Phone Calls: Part IV

You are asleep. Just as your alarm goes off and you start to wake up you realize your phone is ringing. You answer the phone before your alarm goes off. It’s that same voice again. Morning, after morning; it’s always the same voice. There’s a pause, just a very brief one; it is almost imperceptible. In that brief second you wonder if today the voice will criticize you relentlessly, complain at you in a dull, tired sort of way, talk to you angrily, or maybe even have some good things to say.

The phone that rings every morning isn't your cell phone or some old land line. It is the phone that rings in your head and in your heart. The caller is you. It is your own voice you hear. For every one of us it is our own voice we hear every morning when we wake up. Every morning. Our own voice can be the one that criticizes us relentlessly, complains incessantly, remembers hurts and slights both imagined and real. Our own voice can be the one that nutures us, encourages us, and helps us to heal. Our own voice is the one we hear every morning in that phone call. Make the voice a voice you want to hear. Make the call one that you want to get every morning. Instead of saying, "I hate it when you call; you never have anything good to say to me", make the call be one where you say, "I love it when you call!"

It is the weekend. Please be good. Drive your cars carefully. Ride with people who drive carefully. Treat yourself with respect. Spend time with people who treat you with respect. Treat other people with respect. Talk nice to yourself; you deserve it. I look forward to hearing from you or seeing you. Keep yourself whole physically and emotionally.

P