THE EFFECTS OF PERSONAL ENERGY

"Precaution is better than cure."

~ Thomas Coke ~

My energy has the power to affect other people, and other people's energy has the power to affect me. Sometimes it's a loving exchange. Sometimes it's uncomfortable. And sometimes it's downright toxic. It's an interesting exercise to observe what emotional stuff those we encounter are spilling into the world, and to protect ourselves if it's less than beneficial for the levity of our souls.

I limit my time in the company of those who weigh me down.

THE KEY TO LIFE SATISFACTION

"Make the most of yourself, for that is all there is of you."

~ Ralph Waldo Emerson ~

The recipe for happiness is right action. It's doing the work and owning our part and taking good care of all that we have to take care of.

Residue-free living is good living. I leave my bitterness at the door and trail behind me nothing but love.

HOME REALITIES

"Home is a place you grow up wanting to leave, and grow old wanting to get back to."

~ John Ed Pearce ~

Sometimes we have to go a long journey just to end up where we began and be able to see it with fresh eyes and appreciation. So often, we figure there's something better on the other side of the fence, and maybe there is, and maybe there isn't. But usually, just by looking, we come to understand the blessings and the beauty of exactly where we are.

Exploring my options often brings me home with deeper appreciation for all that I have taken for granted.

WANTING SOMETHING BETTER

"Never think that God's delays are God's denials. Hold on; hold fast; hold out. Patience is genius."

~ Geroges-Louis Leclerc ~

It's insanity to dislike the way things are but be unwilling to change. This is self-imposed stalemate. It's up to us to find our peace, whatever that means. We have the power to change our attitude, our actions, and our limiting beliefs.
     The answer to anything that plagues us is simple, but not easy. We have to want something better for ourselves, be willing to overcome obstacles on the way to our goal, and persevere no matter what. It's possible and works every time. All it requires is a bit of inner discipline and whole lot of heart.

I deserve goodness and life-satisfaction and I am willing to change whatever needs to be changed in myself in order to feel great!

THE DISCOMFORT OF ASSUMPTIONS

"There are days when you need someone who just wants to be your sunshine and not the air you breathe."

~ Robert Brault ~

When others assume that I will feel a certain way, it offends me. How can they possibly know when I don't even know myself? And I'm sure I make assumptions about others in the same way- more than I can possibly realize or care to admit. But in truth, it's disrespectful, so I want to make an effort to stop.
     Let's give others their autonomy, in the hope that we might therefore be able to enjoy it ourselves.

I don't presume to know how other people may think, feel, or react. I allow for fresh vision on a daily basis.

MEMORIAL DAY

"The legacy of heroes is the memory of a great name and the inheritance of a great example."
~Benjamin Disraeli ~
 

This is a day of memories, and to recognize all that we have achieved and all that we have lost along the way. We celebrate honor, courage, glory, victory, and defeat. It's sad and sweet: the incredible bravery required to achieve the peace we seek.

 

I honor fight, freedom, and sacrifice today: the victory over oppression and the passing of those we have loved.

CAN'T DO IT ALL

"Knowledge is proud that he has learn'd so much: wisdom is humble that he knows no more."

~ William Cowper ~

Admitting that I have limitations is difficult to do. I want to be tireless, invincible, and always-up. And I'm good at pretending and pushing beyond reason. I've been doing that for years. But it always catches up with me eventually and makes me unwell.
     Confessing my needs, my hurt feelings, my fears, and my weakness actually strengthens me. It is imagining that I have some kind of magical immunity that reveals how paper thin and fragile I can be.

I willingly and graciously accept my limitations.

DYSFUNCTION JUNCTION

"Self is the only prison that can ever bind the soul."

~Henry Van Dyke ~

 

I can make myself sick with dysfunctional thinking and behaviors. I can warp my energy with self-pity and blame. I can suffer from a lack of understanding and drown in self-created fear. But if I take the time on a regular basis to get honest, correct my errors, and re-group my discombobulated emotions, calm can be returned to me, and pleasure in the doings of life can be restored once again.

I catch myself behaving dysfunctionally and make corrections where they're needed.

THE LETTING GO KIND OF LOVE

"Few things help an individual more than to place responsibility upon him, and to let him know that you trust him."

~Booker T Washington ~

 

Real love trusts the other completely and drives him back to himself. It does not lecture and posture and pretend to know better and to know what's best. Instead it says, "You know. Trust yourself."

     Such a love is rare, but it does exist. It leads by example and takes full responsibility for itself. And for everyone else, it simply extends appreciation and this solid, unbending trust.

I do not try to control the people I love but trust them to handle their own feelings and situations and to ask for help when they need it.

WALKING THE PATH OF TRUTH

"Every truth passes through three stages before it is recognized. In the first it is ridiculed, in the second it is opposed, in the third it is regarded as self-evident."

~ Arthur Schopenhauer ~

 

We have the uncanny ability to see what we want to see until such a time when circumstances force us to see the truth. It's just there, so clearly- shocking almost with it's obviousness, and we wonder how we could have missed it.

     And often, on the heels of our new information comes a certain uncomfortability and deflation. It may have been easier to believe that things were different. Now that we know, we have to face the facts. And the facts aren't always a walk in the park- they are rarely that. And yet, in the end, no matter how we may want to believe otherwise, it is only the truth that can, and will, be the thing to set us free at last.

 

I am grateful when I can see the truth!

THE LITTLE THINGS

"Whenever you are creating beauty around you, you are restoring your own soul."

