Guest Blog: Pandora Bjeletich
Recently, a good friend of mine, Pandora Bjeletich, posted a beautiful article on Facebook that gave me chills, made me smile, laugh and cry all in the same minute. She spoke honestly, genuinely and vulnerably about a shift she feels in the undercurrent of her life.
I have asked her to write this weeks blog post about stillness in response to a 60 second daily practice that she has been doing for over a month and will continue to do moving forward. A practice where she spends one minute daily in stillness and takes a selfie afterwards. A reminder of who she is, where she is and a snapshot of that moment of stillness. Below she writes about her experience of intentional stillness.
Living Intentionally with stillness…
By: Pandora Bjeletich
Intentional stillness - one minute. There are 1,440 minutes in a day. And I give myself a single one of them each day to connect to my heart. To see myself as I am. No judgement, no comparison, no critiques. One minute of stillness in this world of pandemics, politics and pressure.
When I first started the stillness + selfie practice, it was an assignment handed to me by Kate Swoboda, as part of my life coaching certification program. I resisted it and fought it at first. But...as an obliger, I knew I would follow through.
Day one...a little grumpy, but I did it. Day two...hmmm. Day three...there might be something to this. Day four...well, here I am. ME. Not my mother. Not my job. Not my role as a wife. ME. And in that single minute, those 60 seconds, something shifted. I saw myself, at 43 years old, for the very first time. Raw, vulnerable and completely open. My soft heart and warm brown eyes completely exposed. No walls. Just me. And the shift, the “thing”, was so much more than I thought possible. It was acceptance. Stillness brought me to acceptance. Huh.
I did one more day as part of my assignment, then I decided to do another 30 days on my own with a dear friend holding me accountable. I mean, if four days creates acceptance, what is possible in 30 days? Well...being that I just completed day 30, let me tell you what I’ve learned.
My anxiety comes in many forms, some visible and some felt. I feel raw and vulnerable a lot of the time. To be honest, it’s my favorite place to be. I see my whole self. In addition to acceptance, I’ve found grace, compassion, love and so much more for myself. I found my best friend, my greatest ally, my core. Turns out I like who I am. I’ve spent so long trying to be likable by others that I lost my truth. By taking that one minute of the 1,440 minutes available everyday, by looking into my eyes without agenda, I found my truth and my deep self, emotions and identity.
So, I’ve recommitted to 100 days this time around, without expectation or judgement. Just me and my soft heart. I’m very much looking forward to the simplest of lessons from this #100dayproject. What can you learn about yourself in 60 seconds? Want to join me?
About Pandora:
Hi, I’m Pandora Bjeletich….life coach in training, residential contractor, gardener, writer, creative. I’m caring, motivated, vulnerable, sensitive, compassionate and above all...HUMAN. I deplore small talk and would much rather ask the questions that allow me to know you better. I definitely have some traits in common with my namesake. I’d love to join you on this journey as you get to know yourself better and explore the possibilities your life offers.
Website: www.communaltablecoaching.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/communaltablecoaching/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pbjeletich