10 Things I Know to Be True

Part of what makes a family crisis like cancer or Alzheimer’s difficult is the sense of everything feeling out of control.  And for a control freak like me, that is really hard to manage.

But recently, I’ve been trying a new spiritual practice that has been helping me through.

The idea came from a TED Talk I watched.

The speaker was Sarah Kay who self-describes on her website as “a New Yorker. a poetry writer and reader. a spoken word poetry teacher. the founder and co-director of Project VOICE”

Oh, and did I mention Ms. Kay is only 27 years-old (and she was only 22 years-old when she performed at TED!)?

The talk is great, I recommend you watch it, but what I took from it for the purposes of this blog entry was a teaching exercise Ms. Kay does with high school students to get their juices flowing for spoken word poetry.

She said she has her students make a list of 10 things they know to be true. Any 10 things.  From this list, Ms. Kay assures, spoken word poetry can be born.

Now, I’m completely phobic of public speaking and have no poetry aspirations for myself.  But I was intrigued by the exercise itself as a type of spiritual practice- particularly as an outlet for when life feels just a little (or a lot) out of control.

I became curious about what it would be like to engage in this practice on a daily basis.  Similar to a gratitude journal, what would manifest if I disciplined myself to write down 10 things I know to be true each day?

This is what I found…

First of all, it was a fun exercise.  So much of my spiritual practices as so serious, it was a breath of fresh air to play a little.

Second, it was interesting to see what made the list on any given day.

I tried to avoid manufacturing the list by intentionally not choosing when I would write the list (e.g. always after morning meditation).  This left the practice to be more inclusive and less prescribed because sometimes I was in a good mood, sometimes in a bad mood, sometimes I was in a hurry, and other times I sat with the process for a while.

In the end (or maybe the beginning), I was left with some interesting lists that gave me a little smile when I re-read them.

So just for kicks, here’s a little sample of my new spiritual practice:

10 Things I Know to Be True

Day #1

1.) I don't know everything

2.) people are born with open hearts

3.) I would give my life for my children

4.) there is vast wisdom to be learned

5.) don't underestimate the value of a moment to pause

6.) I am weak

7.) I am resilient

8.) there is only this one moment

9.) everything I need to know is right in front of me

10.) there is a vision for humanity beyond the horizon that I may never know.

10 Things I Know to Be True

Day #2

1.) the lord gives us obstacles

2.) rose water spray mist can help you get through

3.) conditioner really does make a difference in my hair

4.) suffering is inevitable

5.) addiction can hijack a life

6.) there are a handful of people who will stick by you no matter what

7.) fear will not help you in arm balance poses in yoga

8.) rainy days and takeout Chinese go together like peanut butter and jelly

9.) anger can take over your body

10.) eating pasta and bread everyday will make your pants tight

10 Things I Know to Be True

Day #3

1.) words make me feel better

2.) locked up energy inside me is no good

3.) teaching our children to multitask just feels wrong

4.) people just want to know they matter

5.) when you feel irritable, check the last time you ate

6.) singing, dancing, praying and eating together remain the core human rituals that bring us together

7.) don't underestimate the phrase "for now"

8.) a headache will eventually go away

9.) listen deeply for the grain of truth in any accusation

10.) stay hydrated

I invite you to try this spiritual practice as well, and let me know how it goes.  And remember, we have poet Sarah Kay to thank for this one!