Judith B Miller

Author, Coach, Inspirational Speaker, Mapusha Supporter

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Go Wide

July 24, 2017 by judithb 7 Comments

Wide sky of Montana wedding

One evening, when I was in my highly dramatic 20’s trying to explain my latest upset to an introverted housemate, he took me by the arm and walked me over to the window. He gestured to the sky and said simply,

“Look at the sky. Go wide.“

I use this same trick in these turbulent days…
I did as he asked and stared up at the wide night sky. I don’t remember if it was clear or cloudy on that Boston night. What I do remember is how my mind slowed down and my head seemed to soften, open, expand upwards and outwards.

I use this same trick in these turbulent days when I read the paper or listen to NPR and find myself tightening, pulling in and putting up walls.

“Go wide,” I tell myself. “Go wide.”

It isn’t always the sky, though that often works on these sunny, summer-Portland days. Sometimes it is reaching for a sense of the larger arc of time, the big picture, the continual ebb and flow of life.
Happy wedding dancers
Or I think of the next generation. And the next. Attending my beloved niece’s, beyond-wonderful wedding, I got to experience a passel of bright and vivacious 30-somethings. They made me smile for our future.

I smile, soften and go wide as I watch my nephew teaching his three-year-old daugter to be kind to her young sister, to marvel at the blueberries, to rescue a dying caterpillar from the porch. 

The Dahli Lama provided me with an almost fool-proof method of opening—widening. He wrote in The Book of Joy of his treck out of his beloved Tibet. What helped him was to think of all the other refugies in the world who were outside their homelands. He says, “This was not a denial of pain and suffering but a shift in perspective—from oneself and towards others, from anguish to compassion—seeing that others are suffering as well.”

It is always a choice. Choosing to let my mind go wide softens me so that I can relax into a sense of a world where hope reigns. In my wide vision generosity trumps greed and compassion triumphs over fear, always.

Join me in going wide.
If you have a wondrous go-wide trick please do share below. I thought of another moment that always helps me go wide—watching birds fly across the sky.

 

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Filed Under: Inspiration

Comments

  1. Helene says

    July 26, 2017 at 10:37 am

    Beautiful, inspirational and much needed post Judy – thank you!

    Reply
    • judithb says

      July 26, 2017 at 1:43 pm

      Thanks Helene for being such a wonderful supporter. I miss you.

      Reply
  2. Laurie says

    July 31, 2017 at 11:15 pm

    Judy ❤️

    Reply
  3. Beth says

    August 3, 2017 at 2:36 pm

    This is a lovely, simple mantra. Judy, thank you! I would say that looking at the ocean waves on the shoreline makes me feel this way. Now I have a wonderful two-word expression for this feeling.

    Reply
    • judithb says

      August 3, 2017 at 2:51 pm

      Of course, ocean waves. Thanks Beth!

      Reply
  4. RICHARD SINGER says

    August 5, 2017 at 12:11 am

    Had a similar experience at my daughter’s Lauren’s wedding , late June… a perfect day to see my ex-wife’s family (she is deceased) but remembering how the nephews have grown, gone their own way, Matt having 2 kids (3 & 5) himself. His older brother Brett conducting the marriage vows, my son Jesse, playing beautiful classical guitar for the ceremony. Perhaps feeling a little melancholy, fighting the feeling that the “19 year old in me” has aged.. a lot. The mirror doesn’t lie. However my heart is full of pride and love for how they have gone their own way…..

    Reply
  5. Jack says

    August 5, 2017 at 6:00 am

    Love you Judy!

    Reply

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From Judy…

Here I am once again in friendly, green Portland, Oregon, after fourteen years of community development work in South Africa.

My book, Hand Spun Hope, Making a Difference in Rural South Africa, is available on Amazon.

My Life Coaching practice is in full swing and enlivened by the lessons gleaned from my time in South Africa—trust and risk and then trust and risk again! My focus is on listening to your own inner wisdom, letting your hopes fly wide and then, bringing them into the world with action.

I am an inspirational speaker and appreciate any opportunity to share my message of hope and inspire you into action.

I continue to support the Mapusha Weaving Cooperative in Mpumalanga Province, South Africa.

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