The pace of this new year is offering many opportunities to reflect on how you’re spending your time, along with the opportunity to reflect on what you want to give your energy to. Taking stock – or checking in on – how I’m spending my time and discerning what I give my energy to, is on the forefront of my mind.
This gift of time and energy is one of the richest commodities we have to offer to the world and the ones we love. It’s so clear now, that I have a choice to move with what has the highest resonance. For me, it’s a tool for waking up to old habits or ways of doing things that previously had looked as if they were required by life. How funny is that? My mind had cleverly convinced me how life works, which is laughable. It doesn’t know what’s going to happen in the next moment or the next year!
Now, it’s so simple. In a new moment there’s a new opportunity. I can check in to see: Is this a conscious choice or am I moving with a habit? Easy-peasy. Moving with what has the highest energy moves your life in a fresh way. The struggle falls away. You show up with a fresh presence and full heart. The people around you will feel it.
What do we want for ourselves and others?
To feel satisfied and happy in life.
I hope this summer offers you many opportunities to move in the direction of what resonates with you. It’s a fun game to play!
I love supporting my clients, individually or in workshops, in eliminating struggle and opening to life. I’d love to share time with you. I have great workshops coming up at the Jung Center of Houston and from my own studio.
In a time when people seem to be more polarized and non-caring, with more bad news than good news reported, something like this happens.
Steve Hartman is a journalist with CBS news. He travels across the country meeting people and telling their stories. His stories are guaranteed to plump your heart and fill your eyes with tears of awe.
If he knew of this story, he’d be sharing it , just like me.
My mother passed away last year, and while clearing out her belongings, my sister and I came across her wedding dress. The dress was worn in 1950 and the years had made changes to the fabric. At this stage of packing up someone’s life, emotions are right at the surface and every item is precious.
We both looked at each other with eyes wide open asking, “What do we do with this?”
After a few moments, my sister had a flash of an idea. She recalled a woman in a town nearby who makes gowns from vintage wedding dresses for “babies born sleeping” for their funerals. Always prone to immediate action, she tracks the woman down and offers her the dress. The woman was delighted at the offer and we were relieved as she accepted our heirloom (in less than perfect condition) for her cause.
Fast forward to the present. The gown maker, Verna, reaches out to my sister and has something she wants to give us. Perplexed, my sister meets up with Verna to see what it could possibly be.
Verna shared that she was inspired to make Christmas ornaments from some of the fabric of the dress.
Now, this is something she had never done and had no clue how to do it. So, what did Verna do? Like the rest of us, she went to YouTube! She washed the discolored satin gown in her washing machine and….
It came through the wash perfectly!
Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought the dress would survive a machine wash much less look as good as new! She used some of the fabric, the buttons, and the beading, to create these pieces:
I’m in awe!
’m in awe of the kindness that resides in Verna’s heart and her willingness to follow her inspiration when moved to do something she’s never done before.
I believe in the center of every human heart there is a space of warmth, kindness, and a desire to contribute. I’m incredibly grateful to be the recipient of Verna’s inspiration and generous heart. We will treasure these gifts that are symbols of the union we came from.
How would you like to offer your talents to the world?
What’s been on my mind lately isnoticing how the world keeps changing and noticing how my mind reacts to these changes. It’s as simple a fact of life that the sky is habitually blue that change is a constant in life. We hear it, we read it, we experience it, but all the while it’s a known fact, our minds still react to change. The reaction might be anxiety, agitation, overwhelm, excitement, disappointment,
agreement, disagreement, or any other mental assessment of what’s happening right in front of us.
If we fully accept that change is going to happen, how can we live more peacefully with this fundamental truth?
The obvious first step is realizing the mind is going to have a judgment about change, so what? Human minds are going to have an opinion on everything. Have you noticed it’s always offering you a report card on how you’re measuring up, in its opinion?
Another option is realizing you have choice. Choice to keep your attention on these judgments/assessments or let it/them go by. Not always easy, but each time you let an assessment go by, you strengthen your ability to let them move on through. You also have a choice to react or not react, to take action or take a breath, to the mind’s assessment. Woohoo! How liberating is that?You don’t have to follow where the mind is trying to send you. It’s rarely a pleasant adventure. Typically, into fear-land.
Becoming acquainted with these options helps you to see new possibilities. Your relationship to change will start to take on a smoother ride. Each time you notice you have a choice, you will definitely start to live in less anxiety, agitation, and overwhelm.
Next stop? Taking it all in stride…
I would love to hear how this lands with you. Drop me a line. I would l enjoy connecting with you.
