THE POWER OF EASE

"I come into the peace of the wild things who do not tax their lives with forethought of grief... 

For a time I rest in the grace of the world and am free." 

~ Wendell Berry ~

So many of us seem to be high-strung, highly stressed, and generally over-taxed. In fact, we can become so fretful and uptight that we sabotage ourselves and interfere with the flow of energy in our lives. We block ourselves with worry, self-imposed pressure, and perfectionism. And none of this serves us.
     The irony is that if we back off and ease up- if we truly let go of needing to prove ourselves and keeping up with everything; if we can relax, then we release trapped and stifled energy, and good can come to us, and does, of it's very own accord.

I stop insisting on everything being just so and allow for ease in my life. 

OVERCOMING STRUGGLING

"We should give cheerfully, quickly, and without hesitation; for there is no grace in a benefit that sticks to the fingers." 

~ Seneca ~

Struggling to prove our worth to ourselves or others is energy recklessly expended. Our worth is a given, and we would do far better expressing our talents than trying needlessly to earn them. 

I take ownership of who I am and all that I have to offer. 

ALL AROUND US

"Nature never did betray the heart that loved her." 

~ William Wordsworth ~

I am grateful to live in a beautiful part of the world with mountains and big trees, farms, livestock, fertile ground, and lots of history. I believe there is some kind of beauty in every landscape, but the rolling hills and pastoral setting that surround me on all sides most days suits my spirit just right.

I appreciate the natural setting in which I live. 

WHAT USED TO BE

"Memory is a crazy woman that hoards colored rags and throws away food." 

~ Austin O'Malley ~

I feel changed from what I once was. I am grown now, in depth and heart and understanding. And places change in the same way. They evolve and transform so that what was once familiar no longer is, and what made sense to the person I once was no longer does. Old home-towns are haunted with memories. What was once one thing is now something entirely else.

I understand that everything in life is change and process and growth. 

WHAT SCARES ME THE MOST

"You block your dream when you allow your fear to grow bigger than your faith." 

~ Mary Manin Morrissey ~

I am more worried about not doing what I'm afraid of than doing it. From where I sit now, giving in to my fear and playing small is the scariest possibility there is.

I walk into my fear and don't let it stop me.

OUR COMMONALITY

"On this shrunken globe, men can no longer live as strangers." 

 ~ Adlai E. Stevenson ~

We all have so much more in common than we realize. Understanding this, when meeting someone new, let's lead with compassion instead of mis-trust.

I give everyone I meet the benefit of the doubt.

PROPER ALIGNMENT

"Why do anything other than love?" 

~ Johnathan Dahl ~

It's enough to live our own lives- to do our best, honor our truth, and find our way. That's a full time job. And yet, we try to manage other people's lives as well. We plan and calculate and figure for them- what they should do, how and when they should do it... but that's operating out of alignment with the universe. Love is letting go and trusting, not pestering and prodding and suggesting until we are sick from it, and spreading our sickness like a disease.

I take care of what is mine to take care of, and trust others to do the same. 

ADVENTURE AND EXPLORATION

"A ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for." 
~ John A. Shedd ~

Exploring new territory is a soul expanding proposition. New views are enlarging and inspiring. There is delight in fresh and heretofore unknown towns and countryside, and all of the opportunity and possibility that they represent. We tend to stay so close to home most of the time that we miss our alternative options.

I venture out into the world in which I live. 

SETTING LIMITS

"Wisdom consists in not exceeding the limit." 
~ Elbert Hubbard ~

We enable others when we refuse to set healthy boundaries with them. We give them the idea that they can do whatever they please with completely free rein and no consequences, but this is not accurate, nor is it reasonable. Consequences exist for all of us. Let's keep that at the forefront of our minds and establish our willingness and limits accordingly.

I protect myself from feeling used by saying no, not that way, and not now.

THE UPSIDE OF EXPECTATIONS

"Anything you lose comes round in another form." 

~ Rumi ~

Expectations are a funny thing. More often than not, they are an inaccurate guide, and yet, they serve their purpose. They hold us to certain standards and make us more vigilant and impeccable than we might otherwise be.

I allow my high expectations to hold me accountable to high standards.

SELF-WORTH

"Why are you so enchanted by this world, when a mine of gold lies within you?" 

~ Rumi ~

We are responsible for the way the world perceives our value. If we constantly undersell and discount ourselves we will have a lot less respect than if we accurately measure our worth. We are priceless and unrepeatable. There is no other individual on earth who can offer exactly what we do.

I properly value the contribution I have to make.

