Category Archives: acts of grace

Are you awake and sleeping?

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Have you ever noticed how you can drive somewhere and when you get to your destination, you hardly remember how you got there?

It’s as if you’re on autopilot and getting to where you were going was more an accident of nature than an intentional activity on your part.

Too often, we can go through life like that. Unplugged from our senses and awareness, we keep putting one foot in front of the other without stopping to savour each footstep, each breath, each moment.

To become fully aware in the moment of being means to be completely present.

And it’s hard to be completely present when operating on autopilot.

Ask yourself… Am I fully aware in this moment of the world around me? Am I feeling, sensing, experiencing everything?

If your answer is… well kind of. Or, a bit. Or, not at all…

Stop. Breathe. Open your eyes. Expand your heart with each breath in. Feel each breath nourishing your entire body.

Consciously tell yourself, “I breathe in Life. I breathe out Love.” “I breathe in Life. I breathe out Love.”

My experience is that often, when I am just going through the motions of my life, it is because I’ve allowed myself to fall asleep while awake. I’ve let automatic become my modus operandi.

It takes a conscious effort to come back into myself and into my world.

When I do, the beauty and wonder around me abounds with inspiration, every moment flowing with creativity.

Suddenly, a flower is not just a flower, it’s a thing of beauty and grace inspiring me to dance in the sun.

The sky is not just a sky, it is a soaring blanket of possibility calling me to rise above negative thinking into limitless creativity.

The air is not just, ‘the air I breathe.’ It is my life-support, a gift of the universe that sustains and nourishes and feeds me life, inviting me to let go of gravity and soar with my dreams.

It can be easy in our day-to-day living to forget we are creatures of immense possibilities. That we are born magnificent, whole, complete.

In those moments of forgetfulness, when autopilot takes over and we coast along without thought of how we’re moving through this world, it is possible to forget our dreams and our unlimited capacity to make them come true.

Just for today, stay conscious of each moment.

Stop. Breathe. Consciously open your eyes and heart. Consciously let yourself become present to this moment, right now. Let yourself walk feeling the muscles of your body moving your limbs, the air entering your lungs, the gentle touch of the breeze caressing your face.

Just for today, let this moment inspire you to fall totally, completely, whole-heartedly in Love with you and your life and everyone and everything in it.

Just for today, LIVE this moment as your inspiration to be In Love.

 

What are you creating in your life?

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Have you ever asked yourself, “What am I creating in my life?”

Have you ever wondered what your creations say about you? Your journey? Your Beauty? Your Heart? Your willingness to create better in this world?

We are all each creators of beauty and greatness in the world around us.

We all have the capacity to gift to the world our best.

Yet, too often, we walk through each day, head down, taking one step after the next without giving a great deal of thought as to what each step is imprinting, what lasting impressing each gesture, word, action is creating.

Think about it.

Everything you do and say, every thought, deed, action makes an impression.

To ensure everything we create is loving, kind, beautiful and truthful, we must choose wisely.

Even in the moment to moment passing of time, we each have the power to choose to create greatness. And in that greatness, to participate in the unfolding of the greatness of the world around us.

It’s a heady thought. And a sobering one too.

To have such power is not a small responsibility. It’s life-giving.

Such power is not a gift. It is our birthright.

The gift comes when we share our birthright for the betterment of all the world to experience.

When we consciously create better for all the world.

Staying conscious of ‘creating better’ is important.

When we walk through each moment, unconscious of our imprint, we are letting go of our capacity to be great. We are giving the world are mediocrity –  the world has enough mediocrity. It needs our greatness.

As you walk through this day, consider each moment as an opportunity for you to live and share your greatness.

What would you do differently in this moment right now if you breathed into the awesome power of your essential essence. Of being a force for beauty, hope, kindness, love in the world?

What would you create in your world if you could create better?

Do it.

 

The art of standing in disagreement and being okay.

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I struggle with disagreement. Struggle to hold space for all points of view to coexist on one common ground of possibility. To stand in openness and acknowledge, “I hear your position. This is my position.” And be okay with speaking my truth even when someone else is telling me their truth is the real truth.

Deep within my lizard brain, the little child within hears disagreement as criticism. And criticism means I’ve done something wrong. I’ve been bad. I don’t belong. I am the unwanted.

