Death by 1000 paper cuts

When big fires happen, it’s relatively easy to rally around them, put them out, and even turn them into opportunities to make something good out of them. The magnitude and urgency doesn't afford us the time to complicate things more than they need to be, so we make swift decisions instead of getting stuck.

I once went through a decade-long apocalyptic fire in my life, and that not only taught me to ask for help and choose my friends and time wisely, it was the beginning of a total change in paradigm for me. 

But the little fires? Deadly. Because we brush them off so as not to make a big deal out of them or because we don’t want to look selfish or make waves, we mistake micro-suffering with flexibility. The mistake is in believing that small things aren’t life shifting. But in fact, they contribute towards living either a slow death plagued with chronic issues or a fulfilled and healthful life (even when sh*t happens).

We dismiss the small irritations, the small missed opportunities to fight for our joy, and we shrug them off into the “no big deal, I’ll get over it” pile that’s located in our shoulders, back, and all the places we tend to store our piles.

Then you go into your day and bedtime with this small weight. And with every missed opportunity to lighten that load, those piles get heavier. They cut gashes into your soul and inflame your body. You no longer remember how to heal it. You keep looking externally for the next big solution, and when they don’t work, you start to believe that maybe this is how your life will always be. 

Start here: pay attention to the super small stuff that you know nourishes your psyche and moves you forward. The following are examples of the “small” things we drop on a dime because the “big” things pull us away. 

• drinking enough water 
• waking up early instead of pressing snooze
• saying NO to that invitation that you’d rather not say yes to
• saying YES to something you want to stay consistent with but can find reasons why not today
• making your bed right when you wake up
• getting 20 minutes of fresh air every day 
• keeping your kitchen sink empty
• doing your daily practice
• seeing friends regularly
• dropping that story 

One small decision at a time, one day at a time, mend the paper cuts and allow the growth of life-changing qualities like consistency, grit, patience, joy, and deep trust in Self. These aren’t end results; they are what you pick up with every choice you make. The small stuff nourishes the soil upon which the bigger stuff grows. Each time you decide against yourself in the smallest of ways is another paper cut.

Know what the small decisions are for you that you can choose differently, and start thriving. See what happens.

Love, Savitree

P.S. What repeat choice do you make that keeps cutting you like paper over and over again?