So, do you leave room in your life for saying no?  We all know the world is replete with opportunities of all kinds to say “yes” to just about anything and everything.  It seems around every corner there’s an invitation to join something, go to something or even give to something.  In many ways “yes” has become the default answer for many of us. But why is it though we so often feel this unrelenting pressure to say “yes?”  What is it that drives us at times to even lead with “yes?”  Are we truly compelled to step up out of a pure leaning from our heart or Is it that we’re more motivated by the self-inflicted guilt that can stem from disappointing someone with a “no” or is it perhaps our own insatiable need for approval or maybe it’s as simple (and complex) as fearing rejection if we don’t continually answer in the affirmative.  Defaulting to “yes” seems to be in direct opposition to taking the time to discern what’s best for the particular time/place or age/stage in life we find ourselves in at any given moment.   Doesn’t all of this just seem to be another example of our taking ourselves hostage and becoming enslaved to yet another form of bondage?  Certainly there are times in our life when our yes’s should be yes’s but are we leaving ourselves room for saying no?  After all, in times like these life just doesn’t present us with many ways to reclaim space in our lives.  I’m almost beginning to wonder if we might even in some way actually prefer it that way.  Crazy but maybe true! I mean if we are continually captivated by the “busyness” of life caused by saying “yes” to everything in sight then it’s highly improbable we’ll have time or space to pursue those invaluable elements of life such as intimacy in our relationships.  Could it be that our “yes” really is just a masterful form of deflecting such intimacy?  Perhaps there is some plausibility to this thought just as there is great validity to saying “yes” to many things in life.  But consider with me the idea of giving yourself the freedom to say no from time to time and reclaim new territory for your life.  In the end you just might find some newly found rhythm in your life and might even find room for some net new relationships in your freshly reclaimed space.  Peace.