In that place, I smile with my mouth only and go quiet.

I don’t want to make waves. To be ‘the bad girl’.

I am learning.

Learning that it’s not ‘bad’ to hold a different point of view.

That it’s okay to hold my truth in equal light to someone else’s. That my point of view is relevant too. We all have the right to our own truth, our own beliefs and way of seeing the world.

It isn’t, I am wrong. You are right.

It’s that your position is valid. My position is valid. And just because there’s uncommon ground between us, it doesn’t mean one of us has to let go of our truth. It just means this place of disagreement is an opportunity to learn more about the differences between us and be okay in that space.

I am learning.

I am learning that the little child within is sometimes scared when the adult me finds herself in disagreement.

I’m learning to tell her, it’s okay. We’re okay. We don’t always have to agree. We do always need to be patient and kind. We are responsible in how we turn up. And when I turn up in grace, pay attention, speak my truth and stay unattached to the outcome, the little child within is not afraid.

I am learning to recognize myself in flight, because when I feel unsure, when I feel like I’m being attacked, I am a master of flight. And while flight is beautiful when it’s an eagle soaring on high, it’s not so comfortable for we earth-bound humans.

Flight means I’m running away. It means I am afraid to speak my truth. That I am letting go of my voice.

I am learning to ground myself in my truth where I create space for all the colours of the rainbow to shine bright, even when it’s not my kind of art.

The art is in learning to always be me, in every kind of way, in every kind of place.

I am learning that whether we agree or disagree, as long as I am patient and kind, as long as I do not let fear drive me into taking flight, I am okay with me.

There is an art to standing in disagreement without letting fear drive me away from being true to myself. That art comes alive when I am patient and kind with everyone, including myself. In that place, I can see the brilliant hues of truth shimmering in every point of view and be okay with the multi-faceted perspectives of everything and everyone.

What about you?

Are you comfortable with disagreement? Are you able to stand in your truth and allow others room to stand in theirs without feeling the need to make one right, the other wrong?

Where do you go in disagreement? How do you stand strong in your truth, giving voice to what you see while leaving room for other voices to be heard freely?

 

 

You are… Whole. Complete. Worthy.

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Remembering our worthiness is a journey.

We are born worthy, whole, complete and then… life happens and we forget.

We forget our beauty, our brilliance, our ineffable right to shine.

Remembering is our responsibility. It is necessary if we are to claim the richness of life without the fear of not deserving it creeping in.

We forget sometimes just how perfect and magnificent we were at birth.

Yet, when a child is born, it is all we see, even while forgetting we too were just like that newborn. Perfect. Magnificent. Whole. Complete. Worthy.

As life layers on its complexities and nuances, we start to cling to the messages of ‘not enough’ that infiltrate the light of our magnificence. The darkness creeps into the light until one day, we look in the mirror and see only the flawed and broken vessel we think we’ve become.

Forget the flaws. Let go of the broken messages replaying themselves in your head and claim your brilliance.

Even if it’s just for a moment, stand in the naked truth of how absolutely miraculous you are in this moment right now and know, you are worthy, whole complete. A magnificent reflection of amazing grace shining for all the world to see just how brilliant you are.

And yes, it won’t feel comfortable. It won’t feel natural.

Doesn’t matter. It is the truth.

We are each of us magnificent beings of light capable of shining brilliantly in darkness and in light.

Namaste.

Finding connectedness in our broken and whole hearts

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It is so easy to forget to be thoughtful and kind when someone shares an opinion that rubs up against our hearts, stirring discord and animosity in our minds.

It is so easy to forget, their voice matters, even when we don’t want to hear what they have to say. Possibly, just as much as they don’t want to hear us.

Yet, when we practice listening from our heart, with our whole being engaged in offering up our attention, without  seeking to criticize or get our opinions heard, we create space for all voices to see into the uncommon ground beyond the obvious, to find sacred ground upon which to stand, together, united in our humanity.

It is not easy, this place of holding democracy in our hearts and letting go of side-taking and name-calling, blaming and shaming. Yet, in its presence, we hold the capacity to both love and disagree, critique and find common ground, to weep for inequities and the bigger evils that trap us all in victimhood, and find connectedness in our brokenness and our wholeness.

