I love detective shows and novels. Outside of the often-intriguing detective last names (cue Rizzoli & Isles, Cold Case, and many of my favorites from John Grisham), they draw you in to be the investigator. You become part of the story, if only a silent partner in the background trying to put everything together. Master storytellers weave seemingly unconnected details and drop clues in a captivating plot. And the good ones keep you on the edge of your seat, thinking you know more than you actually do in true dramatic irony fashion.
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But, what if we actually know more about a storyline closer to home? The older I get, the more convinced our bodies are actually the built-in, live screenplays we have been tuning out. Heck, they are our live choose-your-own adventures unfolding right before us.
I am pretty observant; but, recently, I have been challenging myself to write out specific observations about interactions I have had with others- what I am noticing about my body posture before and after, voice inflections and language, where do my feet point, how do I hold my weight. You can lie with your words and sometimes with your actions, but it takes a very-controlled and skilled individual to lie with their body language. I try sometimes; and it just won't work (Ha).
That hug felt really good. This person appears really interested in what I am saying by their eye contact and repeats- and it feels affirming. Why am I so hype/hot about this email? Why am I repeating and replaying a conversation that happened weeks ago? Why am I coming through in my outside voice via the slack thread? When so and so joins the call, why do I tense up? Is this person really whining or am I a complainer? Why am I paying so much attention to this individual? Hello- your body is working and responding! And it is trying to tell you something- about your present, and probably about your past.
I have been in a few men's groups and some of the better ones I have been part of have had a structured set of questions we'd ask ourselves every week about what happened. What I loved- it forced us to reflect and to think through about what our bodies and thoughts are telling us.
Last week, what happened in the Real Life of _______ (Insert Your Name)? Why am I more focused on so and so's life than my own? What if tuning into others lives was an expression of us rejecting our bodies? Join the #QuedUpConversation.
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