WHOLESOME ALIGNMENT

"Nice up yo'self inna de riddim of life." 

~ Third World ~

Consistently performing positive actions aligns us with the wholesome and repetitive nature of life. Just as the sun rises and sets, we exercise our bodies and quiet our minds, pursue noble causes, and commune compassionately with others.
     Erratic, wildly spontaneous behavior has its place, much like a hurricane or a tornado, but must, by necessity, return again to steady and sustainable forward progress. To try to live in an erratic way is a recipe for chaos.

I consistently engage in life-affirming activities.

SUSTAIN

"Bad habits are easier to abandon today than tomorrow." 

~ Yiddish Proverb ~

Once you start, keep going.

Sustain your momentum.

Build consistency.

Sustain fitness and well-being.

Sustain positivity and faith.

And then keep on with it, forming new habits.

Shift your life and continue to shift your life in the way that you want it to shift.

I sustain positive attitudes and behaviors in order to experience a rich and fulfilling life.

START

"Come out here where the roses have opened. Let soul and world meet." 

~ Rumi ~

Now. Start.

Start believing in what’s possible.

Start envisioning yourself exactly where you want to be.

Start taking specific daily action steps in the direction you want to go.

Start taking even better care of yourself, your body, and your dreams,

And start loving the process of personal evolution and the rhythmical nature of time.

Start with one step, and then take another and another.

I start doing the next right thing to propel me in the direction I want to go. 

STOP

"Come, whoever you are! Wanderer, worshiper, lover of leaving. This is not a caravan of despair. It doesn't mater if you've broken your vow a thousand times, still and yet again come! 

~ Rumi ~

Is there anything you want to change in your life or in your business?

If there is, stop making excuses.

Stop second-guessing yourself.

Stop giving in to fear.

Stop whining, stop blaming, and stop all behaviors that serve you not. 

I stop doing the things that are keeping me stuck.

ONE LESS THING

"No matter how you hurry, you will notice at the end of the day that you traveled at the speed of time." 

~ Robert Brault ~

So much stress in our lives is caused by rushing, by overfilling our hours and minutes and moving as quickly as we can through them. We feel the pressure of the next thing and the next. It's a tense way to live.
     When we stop the cycle by making a decision to do even one less thing, the space that appears is delicious and full of possibility. It's breathing room and a taste of letting go. This is something we need to practice over and over and over to improve the quality of our lives.

I do less and enjoy my life more.

LIVING IN BALANCE

"Happiness is a place between too little and too much." 

~ Finnish Proverb ~

I have a desire to check everything off of my to do list- to have everything done for now, put away, and tied up with a bow. It's satisfying to be productive, and relaxing to know how much I've accomplished of what I set out to do.
     Equally important, however, and equally enjoyable, is doing nothing; is listening to what I can hear, taking a walk for the pleasure of it, singing along with a song I love and dancing to the beat, sitting, snoozing, and just allowing myself to be.

Doing and being both have their place in my life and I enjoy them in balanced measure.

WHEN THINGS ARE OUT OF SYNC

"Strange days indeed." 

~ John Lennon~

Some days  are just strange- not good or bad- simply "off." The energy feels warped somehow, or foggy maybe, or surreal, and things happen out-of-sync. It's a totally different ride than the smooth fluidity of days on track, or the frustration of everything going wrong. It's just what it is- wallowing a bit, and difficult to get a foothold, find a rhythm, or establish a flow.

I allow for "off" days. They happen sometimes.

STEPS ON THE PATH

"Life's real name is Choices." 

~ Terri Guillemets ~

Occasionally, I find myself in a kind of tortured mental space, needing to make a decision that affects my pocketbook or my business or the next right thing, and I am afraid to make it lest I be wrong. But in a way, it's all so much less important than I think it is. Every decision leads to something else such that there are no "wrong" decisions, only different dips and turns in the road, and different vistas depending which turn I take.

I make decisions with confidence and the understanding that no decision is quite as important as I think it is. 

INDEPENDENCE DAY

"Freedom begins between the ears." 

~ Edward Abby ~

Our minds are our greatest oppressors and if we want to experience the joys of real freedom, we must learn to untangle ourselves from obsessive thinking, worry, fret, and despair; to take back our inner quiet and peace of mind. And this is no small task. It requires daily, and maybe even momentary, vigilance- to not get pulled from the joy of the moment and the experience of now into thinking. Un-invited thinking is a trap.
     Learning to be the masters of our mind is the key to our personal freedom. Without it, we are as caged as any zoo animal or prisoner of war.

To experience the greatest peace possible, I learn how to quiet my mind.