In our connectedness we learn to savour the beauty of our humanity and through our heart of hearts, see one another as what we truly are; human beings on a shared journey of life on earth.

In this sacred space, there is no ‘other’. There is only ‘us’. One humanity. One planet. One shared experience of life.

 

What do you do when life is too busy to take time to be present?

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Do you struggle with the pace of life? The never-ending flow of moment to moment passing by, filled with lists of things to do, accomplish, finish?

I know I do.

Right now, after having moved into our new home March 12th, I am finally feeling at home in the main areas.

Furniture is where we want it. Some of the paintings are hung. New couch. New pillows. All in place. It feels like home.

Our bedroom is another story.

I have sorted out the boxes, created two big bags of give-away clothes. Moved the stack of paintings from one wall to the other. And there they rest.

Books are stacked in baskets on the floor. Clothes are hung in the closets but there is still that one box of clothes waiting to to be unpacked.

As I said to a friend at dinner last night, I no longer really see ‘the mess’. It’s normalized in my brain and I don’t feel compelled to do anything with it.

Yet.

Time to breathe into the moment, to create space for my attention to open up to the possibility of creating a beautiful living space in our bedroom so that I can commit to getting done what needs to be done.

Time to celebrate ridding our bedroom of disorder to create harmony and order in our lives.

Because that’s the thing about celebrating the sacredness of simple acts. Tidying up isn’t a grind. It’s a joyful expression of creating harmony.

Getting rid of unwanted bags of clothes isn’t a nuisance. It’s an opportunity to create space for a fresh start.

And, building bookcases and putting books where they belong isn’t a tiring job. It’s a delightful opportunity to spend time with ‘old friends’ remembering sacred passages and special stories.

I have been letting the busy of my life distract me from the sacred nature of everyday moments and simple acts of grace.

I have been giving into the chatter in my mind that would have me believe I’m too tried, overwhelmed, [insert word of choice] to celebrate taking time to do what needs to be done.

Time to make space for diving into the sacred moments of living this one, beautiful life immersed in the joy of creating value in every moment, no matter what I’m doing.

Time to let go of my excuses and awaken to my desire to create beauty all around me.

Let me never forget to share my gifts (a poem of Love)

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Photo by Kristen Wyman on Unsplash

Forgetting why
I’m here
I struggle
to make sense
of the sometimes inexplicable
nonsense
of the world
around me.

Remembering why
I’m here
I dance
in the light
of a full moon rising
sensing
the power
of the Love
that brought me here.

Let me never forget
the beauty of my coming
into this world
precious, unique, whole.

Let me never forget
I am born of Love
born to love
be loved
loving and lovable.

Let me never forget
to remember
the gifts I carried with me
into this world
swaddled in Love
designed to share.

Let me never forget
to share my gifts.

_____________________________

Photo by Kristen Wyman on Unsplash

Live with joyful abandon

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Remember when you were a child and the sight of a dragonfly in the air brought squeals of laughter and joy?

Remember when the simple act of lying on the grass, staring up at the sky, made your imagination soar?

Remember when?

Life is a journey of creating moments for gathering memories.

Yet, in this fast paced, over-scheduled life so many of us live today, gathering memories is forgotten in the stress of filling every moment with the work of daily living.

Just for today, take a moment, or two or three, to stop and savour. Savour the sounds, the feels, the textures, the look of everything around you.

Take a moment, or two or three, to stop and appreciate all that is around you.

For many of us, living in the city, we forget to hear and see the sights that make our daily lives rich and vibrant. The sound of that bus driving over the bridge. Hear the deep roar of its engine. The rubber of its tires hissing on the pavement.

The laughter of those two people chatting at the corner, waiting for the walk sign to turn green.

The clatter of a baby carriage as a mother pushes her child to daycare, or the store. Where ever she’s going.

The daily sounds and sights around us make up our world. When we separate them from nature, deem them unworthy or unbecoming to our desired state of being, we separate ourselves from the beauty and awe that is the world around us.

Just for today, stop, listen and savour every sound and sight around you.

Find value in all things and treasure the precious beauty of your world.

Create memories worth gathering in everyday things and give in with joyful abandon to the beauty and awe of your life in this moment right now. Live!