I was reminded recently about the power of clarity that comes from pairing things down when deciphering how to handle a situation. It is something I learned a while back which with practice gets easier. We are such creative beings and we learn through storytelling so it is quite natural when we are sharing an experience or presenting information to elaborate or embellish. It is more convincing if we can provide nuance details about the scene and the mood of a situation. Even better when we present the inner narrative of the people involved and the felt sense or unspoken experience of others who were there. Much like when we read a story it would cease to be a story without those details. No one picks up a book or reads an article expecting a list items. Yet at the same time, what we are reacting to in a given situation is rarely about what is actually happening and more of what we make it mean. The meaning we attach to experiences is based on those filled in details that we create. In order to provide elucidation about why we are having the reaction we are having we need to cut out the elaboration. It is not easy and feels counterintuitive. It is a practice that God invites us into when we are ready to seek peace around whatever it is. Seeking elucidation about our reaction to a given experience is the opportunity to get to know ourselves more intimately. When we are caught up in the elaboration it is hard to see the forest through the trees. As we replay the scene in our mind we get snagged each time we connect to the elaboration which gives justification for feeling the way we feel. When we take the elaboration elements and remove them from the story, we are focusing on what actually happened. It is hard at first which shows us how addicted we can become to feeling the way we feel. Yet it is no different than interpreting tone of voice to a text message or inferring body language from an email. Neither of those things are included in the typed text. Elucidation allows us to discover what thoughts, expectations, feelings and more we brought to the experience. Those are ours to navigate through. With practice we can free ourselves from being victims of a situation created in our mind through our creative elaboration and embark on the path of elucidation which leads to the chance to get to see how we show up and what snags we are carrying with us. Identifying those snags helps us reach the inner part of ourselves that is in need of some compassionate attention.
Are we willing to make a practice of elucidation for situations that seem to snag us downward today?
dailydatewithgod 
Hey, Colleen! How goes it?! It’s Laura Tapia your former roommate. 🙂
Today’s Daily Date With God was right on point. I am no longer on Facebook. I only have an Instagram account. So, I stopped seeing reminders for your DDWG Blog. Except you have been crossing my mind quite a bit the last two weeks, and I am going through a lot of transitions – on all levels. Well, I guess I was called to your blog for a reason. 🙂
I hope life is treating you well, and that you are happy. As for me, I am a permanent North Carolina resident and have been for the last 4 years. August 15th is my official 5th anniversary. I love it here! If you ever want to get away, come visit me! 🙂 I live in a coastal town. It’s very different from California but astonishingly more beautiful in so many respects.
Anywho, I just wanted to drop a quick note and show my appreciation for your words. They super resonated! Thanks!
HI Laura, so good to hear from you. I will reach out to you separately, I would love to catch up.
Peace, Colleen