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Posts from the ‘Health’ Category

Feb 6

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Begin Again

“Begin at once to live, and count each separate day as a separate life.” – Seneca

We often let the circumstances of the day define us. By the end of yesterday, the day “won.” Each day gives us the gift to begin again. To start anew. When I set the tone in the quiet of the morning, I make a conscious decision to “make” my day. A few lines from one of Marianne Williamson’s prayers in Illuminata wacked me in the head this morning – “Thank You for my chance to begin again. Free me from the limitations of yesterday.”

Today need not be a prediction or repetition of yesterday. It is its own. Begin again and win the day.

Feb 4

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Get Up

“Life is a process of becoming, a combination of states we have to go through. Where people fail is that they wish to elect a state and remain in it. This is a kind of death.” – Anais Nin

We don’t fail when we fail. We fail when we stop getting up, when we give up. Everyone’s story is one of wins and losses, joys and sorrows. The losses give us the most valuable lessons – resilience, grace, faith, strength, fortitude, hope. The wins show us the world of possibilities.

Aim higher, push forward and never quit growing. Go easy on yourself and others, honoring the strength and frailty of the human spirit. We aren’t made for perfection. Only God is perfect. We are made for love, for excellence, for so much more than we allow ourselves to accept, believe, to welcome in.

Move swiftly into the world to risk, to engage, to participate fully. Expect more and work for it. Get into the flow of living instead of always fighting the current. Observe well and be on watch for the next steps will reveal themselves when we’re ready.

We don’t have to figure everything out. Contentment is found in the mystery of our story unfolding, of lessons learned and of moments together in laughter and tears. Be awestruck by the bigness of life and the depth of each moment.

Feb 2

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Wander into Wonder

“What ever our wandering our happiness will always be found within a narrow compass, and in the middle of the objects more immediately within our reach.” – Edward G. Bulwer-Lytton

“From wonder into wonder existence opens.” – Lao Tzu

“From wonder into wonder existence opens.” – Lao Tzu

It’s as simple as a walk in the woods, a good book, taking a nap. Trade mulit-tasking for single-tasking and linger in the depth and breadth of the moment, the now.  Nothing before, nothing after, just now. Remove your watch and forget time. No measuring, counting, comparing, analyzing. Wander for the sake of wandering and you’ll find wonder just outside your door.

Jan 25

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Be Still

“Watch out for the joy-stealers: gossip, criticism, complaining, faultfinding, and a negative, judgmental attitude.” – Joyce Meyer

It seems innocent enough. A little complaining, talking about someone else, thinking everyone has it better than us – they’re “lucky.” Feeling justified, we think that letting it out again and again somehow will make it better. And it doesn’t, it makes it worse. What we focus on is what we become, who we are. These seemingly little things chip away at our capacity for joy. These joy-stealers are contagious if we don’t keep our guard up. Complaining is one of my triggers. I’ve been hearing a lot of it lately and instead of letting others chirp and let it go, I complain about their complaining. I fall into these traps when I’m tired, working too many hours and when I don’t get to run outside due to the “polar vortex” winter with 20 below temps.

We need to be still and look for the good in others without question or delay. Naïve? Maybe, but what and who will we miss by jumping to conclusions, judgments and criticism? Are we willing to risk joy and delight in exchange for “being right” in our own mind, whether we are or not. And we not only need to remove the joy-stealers, we need to replace them with gratitude, appreciation and awe for the many blessings to be found when we take off our blinders and filters. The light shines in replacing the dark. Be still and cast light.

“So the darkness shall be the light, and the stillness the dancing.” – T. S. Eliot

“So the darkness shall be the light, and the stillness the dancing.” – T. S. Eliot

Jan 22

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Alignment

“The changes in our life must come from the impossibility to live otherwise than according to the demands of our conscience.” – Leo Tolstoy

Bouncing from one thing to the next in a hurry and hustle, we get distracted, fragmented, out of alignment. Going through the motions, we become both numb and uncomfortable.  And if wise enough to heed the message of discomfort, we can thoughtfully and carefully consider our choices and make good decisions based on what’s right, not on the emotion of the minute. The mistake is to ever think we are stuck without options.

We can stay where we are knowing it’s where we are meant to be right now or we can move on because it’s the next step in our journey. We are not made to coast, just getting by, good enough. We are made for more, to be larger, to give our best wherever we are, especially when we don’t feel like it.

And through the laughter, tears, frustrations and celebrations, we discover the ever present richness and depth of a life lived well day by day, present in the moment. When we align our beliefs with our actions, we are our most authentic self, in sync, moving with natural ease and flow.

