Intro: 00:00

Welcome to the Infinitely Precious podcast produced by Infinitely Precious LLC. Your host is James Henry. Remember, you are infinitely precious and unconditionally loved for the gift you already are.

James: 00:11

Hello, beloved. It's another opportunity for us to share some thoughts together, and I I'm doing that. I'm here to share some thoughts with you. It's me, James. And one of the first things I wanna invite you to do is just to catch your breath for a moment.

James: 00:34

Breathe. Maybe take a couple of deep cleansing breaths. You can even try taking a deep breath and intentionally blowing it out. From what I read about neuroscience, that's a way to release tension and stress. And if you're feeling some tension and stress about the world that we find ourselves in today, then catching your breath is a good place to start.

James: 01:10

Now over the time on, you know, as we've talked together, one of the things I've talked about is figuring out what it is that is yours to do. When you look around in the world and you see things that bother you, that are concerning to you, what is it that you, understand to be yours to do? Now if you were one of, my, folks in coaching with me, I might begin to ask you a series of questions. After you had, sort of outlined in your, large way, you've said this is mine to do, I might ask you to begin to list the top three things that in your mind fall under that thing, which is yours to do. The top three things that you could do, right away that you might make as a personal step now.

James: 02:23

I might then ask you to take a look at the 3, the top 3 that came to your mind and identify one that you might take action on now. A lot of people look at the challenges that we face in the world and think there's just way too much, and I can't do anything about it. I'm not a government official. I'm not the head of some organization. I don't have, the power to do it.

James: 02:56

Well, you do have the power to do something. So, first let me just say a word of encouragement. You are made infinitely precious and unconditionally loved. You're made as the gift you already are. So whoever you are, wherever you are, whenever you were watching this, you are already a gift.

James: 03:21

You are already a person who has, certain gifts, certain abilities, certain ways of being that change the fabric of this whole world in which we find ourselves. Just being you changes things. But if you wanna take steps that you find measurable, The first thing is to do that list. What is yours to do to write it down in a sentence that makes sense to you? I see this as what is mine to do.

James: 03:59

If you're a spiritual person, you might want to sit with that in a meditative stance, in a prayerful stance, to see how that feels. Does that truly ring within you as that which is yours to do. Then, as I mentioned earlier, list 3 ways that you might, that are practical things you could do, related to that which is yours to do. Pick one of those, preferably a measurable goal, something you can feel like you can complete. And you might even wanna pick, if you're very overwhelmed by what's going on in the world, you might wanna pick something that is.

James: 04:54

Is something you can accomplish fairly quickly. Because our own mindset oftentimes wraps around even the small successes. If we can do the small things, one step, one step, one step at a time, you know, you you might try to jump ahead a 1000 steps in, and maybe you have that kind of a mind. I don't. But what is the next step that you can take?

James: 05:24

When you put that first foot forward, can you take that one step? And instead of asking can you, pick one of the things on the list that you can do and perhaps see immediately that you have completed that. Then you can move on to perhaps another one of those, or maybe you make the list again. Once you've made that step, maybe something else becomes clear to you about what the next step is. So you put the right foot forward.

James: 05:57

Now you can put this the left foot forward, and you've made 2 steps. But we take steps one step at a time. You know, I, I sometimes like to watch football played, whether it's college football or professional football. I enjoy watching the game. I particularly enjoy watching the game when I don't have any stakes in it.

James: 06:20

When it's not my team and I'm not, you know, on the edge of my seat. Because I like to watch just the form of of someone who can see all the possibilities on the field, with a good quarterback and can, in a moment, decide I'm gonna run here, or I'm going to throw the ball here or handing it off, you know, based on how things look. But have you ever noticed, if you're a football fan that sometimes you you see especially a wide receiver, somebody who's supposed to receive the ball get ahead of themselves. Instead of catching the ball and then moving, they're trying to look ahead so they don't even catch the ball. The ball passes through their hands because they're already on the next step before they've completed this one.

James: 07:09

And sometimes that happens to us in life. We miss catching the pass. We miss making the first step because we're already 2 steps ahead of ourselves. We can't worry about what's gonna happen 2 or 3 steps from now. We have to make one step at a time.

James: 07:28

And that's really hard for us. It's really hard for us because we want to do the big things. We wanna do the things that are going to make a big splash, that are gonna have a big impact. And sometimes just listening to somebody else who is really struggling, which may be what is yours to do, just listening to someone does not feel like you've accomplished very much. I listened to someone.

James: 07:54

But speaking as someone who has been listened to, as well as as someone who regularly listens to people who share their struggles and, the things that are ahead. It makes a difference. It may seem small, the step that you can take. And it may take all the courage you have to take that small step. But if you can bring that to bear, even that little ripple may affect people you cannot even begin to know.

James: 08:26

I don't want to, you know, paint the world in in rainbow colors, although that is my propensity. I tend to lean on the optimistic side. But each of us can make an impact. Each of us can make a change, and it's one little thing at a time. I'll tell you something that I find not always helpful, that's not always a change.

James: 08:50

Just complaining about things. You have every right to complain about things you're struggling with, and I'm not telling you don't ever complain. But I know a lot of people who take to social media and other places to just proclaim all the things that they think are wrong with the world. Every once in a while, I've, I've been drawn into that. Let me just be honest.

James: 09:14

It's been a while, but there's no telling. I've still got the rest of today. It could happen anytime. But rather than just complaining, when something rises up in us that we want to complain about, instead of just complaining, if we can bring it in ourselves to step back and say, how does this apply to what is mine to do? Do I need to modify the thing that is mine to do?

James: 09:40

Because this thing is pushing my button, and this thing that's pushing my button actually falls under this thing that is mine to do. And there is something I can do about it. And the something you do may be something as simple as stepping back and not saying something right away, not reacting to the moment. Can we be honest with each other? Sometimes even under the auspices of what we have to do.

James: 10:08

For instance, part of what is mine to do is to love. To love courageously and boldly. To accept every person I meet as infinitely precious and unconditionally loved as the gift they already are. That is part of what's mine to do. But every once in a while, there's a part of me that gets really twisted out of shape by something that's happening, by something I see, by a lie that I've heard, by someone repeating ugliness, and I want to respond.

James: 10:41

It's not really a response. I want to react in an ugly fashion. How does that in any way fall under what is mine to do? To love courageously and to meet everyone as infinitely precious and unconditionally loved for the gift they already are. How does that play into that thing?

James: 11:01

Chances are pretty good when I'm getting reactive. It's something that does push my buttons, but my response needs to be different than just jumping into the fray. It needs to come from that which is mine to do. It will shape how I respond. And the thing that is yours to do will shape how you respond if you let it.

James: 11:26

But you have to step back. You have to ask the question. Maybe even state it clearly. Maybe in your journal, on a piece of paper somewhere you post, this is what is mine to do. This is how I understand what is mine to do.

James: 11:40

These are some things I can do about it. I'm circling number 2. Number 2 is the thing I will do, and I will make that step. It's hard to be courageous in the world, but I wanna invite you to reach down and draw on your courage. Not to just react because of fear or uncertainty or the chaos that you see rising in the world, but to step back.

James: 12:08

Trust that you have, you have something that is yours to do in this world. How will you do it? How will you do it most effectively? Even if it seems like a small thing, how can you take the next small step forward that may lead to an as yet unforeseen next step beyond that? One step at a time, one moment at a time.

James: 12:38

Catch your breath. Remember, you are infinitely precious and unconditionally loved for the gift you already are. Until the next time, I wish you all the best in this one awesome life of yours that has been given as a gift to you, you as a gift to all the rest of us. Until then.