your life feel aligned because of what they hold — not because of how much they hold?

    Author’s Notes

    This week I’m exploring the relationship between capacity and alignment. I am noticing how honoring different containers helps me move with clarity. This prevents overwhelm.

    If this reflection spoke to you, follow Sweet N Social for future entries on creativity, courage, and walking through change.

    By Tonia Tyler | #ConfidentStrides | Sweet N Social

  • Residue

    Residue

    Have you ever come a cross a person and once you leave you notice the feelings or thoughts that remain after your encounter with them.  Like for instance you have people who bring up feeling of peace. you may have people who bring out the excitement of possibilities. We even have those people who are like hurricanes that stir up feeling of anxiety and chaos.  I call this, residue.

    Like this we encounter, we also leave behind feeling and thoughts on others.  It wasn’t until I became more aware of my own conscious thoughts that I realize that we all are leaving a bit of ourselves everywhere we go.  We have the power to decide what kind of residue we want to leave others.  Granted, they may not always receive it as such.

    I learned through meditation that we can set our intentions daily and choose to be either the lighthouse or the storm. What kind of residue due you want to leave? The kind that people enjoy or the kind that people want to wash off.

  • All Present

    All Present

    I honestly think we can learn something new each day. The biggest challenge is usually staying present in the moment to notice.  I started getting out and reconnecting with friends.  What I often finding myself doing before we met up was worrying about what were going to say.  It’s at those moments when you have to tell that little voice inside to “be quiet.”  If you are present in the company of others, you can always find something to talk about.

    What does it mean to be present?  That’s always a great question when people ask me.  It’s giving the other person you undivided attention. I always like to define what it is by stating what it is not.  Let me give you some examples.  Being present is not worrying about what you could be doing with someone else. Being present is not scrolling through your phone when someone is sitting with you.  being present is not thinking about what you are going to do once you leave.  Being present is saying to the person you are with, that they are important enough to listen and let them be heard.

    Once I learned what it meant to be present, my marriage and all of my other relations greatly improved.  The power is in your hands. The one thing that is always in your control is yourself.

  • Hit The Light Switch

    Hit The Light Switch

    I have to say the most profound changes in my life happened when I decided to take my life off autopilot. I began to question some of the beliefs that I had held on to for years.  In the beginning it was the small things that I began to ponder like why do I drink coffee with my breakfast, to eventually leading to my bigger questions, like how do I really feel about marriage. Some of the answers I received in return shocked me.

    Awareness is the definitely key to change.  Effective and long lasting change has to come from something deeper then just wanting it. Taking time out to understand the driving force, the “why” behind the change is what makes it really take hold.  To me, awareness was like switching on a light switch and looking for the cobwebs within the room.  What I found were old beliefs and outdated actions that no longer served their purpose.  Imagine what you will find when you begin to look inside yourself.  The answers just might surprise you.

  • Only You

    Only You

    writing-is-hardWe can be our own worst critics or we can be our own biggest supporter. It comes down to your self-talk. When I started writing, I would find myself saying “I don’t write like any other blogger” so for the longest time, I was afraid to share my writings. I was comparing myself to others. What I come to realize is that it’s not what others think that can make or break us but what we say about yourself to ourselves. Only you can be you!

    Photo credit: click here.

  • Tidbit of Insight

    Tidbit of Insight

    tai-chiInsight comes like a tweet, if you are not paying attention you just might miss it.
     
    I was talking with a friend this afternoon and she was sharing that her Tai Chi instructor told the class that if you are having trouble with your physical balance, it’s because your not focused. My friend said she never realized that. I was taken back because my friend is one of the most conscious thinking type person I know. She is my spiritual sister. We both laughed and I told her we’ve discussed this subject before and that she must not have been paying attention and laughed.
     
    What I know in my experience is that whatever it is you are looking for your will surely find. The key is your awareness. Make time to quiet your thoughts each day and everyday you will begin to pick up tidbits of insight that the Universe is trying to share with you.
    Photo credit: click here.
  • Start Here

    Start Here

    road to horizonEveryday we have to choice to focus on the positive or dwell on the negative. To everything there are two sides. The switch from negative to positive outlook is not easy but it is possible and it begins with your self-talk. Start here and fill in the blank…What’s the __ thing that can happen today? If your answered with BEST, congratulations!

    Photo credit: click here.

  • On Your Terms

    On Your Terms

    life-on-your-terms-1024x680Quite often we put a hold on our dreams based on the conversation that someone may have said to you that “you can’t do that.” When you hear that phrase “you can’t” it actually means “they can’t” and that is true. Only you can do you with the gifts and talents that are within you. Develop those talents and gifts in order to live the best possible life for you on your terms, not by someone else’s.

    Photo credit: click here.