What’s in an index card? Believe it or not, index cards can save your life.
Index cards saved my life.
For me, it was a powerful practice after the loss of my mom and as I was going through surgery.
My mom died unexpectedly from a reaction to a medication. After my mom died, I was heartbroken. I had no idea what to do with myself. I needed a focal point, something to bring me back to center. That I could say when I was lost in sadness.
- My mind is sharpening, my senses becoming more acute as the fog around me dissolves and lifts.
- I feel light surrounding us and the spark within us.
- I feel hope in all areas of my life.
- I feel joy in the unknown.
- I am taking care of myself, my vision, and my family.
- Your body has a story to tell, are you listening?
The experience of losing my mom was a trigger in preparing for surgery. I was afraid of everything. Dying. Doctors. Hospitals. Medication. Something happening to me. Leaving Barton. How we were going to pay for our care. What if I couldn’t lift Barton after the surgery and we needed long-term care. Additional uncertainties that came into play. A thousand worries filled my mind.
Two months before my surgery, Barton and I grabbed a bunch of multi-colored index cards and wrote down everything from mantras, movie quotes and inside jokes. We taped them all over our bedroom so that when I was recovering in bed, I could see and recite them.
- Every cell in my body is *radiating* light, love, healing, and happiness.
- I love who I am and who I am becoming.
- My body heals with each breath.
- I am stronger than I know.
- What would it be like, be like, be like to trust, to trust, to trust yourself.
A year after my surgery, I found myself in another phase, a foggy haze, one with no answers, no solutions, nothing to do but accept that I had a complication after surgery no one what to do with.
A rotation happened. I didn’t need to be reminded that I would survive surgery. I needed a reminder to find myself, in its new form, to find the essence of myself this new evolution. I was settling into a uncomfortable set of unknowns, and I needed grounding.
I pulled off all the cards on the walls, tossed a bunch out, gave a few to others who I knew needed to hear the power of words, and I added a new collection in new places.
- What is emerging in this evolution?
- Yes, I love that!
- My body knows how to heal itself, and is doing so even now.
- I let go of judgments and fill the space with love.
- I am healthy, happy, and live in abundance.
Even now, when I have the voice of my internal critic who pops up and says I hate my life, when I really don’t, I will pull out an index card. Written mantras are one tool to handle these internal critics that are so triggered by the events in our lives. As we have focused on different aspects of our lives, the notecards shift.
On any given day, we all need reminders. Reminders to come back, that we are here, that we are breathing – today.
And, the reminders evolve, just like we do.
Notecards can go anywhere: your pocket, in the car, on the computer, any room in the house.
They are a great tool to shift internal mindsets.
They are permission slips to live the best that life has to offer us.
Activity: Create your own version of notecards. Find sayings, images, funnies, comics, words that inspire and motivate you. What would you tell someone? What do you need to hear? Get creative. Where can you post them so you see them throughout the day?
Recent Comments