Perspective is everything.
Perspective applies the lens, tells the story, creates the experience, leaves the memory, defines impressions and molds beliefs.
Is it time to change the lens?
Slow Watching
Sometimes life begins to feel like it’s swirling around outside of me, faster than me, bigger than me, as if instead of surfing the wave I find myself caught up, tossing in the undercurrent.
That’s when I recoil my limbs, retract my mind, and tuck securely into my shell. Belly protected, I focus on my breath, on my heartbeat, on listening — listening and watching — as my inner wisdom quietly reminds me that “I’m OK.”
When I go inside, I come back to my center and everything on the outside slows down. I watch…I breathe…and I know that whatever is going on outside, I can always find calm on the inside.
I am
I am earth, holding your deepest secrets.
I am water, bending and moving to carry you.
I am air, lifting and inspiring you.
I am fire, igniting your passion and will.
I am the freedom you have to soar.
I am all that is within and around you.
I am.
I am you.
And so it goes…
Walking the path of peace.
Stubbing my toes on pebbles along the way.
Kicking up dust in patches.
Finding that even when I stumble or step in the wrong direction, the path is still there.
Welcoming me back as if I never faltered, never forgot the way.
And so it goes. I find peace…step by step.
INDEED
What is my true purpose?
To make great food?
To see and nurture the gifts in others?
To tread gently in this world?
To marvel at the rain?
To be joyful?
To care for the who that I am?
To know peace?
To live in love?
Yes. Yes, indeed.
My true purpose is to align my doing with my being and to act with vision, intention, and determination.
A Letter to My Children
You stand here on the verge of opportunity, of expansive and lifelong joy and fulfillment, not because you are heading out into the world to receive knowledge, gifts, and experiences from the world, but because you are ready to take responsibility for who you are and the contributions you make to your world.
You hold within you everything you need, all the knowledge, all the guidance, all the tools, all the wisdom, to be great and to be happy, to feel and share goodness and empowerment. Everything you need is right there within you.
Your generous spirit and your ability to make others laugh and feel cared for goes way back to when you were little. Your empathy, sympathy, and compassion for others is great. You were always the first to pick up a friend who tumbled, to offer your spot if it helped someone feel better, to clean up a mess that wasn’t yours, or to share a smile when no one else could find theirs.
Just be sure you have as much compassion, love, and kindness for yourself.
We know your missteps, your stumbles and wobbly choices were never intended to harm and were what you needed to do to learn the power of you, to learn how to listen not to what you think or feel should be done to please others but to rely upon your inner wisdom, the tiny little voice of your heart, that knows what is right…what is really right for you. Because when you do what is right for you, it ends up making everything right around you.
Trust yourself more. Know that you don’t have to make a big splash. Honor your divine spirit and let your natural state of being sparkle. Know that your true purpose is simply to do your best…and that is enough. It truly is enough.
I will try to remember that too, especially when I pass judgment, apply expectations, and forget that you are not here to fill my dreams.
Live with vision, intention, and determination. Stay accountable for your actions – feel your freedom and self-respect grow. Go confidently forward and remain present, bypassing what might, should, and could have happened, and instead focus your energy on building a life around you of peace and acceptance.
You will most certainly face many challenges, sadness, failures, and pain. Remember those experiences are only there to help you dig deeper into discovering who you are. Surrender your decision-making to your inner wisdom, listen to your deepest self and know your greater purpose.
You are no small part of anything. Remember your greatness, your power, your love, and your joy, always…and that is what I will remember of you.
The River
Today I will soften into the power of me.
I will flow like a river on a determined path,
fully yielding to the unexpected turns and objects along the way,
not giving into them but using them to jettison me forward,
staying true to myself, even in the face of the unknown…
strong, serene, complete in who I am.
Knowing that my strength is in my peace.
Ultimate Strength
Softness that bends like a blade of grass.
Truth expressed with kindness.
Reverence for all life.
Elasticity to bounce right back.
Nimbleness of a spry young nymph.
Grace that holds others hearts like a leaf catching a falling dewdrop.
Trust that actions today will yield a grander tomorrow.
Happiness in all outcomes.
The Perfect Cup
Fill your cup and keep it full, not just of anything, but with what nourishes, strengthens, and completes you. Nothing bitter, nothing bland, nothing that blocks well-being. Simply delicious, comforting, fulfilling. Sip, smile, refill.
Still Perfection
The other day as I lay in stillness at the end of my yoga practice a sensation came over me, one of equanimity, of wholeness -a rather unfamiliar but wonderfully delightful and nostalgic sense of seeing and experiencing pure peace, joy, and perfection. It washed over me and surrounded me as if I was marveling at something on the outside, someone else’s greatness. Then I realized…this was the feeling I often had as a very young child. Pure peace and joy in who I am.
To know that it was all still there – the peace, the joy, the perfection – despite the countless blemishes and scars of a well worn life gave me such resounding hope – hope for the child within me, hope for the child within you.
It is in there, always, forever, no matter what…that we are whole, perfect beings, each and every one of us, each and every moment of our existence.
We just need to remember that.
And, as long as we can remember we will know peace and joy.
