Harmony – Day 1
February 25, 2019
Did you ever go to a concert? The musicians all play the same song, but each one has a different part in creating the music. Whether they’re creating somber minor chords or cheerful major chords, the band is working together in harmony.
I had a difficult time with harmony when I first became introduced to it. It was right on the heels of beginning my codependency recovery. I became exposed to groups of people I had never encountered before. Some I found interesting, some irritating. I thought owning my power meant crashing like a cymbal wherever I went. It took a while to learn that I could own my power more effectively by harmonizing than by being a discordant note.
Harmony isn’t just a value to apply in our relationships with other people. We all go through changes in our lives. At one point, we may be going through a time of discipline, keeping our nose to the grindstone. Then it may be time to play. Then we may move into a time where we have a lot of emotions to deal with, and we’re moving slowly. Other times we’re sailing through in high gear. Instead of expecting situations to change, we can learn to harmonize with them.
We don’t go to a funeral in a party mode, and we don’t wear our workout clothes to our office job. We harmonize our actions with the environment we’re in. We don’t have to live in conflict with ourselves, others, the events in our lives, or even with the different hats we wear.
If we really aren’t compatible with certain situations, it may be time to leave. But a lot of the time we can make sweet or at least interesting music by harmonizing—or by being flexible enough to meet the situation halfway.
Harmonizing is more than just a musical phrase. It’s more than live and let live. It’s living together. It’s compatibility, being on the same page. It involves enough self-awareness to be ourselves, and enough adaptability and flexibility to fit that self into different situations. Harmonizing means opening up, listening, letting go of self-will, practicing nonresistance, and extending tolerance.
Value: Harmony is the value this week.
From the book: 52 Weeks of Conscious Contact
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About the author
In addiction and recovery circles, Melody Beattie is a household name. She is the best-selling author of numerous books.
One of Melody's more recent titles is The Grief Club, which was published in 2006. This inspirational book gives the reader an inside look at the miraculous phenomenon that occurs after loss--the being welcomed into a new "club" of sorts, a circle of people who have lived through similar grief and pain, whether it be the loss of a child, a spouse, a career, or even one's youth.
For more information about Melody and her books, visit the author's official website