RELEASE LIKE AN HOURGLASS

"Days and months come as angels with healing in their wings. Under their touch aching regret passes into tender memory; into hands that were empty new joys are softly pressed; and the heart that was like the tree stripped of its leaves and beaten by the winters tempests is clothed again with the green of spring." 

~George S. Merriam ~

Letting go is not something that happens all at once, much as we might want it to. It may seem that way when we finally recognize that whatever has had us in its grip no longer does. We breathe deeply and realize with great gratitude that we are free. But our freedom has come about in phases and layers, almost imperceptibility, one little bit at a time, and not in a great rush. Like sand moving through an hourglass, only so much can pass through at one time, and when it's run its course, there is space and emptiness. But like all things, it's a process, and has to travel at the speed it travels and no faster.
     We believe in quick fixes and instantaneous results, but that isn't how life works- not really. It's slow growth instead, and slow release, and sustainability and evolution and process over time.

I recognize and appreciate the slow letting go process at work inside me.

SOLITUDE AND SILENCE

"Inside myself is a place where I live all alone, and that's where I renew my springs that never dry up." 

~Pearl Buck ~

There are times when talking with others is a great comfort, and there are times when it's not- when comfort comes from solitude instead, and silence, and complete removal from the crowd.

I honor my need for quiet self-reflection, and accept that it is a healthy response to the intensity of daily life.

OWNING OUR POWER

"Take responsibility for your own progress." 

~ I Ching ~

We too easily give our power away- to doctors, friends, and experts of all kinds. We assume that others know better what we should do, and how we should proceed. But the truth is that we all have an inner guidance system and a true North that directs us if we will only pay attention to it: a beacon that will keep us off the rocks as we adventure forth, and bring us safely back to port when it is time to return home.

I stop turning my life over to other people, and claim it for myself.

THE GIFT OF COMPETITION

"Taste the relish to be found in having put forth the best within you." 

~ Henry J. Kaiser ~

Sometimes we need to compete with others just to show ourselves what we can do- what we are capable of and how deep our wells of strength truly are. In this way, we encourage each other to be the best we can be, to push beyond our limiting beliefs and into all that is possible. A worthy opponent is a great gift; without one, we may never know our own stamina, the real distance we can travel, and the endless reservoirs of power that we carry within.

I welcome adversaries of all kinds to keep me strong and on my toes.

THE POWER OF COURTESY

"Rudeness is the weak man's imitation of strength." 

~ Eric Hoffer ~

Good sportsmanship, in life, as in athletics, is good strategy. If we win with arrogance, or lose with sour grapes, we have deprived ourselves of rich opportunity for life satisfaction. Graciousness, humility, appreciation for the talents of others, and tireless, heart-filled effort in the direction of our calling is what makes us winners- not scoreboards and statistics and who we beat out.

I am a good sport on and off the field.

UNDERDOG

"Nothing will ever be attempted if all possible objections must first be overcome." 

~ Samuel Johnson ~

There's something satisfying and inspiring about an underdog who comes from behind and success against all odds. It doesn't seem possible, and yet, there it is before us. And perhaps, we think, if they can do it, then maybe so can we. And why not try for it anyway? One of the great advantages of being unknown, untried, and untested, is that we have absolutely nothing to lose.

I don't know what greatness I am capable of so I give life my best effort.

LEAVING HARDSHIP BY THE WAYSIDE

"Although the world is  full of suffering, it is full also of the overcoming of it." 

~ Helen Keller ~

I am grateful to leave hardship and difficulty behind me once it has passed. I don't have to carry them around like a cross and think poor me and why me and life is so hard. I can integrate the lessons- there are always lessons- and travel forth, enjoying the goodness, the rightness, and the blessings of today.

I come through difficulty and let it be, freeing myself to appreciate the experience of now.