Last night I was on the phone with our seminar coordinator and we were talking about tit-for-tats and minor dust-ups when The Grasshopper interjected, “You can’t have a war if only one person is fighting.”

How many personal wars do we keep alive by our penchant to have the last word or throw the last punch? My guess is more than we imagine.

The cure for any war is always the same – Stop fighting!

When the accent is on the fight and who’s right, there is less hope for peace.

Reminds me of a story . . .

A couple of years ago I was at a golf driving range where I ran into an old acquaintance. After the hellos and handshake we went into our song and dance act we had started years before. It was for lack of a better description – “Top this!”

To the casual observer this may have appeared to be conversation but make no mistake, it was war. Who was going to have the last, potent “Ka-Pow”?

In the middle of this little sideshow, I got the gift of awareness. It dawned on me that this “conversation” was going nowhere and would end up like all the ones we had in the past – a ramping up of egos with absolutely nothing being communicated.

I stopped counter-punching and started asking questions. It turned into the most pleasant conversation I ever had with this fellow.

Put the gift of awareness on your holiday list. It’s a gift you can give to yourself and it’s the proverbial gift that keeps on giving.

Becoming aware is the ability to throw in the clutch when you’re in the middle of something and observe yourself as though you are watching someone else. Remember: It’s easier to have an opinion about someone else’s actions than it is to have one about your own.

When you disconnect from participating to observing, you get a broader view. You’re like the General on the hill observing the whole battlefield vs. being the soldier in the middle of the fray. More useful decisions are made from this vantage point. This wider view is the gift of awareness.

I hope Santa brings you everything you’re hoping for, including the subtle passageway to peace – The Gift of Awareness.

All the best,

John

LOSE WEIGHT & KEEP IT OFF

CALM & COLLECTED