~ Alice Walker ~

 

It's easy to discount little things as if they don't matter. They're "little" after all. And yet, it's these seemingly insignificant details of our lives that are the nuts and bolts of our overall stability and steadiness: the making of our beds, the care and feeding of our bodies, our hygiene, our self-talk, the way we drive and walk and interact with the strangers we encounter in the course of each day.

     And the irony and paradox is that if we attend to all of these things and others like them, with the respect and attention that they deserve, then all of the big things start to come together for us as well. Life looks better, our overall circumstances seem to magically improve, and we are lifted up to new and greater heights.

 

I attend with care to the details of my life and recognize their importance in the larger scheme of things.

INNER KNOWING

"Intuition is a spiritual faculty and does not explain, but simply points the way."

~ Florence Scovel Shinn ~

 

We have more inner knowing than we realize. We look to others and experts for guidance and direction, and doubt ourselves at every turn. If we could learn to trust our guts even just a little more, we could profoundly and positively influence the quality of our lives. We know things and then ask the opinion of others and let their ideas steer us in another direction entirely. And then, we pay a price.

     But we needn't. If we listen to hear the still small voice within, we can access the information and the wisdom that is just right... for us.

 

I trust my gut.

LIFTING THE BURDEN

"Humor is the great thing, the saving thing. The moment it crops up, all our irritation and resentments slip away..."

~ Mark Twain ~

 

It's easy to become serious, and to be overcome with all that is weighty and out of our control. Fear and angst take us over so subtly that we are unaware that we are in their grip, until the strain shows on our brow and gives us an exaggerated sense of fatigue.

     The remedy is laughter, silliness, and light-hearted fun. To feel better, we have to restore a state of play and ease to the happenings of life. Just as light dispels the darkness, humor can lift us up when we are all bogged down.

If I introduce levity to the situation when I am feeling tired and worn beyond repair, refreshed energy emerges, and I am renewed and ready to keep on down the road.

FEAR-FREE LIVING

"Hold the exhalation and surrender to God."

~ Krishnamacharya ~

 

Fear and worry are ineffective tools for good living. We fare much better trusting whatever it is that we believe in. Obsessive thinking ties us in knots and promises solutions it cannot deliver, so let's free our mind from thoughts instead. Let's live from a point of surrender, instead of fantasy control over what we cannot properly or possibly understand or foresee.

 

I let go of my fears and trust the flowing currents of my life.

HOPE

"Hope is the thing with feathers

That perches in the soul-

And sings the tune without the words-

And never stops- at all..."

~Emily Dickenson ~

Let me live free from expectations today. Let me show up for life well grounded and well dressed and be willing to authentically experience all that there is to experience. Let me be courageous, confident, courteous, and kind. Let me be articulate, empathetic and wise. Let me hear what I am meant to hear, share what I am meant to share, and exchange just exactly what I am meant to exchange.

I open my mind and my heart to this glorious day!

TO THE STARS THROUGH HARDSHIP

"Defeat may serve as well as victory to shake the soul and let the glory out."

~Edwin Markham ~

We can all be victims if we choose to be. Life is difficult and we all have our turn in the barrel. But we also have the power of honesty available to us, and we can take ownership of our part in things and make conscious choices to improve the way that we are experiencing our situation.    
     We can whine or we can find a way to turn our hardships into fertilizer and evolve. The things we survive make us stronger, and taller, and give us depth by growing us roots.

The more I go through and learn from, the more substantial I become.

HONORING MOTHERS

"A mother's love endures through all."

~ Washington Irving ~

 

It's Mother's Day on Sunday, and it seems to me that the only thing more beautiful and challenging than having a mother is being one. Let's honor the realities of motherhood from all angles today and every day. Let's lift our hearts and voices in praise and appreciation- for our own mothering efforts, and for those who have done their best to mother us.

I celebrate the peaks and valleys of the motherhood trail.

CAN'T PLEASE THEM ALL

"Beware lest you lose the substance by grasping at the shadow."
~Aesop ~
 

It's not possible to please everyone, no matter how we may play at it and want it to be so. There will always be those who cannot understand us or hear what we have to say. Even if we come bearing good tidings, some people are made deaf by the strength of their critical inner voices, and are unreachable behind a fortress of their own creation. I have compassion for these people, because in some situations, and given certain circumstances, that blocked person can just as easily be me.

 

I send love to the people who don't get me, and reassure myself that I don't have to take it personally.

AWAKENING

"We cannot live only for ourselves. A thousand fibers connect us with our fellow man."

~ Herman Melville ~

 



Tongue-tied, thick-tongued,

Unsung, and all done.

Breathe up courage and speak-

Open the gate to release

raw words and feelings unexpressed-

Become emotionally undressed,

And rest in the union of communion

With others.

This is a shared journey and

not

a

solo flight.

 

I heal my life through communication and vulnerability.

THE TRUTH ABOUT SUCCESS

"We never know when we have succeeded best."

~ Miguel de Unamuno ~

Experiencing small victories in life, we have to be extra vigilant to watch for ego enlargement. It's so easy to become smug, and yet, doing so invites a knock-down. What rises by anything other than grace and love will be corrected and re-positioned.
     So the answer to success is gratitude and a certain amount of honest humility. It's ok to be pleased with our efforts, and even proud of them, but to equally recognize that on a different day, in a different situation, we may not bloom so brightly.

I feel and express my appreciation whenever things go well, but understand that it takes a lot more than just me to create a winning situation.

SUMMER COMING

"The light is all."

~Ralph Waldo Emerson ~

 

Dawn is coming sooner than it used to, and the days are stretching towards their broadest point. From now until June 21st, these are the longest days of the year. Let's relish them, and gratefully welcome the extra light.

I carefully observe and rejoice in the stretching light and the lengthening days of emerging summer.