A few years ago my therapist asked me,

“What is the simpler version of this?”

Honest to goodness my mind sizzled as it tried to compute the very idea…………simple version? It was a jaw dropping thought to consider there could even be such a thing.

I can’t remember the content of our conversation but I will never forget my reaction and then the relief that followed as I realised that there WAS a much simpler way. I did not need to get my knickers in a twist, turn myself inside out or try to be or do a dozen things at once, what a revelation.

What was even more surprising was how quickly I could actually see the simpler version, it was as if it had been sitting there all the time just waiting to be noticed but in my blind spot till I was asked the question.

Since then I have used that question an awful lot in my life, it frees me up, it allows me to let go, to loosen my grip, say no, or not that way or not now, or even not ever.

So how does this relate to my Walking Loch Creran?

Earlier this week I was taking a stroll down by the Loch thinking about my walk beginning next week, my mind was on a roll remembering all the different ideas I’ve had about doing this walk.

• Interviewing people along the way, the shellfish farmers, quarry men, fishermen.
• Inviting interesting people to walk with me.
• Videoing sections.
• Videoing interviews.
• Getting a pedometer.
• Keeping track of the stats, distance, pace, etc etc.
• Writing about it.

My mind was awash with ideas, timings, plans, emails that I needed to write, when the question came:

What is the simple version of this?

I was flooded with relief and immediately knew the answer.

To just walk.

My mind can be a crazy place bursting with ideas that would have me super uber busy day and night, no let up, no rest. It has magnificent ideas, wonderful plans, fantastic delights to offer me and I feel like I want to do them all. On the other hand I know that this is destructive for me, it contributed to my illness, it keeps me disconnected and distracted, it revs up my adrenals and depletes my energy.

I have tasted life in the other place, the place where I feel deeply connected to all that is, I feel safe I can let go and trust the unfolding of life before me, where I allow life to live me.

So I am setting off in a simpler version of my “grand plan”, back to the original thought, to just walk.

What could be your simpler version today?

When you identify the simpler version you may find you encounter resistance to the idea of doing it.  A host of reasons why you can’t take this simpler route may surface. Listen carefully to these, this is where the work of change begins.

We may be worried about what someone else will think, frightened about their response or we may feel like a failure that we are bailing out in some way.  Underlying these objections there will most likely be a limiting belief that keeps us stuck in our current way of being.  This is where I suggest using EFT to help you gain freedom from what holds you back and stops you having that simpler version. You can find out more about how to do this here.