TRUSTING OURSELVES

      We hesitate to trust ourselves. We think we will make a mess of things unless we follow some standardized set of "rules" suggested by "experts." We follow diets and recipes and exercise regimens fearfully, as if we can blow it all if we should veer off course even a little bit. We are taught to doubt our instincts and second-guess our inclinations.
     But the truth is that we know more than we think we do about what suits us, about what to eat and what not to eat to maintain our best weight, about what exercises serve us and which ones do not, and about dangerous relationships and reachable dreams. If we're honest, we know. And truthfully, the best service that any teacher anywhere can do for us is to lead us right back to ourselves.

I can trust my intuitive knowing. I don't have to consult with experts every time I make  a move. 

    

REFRESHMENT

     To have a dark night of the soul is not the worst thing. Like most darkness, it unexpectedly turns out to be a kind of blessing in the end. Light dawns and life is fresh and new, and more beautiful than ever. As time carries us onward, we are restored again and again and again.

I am grateful for the blessings on the far side of pain.

PEACE WITHIN

     If I can find a way to be ok with whatever is happening around me; if I can carry peace inside, and not fight against circumstances such as they are; if I can let people be who they are and do what they do; if I can take care of myself by not over-eating, getting some exercise, sleeping enough, and accepting life as it comes, then I can feel good. And it's worth it. I'm worth it. We're all worth it!
     Let's find a way to keep our peace.

I carry my peace within me wherever I go.

LESS IS MORE

     I over-complicate most things and it's exhausting. I want to simplify my life and my expectations and daily experience. I do too much and forget to look around and enjoy each moment. So I am going to look around today and do a little bit less than usual. I am willing to take off the pressure. I am willing to do less in order to feel better. After all, life is not some great endurance run. It's a gentle gift and a daily blessing, and the proper response to it is celebration and appreciation, not stress and burden and fear.

I slow down and enjoy my life.

RIGHT SIZED

     The ocean and a fire-pit are equally healing. The sound of them soothes the nerves- rolling, crashing on the beach, snapping into the air, humming steadily... The constant movement of water and flickering light restores us to our right size in the scope of things.
     We think we are so much bigger than we are, and that all of our plans and designs make such a difference. But they don't really; not by fire standards, or oceans. We are made small by Nature, and that's a good thing. It heals us, and relieves us of the burden and the need to be so very much in charge.

It's a comfort to be part of the whole, and to know that my part is equal to any, but to recognize that I am not the boss of everything.

LETTING GO

     I have a perfect and accurate read of my over-all wellness at any time, and the cure for what ails me as well. If I am spinning out of control emotionally or consumed by fear; if I am anxious, worried, stressed-out, obsessed; overwhelmed, desperate, uncertain, feeling like a martyr- whatever it may be- then I am in need of a spiritual adjustment in order to feel better, and the way to get there is through stillness and honesty.
     There's a simple solution, but it's not an easy one. I have to do what I can do in the moment to improve my situation and then let go of everything else. My distress and discomfort come always and absolutely from trying to control things and people and outcomes that I cannot ultimately control. I have to let go to be happy. And then let go some more.

I stop trying to control everything around me and experience the peace of letting go.

NEW YEARS DAY

     Happy New Year! We stand at the crossroads. We look back and consider where we've been the last twelve months, what has happened and how we've handled it, where we've excelled, where we've been challenged, and what we have learned. We look forward with mixed-emotions. We have hopes and plans. We have secret wants and wishes. We have pocket-fulls of fear. Maybe we set goals. Maybe we write things down. Maybe we are simply relived to be done with 2012 and to have the chance to begin again fresh.
     But no matter what, no matter our plans and designs for the future, all we ever really have is the day we're in. And if we treat it with care, if we do our best to honor ourselves and those we encounter, if we bring awareness to what's going on within us and around us, and are as kind as we can be, and as healthy as we can be, and pure of heart and intention, then what more is there? That is life! That is the question and the answer both, to live the best we can, with love, and compassion, and truth within.

I make plans, but stay in the day, and commit to living sun-up to sun-down, every day, one day at a time.