Jan 19

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Get Out

“In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks.” – John Muir

There’s no better medicine than a run with the girls on a beautiful Sunday morning. The crisp clean air, snow crunching beneath each step and the warmth of the sun. A prayer in motion. Get out and see the world just outside your door. When we get out of our heads, we find our heart, our purpose and peace.

“We have more possibilities available in each moment than we realize.” – Thich Nhat Hanh

“When you look at the sun during your walking meditation, the mindfulness of the body helps you to see that the sun is in you; without the sun there is no life at all and suddenly you get in touch with the sun in a different way.” – Thich Nhat Hanh

“When you look at the sun during your walking meditation, the mindfulness of the body helps you to see that the sun is in you; without the sun there is no life at all and suddenly you get in touch with the sun in a different way.” – Thich Nhat Hanh

Jan 12

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Unstuck

“We are not held back by the love we didn’t receive in the past, but by the love we’re not extending in the present.” – Marianne Williamson

I’ve felt a bit stuck lately. Nothing big or specific, more of a drag, a slight heaviness. This past week, it finally hit me. It was there the entire time. It just needed some time and quiet to reveal itself. How often we miss the obvious in front of us as we search frantically far off in the distance.

We all have triggers – those words, situations and people who set us off, who get to our core. They flip a switch deep down, bringing us back to those moments when we allowed someone to make us feel unworthy. I know my triggers well, understand them. And I finally figured out that a few people have been hitting on my triggers the past few months and I let them “flip my switch.” It’s funny how the past can show itself in the present. And as soon as I realized it, unstuck. Boom. Just like that.

Over time, if we are wise enough to learn the lessons, we understand ourselves better and are more forgiving of ourselves and others. We bounce back easier. We don’t get offended as much. And, hopefully, we offend less, understanding both the frailty and the strength of the human spirit.

As we become self-aware and confident, we can move off “me” and move into the world and our place and purpose in it. Our horizon expands, our lives grow richer and deeper. There’s so much to take in when we’re not reliving the past or pre-living the future. Black and white transforms to vivid color. Cold becomes warm. Hard, soft. Dark, light.

Stuck, unstuck. unstuckwd40

 

Jan 5

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Impractical, but…

“Love is the triumph of imagination over intelligence.” – H. L. Mencken

Sometimes love isn’t easy. And that’s the time when it’s needed the most. Love says we should choose…

Patience over frustration
Forgiveness over resentment
Praise over criticism
Kindness over gossip
Ideas over complaint
Understanding over judgment
The best over assumptions
Silence over “I told you so”
Faith over fear
Present over past
Attention over busy
Character over popularity
Second over first
Hope over despair
Blessing over curse
More over less
Light over shadow

Love is impractical, but it is the only choice we have to live the life we are meant to live, to become our true self. It calls us to let go. It calls us to real, lasting peace. It calls us and we must answer “yes”, even and especially when it makes no sense at all.

“Someday, after mastering the winds, the waves, the tides and gravity, we shall harness for God the energies of love, and then, for a second time in the history of the world, man will have discovered fire.” – Pierre Teilhard de Chardin

“Someday, after mastering the winds, the waves, the tides and gravity, we shall harness for God the energies of love, and then, for a second time in the history of the world, man will have discovered fire.” – Pierre Teilhard de Chardin

Jan 1

3 Comments

Promises

“Character is the ability to carry out a good resolution long after the excitement of the moment has passed.” – Cavett Robert

While a new year invites a clean slate, we can create that clean slate in each new day. We need not wait for a year to pass to commit to living well, loving deeper, giving more and laughing harder. Instead of resolutions, we can make promises to ourselves and others, not taking them lightly and putting in the effort and attention needed. And each day, we can transform those promises into reality, a step at a time, with the sustained enthusiasm and joy.

Happy new year, happy new day.

Nov 22

7 Comments

ASK

ASssumeK

“Great thoughts and a pure heart, that is what we should ask from God.” – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

When we move past assumptions and go deeper by asking, we will discover a new world. We are surprised when we learn something new about a person we thought we knew, usually based on our first impression or gossip. Our assumptions and judgments hold us back from asking. Like a rock thrown across the water, we skip barely touching the surface, missing out on the deep waters of connection.

She never talks so she must be stuck up. Really she’s an introvert and just needs to be drawn out. He’s in a bad mood. Really he’s just found out his wife is leaving him. There are a lot of undercurrents in people’s lives that impact their behavior and they are more complicated than our assumptions allow. When we move outside of ourselves, we can see our world in a different light. “They” becomes “us.”

We leave a lot of unopened gifts under the tree. And we miss out on the flavor of all different people with one desire in common – to be seen for who they really are.

Assume the best. Ask and listen.

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