(Personal) Raw Material
We each have what we have. We get to use what we have. Of course we only actually get to use what we notice we have. We also get to decide what to create out of what we have. The other day I did a word puzzle. It was one of those letters around a square designs. The goal was to use all the letters to create five words or less by going from side to side of the square. No double letters allowed. The letters from any one side of the square cannot be used sequentially in any of the words. I always challenge myself to do at least one word less than the maximum.
In a recent puzzle I ended up with the following four words:
FLAMER ROUT THROB BOW
I decided to try again and was able to form these three words:
FLAW WORTH HUMBLE
I found it interesting that the same letters could create such different outcomes.
These word strings often seem to have a particular tone. Sometimes it’s quite dark. Other times it’s whimsical or hopeful. I found deeper meaning in the second string of words. You’ll have to forgive me — I see meaning in almost any words, but meanwhile…
All of this got me thinking about how we create our worldview and our current state of mind based on the factual and emotional information we have on hand at that moment. What we notice matters. What we dwell on or ignore also matters. In any given moment on any given day we have the opportunity to use the same set of personal resources in a myriad of ways. It’s not unlike deciding what to throw into our stewpot, though sometimes we create our mood in more of a knee-jerk, flash fry kind of way. Sometimes we have to react quickly to survive. Other times we forget about additional factors that could also inform our decisions.
I’m not saying that life is 100% what you make it. I don’t believe that’s true because many things are outside of our control. What I do believe is true is that we get to decide how to shape our moment-to-moment existence. We get to chose how to process the information we glean and are given, and combine it with a self-curated sauce crafted from the emotions swirling inside our heads to cook up our chosen worldview and current state of mind.
Here’s the kicker. There’s so much information in our world and we humans are packrats when it comes to storing old joys, fears, and sorrows. There’s a lot to sort through. This is further complicated by our tendency to feel overwhelmed, guilty, or judged for any choice we make. It’s a lot.
May this new year help us to realize that though we all have very full emotional pantries, we not only get to choose which ingredients to pull off our shelves but also what dish we want to make with it.
Cinse Bonino
2024
