Jean Edelman’s Word of the Week: Witness
Step Away From Your Emotions To See What’s Really Happening In Your Life
Jean Edelman: Great to be with you this week. This week, a curious word was popping up. The word is witness - to observe and to be present. We all watch our detective shows where it's all about the witness to prove the case. Well, what if we turn our eye onto ourselves, where we witness our life? When we witness, we can take a step back and see what's happening without the emotions or the drama attached to the event. This is a wonderful tool for our emotional toolbox, because when we're stressed and overwhelmed, it is much healthier to step back and be a witness of what's going on so that we can learn from the experience and not get drawn into the emotion and the drama that's unfolding. A lot of people are out there just to push our buttons and see how we're going to react.
And so when we step back and we witness, we are going to surprise them. It is so much healthier if we can witness our feelings without them defining us or without them sticking to us. We have a choice about how we feel and how we wish to continue on, how we wish to deal with the situation. And I would bet that we would prefer not to be frustrated and upset. But the way to do that is to witness, to step back, not let others push our buttons or trigger us.
This week, the word of the week is WITNESS.
W is for wonder. What would it be like to have a day of calm and peace, a day of not getting upset or stressed? That could be Alice in Wonderland. I don't know. It would be a wonderful goal. It is a goal of mine. I don't know if I've accomplished it yet, but it is something that I wish for all of us in the world. But if we could practice stepping back and letting go, we might have a better day. Just being mindful. Just pay attention and see when and where we can do that, when and where.
The I for insight. If we were to practice stepping back and witnessing, we would gain tremendous wisdom and insight to our life and insight to ourselves, an insight to what's important and all those triggers and all those buttons. We would see them coming and we wouldn't let them get pushed. And so insight is so important.
The T is for tame because if and when we have those buttons pushed, we really, really need a way to tame that down, to not engage. It really doesn't do anyone any good to get engaged and all worked up. It's better to kill with kindness. We would get a lot more accomplished in this world.
The N is for nice. Just be nice. Put ourselves in other shoes. They're probably going through something pretty big. And so if we just stop and witness, take some breaths and maybe be a little bit compassionate and empathetic towards them, maybe we could help them. And be nice to ourselves. Just give ourselves a break. It always doesn't have to be so perfect. And so whatever it is that we're trying to accomplish. Just be nice.
The E is for empathy, to care and have compassion and understanding more for ourselves. We are very hard on ourselves. We don't need to drive into the dump. We don't need to dive into the drama. And again, the healthiest thing is to step back and witness what's going on.
The S is for save, to save ourselves for what's really important. We need to let the little stuff go. Because you know what it is? Little stuff. And it won't matter eventually. We think it matters now, but it really won't matter down the road. And so just figure out what's important and save ourselves and save our energy for what we want to put ourselves into.
And the last S is for serene, being composed and unruffled.
Like I said, most of life is a test and how we react to what's going on around us. That's our grading point. And so if we get to know ourselves better and what sets us off, we can understand what's happening and remain composed and unruffled. Never let a situation or someone get the better of us because then they have gotten the better of us then they won. And if we can step back and smile and show compassion, well then we've won. It's always a test and the goal is to pass with flying colors. Have a great week, everybody.