Just Go With It

 

“Accept this moment as it is.”  ~ Eckhart Tolle

I agree, it’s hard to accept some moments when they are downright horrible, but fighting against those times gets you nowhere. I think it’s better to just go with it. “This too will pass,” is a saying that’s been around for a long time and one my grandmother used to say. It’s a good saying and one maybe we should keep in mind when life gets tough.

In accepting the moment as it is you are surrendering–not giving up, there is a difference. Surrendering is letting go of having to control every little thing in your life. You are learning to flow through your life so you can enjoy all of it fully.

Every day I am reminded how precious life is and how short it can be. So I take the good with the bad–the cold rainy days with the glorious sunny warm days and treat them equally. After all, they are both part of my life and I own them.

Bad things come, but they also go, and then good things take their place. Don’t use up all your energy fighting those bad moments. Just go with it and the good moments will come.

This is your life so be completely present.

 

Wrong Perceptions

“The way in which you perceive the other is determined by your own thought forms.” ~ Eckhart Tolle

Sometimes in life we have perceptions that we truly believe are true. But are they always? Is the person you are mad at today really at fault and are they who you think they are? Do you know all the facts? So many times we rush to conclusion about someone, convincing ourselves that what we believe is true when in fact it simply isn’t.

Why be so quick to judge when all we need to do is deeply listen to what they are saying. In listening maybe we would realize that our perception is wrong and give the other person a chance. This would be so much better than the stories we make up in our head.

When we have persuaded ourselves that our perception about another person is correct we end up saying words that can never be taken back. We make decisions that might change not only the individual’s life, but our life and those who are close to us.

The times we are living in now are full of much anger and unhappiness. We need to find a way around all of that and learn to become more compassionate and accepting. We need each other in order to survive, and maybe starting with our perceptions is a good beginning.

“When we meditate on our perceptions, the Buddha observed, the person who suffers most in this world is the person with many wrong perceptions…. And most of our perceptions are erroneous. We see a snake in the dark and we panic, but when our friend shines a light on it, we see that it is only a rope. We have to know which wrong perceptions cause us to suffer.”  

~ Thich Nhat Hanh

Warmth from the Heart

“One love, one heart, one destiny.”  ~ Bob Marley

Place your hand on your chest and feel your heart beating. Keep your hand there a minute and feel the warmth from your heart circling all around you. Such a glow certainly is bliss.

The warmth from your heart is love, kindness and acceptance and is meant to be shared with everyone no matter the color of their skin, religious beliefs, or not, and station in life. We humans are one and none of us is better than the other, or more deserving.

But, it isn’t just humans who deserve the warmth from the heart. All beings, all living things should receive the love and protection that we humans can and should give. We are the guardians of this planet and this beautiful place is depending on us to do the right things and protect it for generations to come.

We must stop spreading hate and destruction; they are poisoning the planet and its beings.

Put your hand on your chest and feel your heart speaking to you:  Hate will destroy us all. Love, kindness and acceptance are the solution.

“If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other.”  ~ Mother Teresa

 

 

Invite the Light In

Close your eyes and breathe in.

Relax those shoulders as you breathe right out.

Let those crazy thoughts fly in and out, but don’t attach yourself as they soar in–just let them be.

Invite the light into your soul by concentrating on happy thoughts even if they were very long ago.

Come on, let a giggle slip in and become unburden as hopefully you once were when you were little and carefree.

Breathe in.

Breathe out.

Invite the light in chasing the darkness out.

 

“Turn your face to the sun and the shadows fall behind you.”

~ Maori proverb

It’s Never Easy, But…

“No one said it would be easy.
And maybe that’s the problem!
Life is a lot easier when you stop
trying to make it so hard.”

“Just for today, be willing to let life
be easier than normal. Allow it to be so easy
that it surprises you and delights you.”

~ Robert Holden

“The greatest difficulty is the mental resistance to things that arise, and the underlying assumption that they should not.”

~ Eckhart Tolle

We have all had one of those days, weeks, etc. where we say “Really?” how can things get so crazy and out of hand? It just happens. But I have found that if I just relax and breathe for a moment, and maybe even meditate for a few minutes, things in my life just don’t seem so bad. My final step is to surrender. I mean, some things you just don’t have any control over, so let it go, and flow.

Life is always going to have ups and downs, but you don’t have to feel like a yo-yo. Take a stand to keep it simple even when it’s not. Don’t let yourself feed into the drama that life is presenting to you. Your reaction is not going to change a thing, but you will feel a lot better and be happier if you don’t get all uptight and crazy.

It’s true that life is certainly more complicated than it was ten, twenty years ago, but that is more reason to learn how to go with it and not fight all the time. A change in our attitude and our expectations help to make life easier.

So don’t say, “Why me?”  Say, “Oh, hell, why not? I’m not going to let it bite me!” Stay the happiness course by not letting anything come between and steal it away. Stay present, keep it simple, and keep laughing.

Give Flight to Hurt

Sometimes the pain of hurt is more than you can bear.

It lies within your very soul ripping it to shreds.

The only way to lessen its hold is to accept its presence and then, let it go.

Visualize:

Put this hurt on the back of a majestic mystical bird.

Majestic one, just take flight.

Fly far, far, away across the open sea.

And then drop that hurt into the deep violent waters of this massive sea.

Hurt will sink deeper and deeper, finding its way to the darkest parts of the ocean abyss.

And there it will remain forever more.

Give flight to all your hurts and then take a deep breath of relief.
Now, it is time to live your life once again.

Complete Yourself

Don’t look around for others to complete you because they never will; they simply can’t. Only you can complete yourself. Learn to feel good about the who you are, flaws and all, because you are all you have.

Good relationships will only work if you can stand on your own. If you are looking for someone else to make you feel whole then your relationship is headed for a lot of problems. Being clingy may work at first, but most people tire of it quickly. And don’t forget, if you’re looking to have someone complete you then you’re also looking to give away your power and that’s never a good thing.

It’s wonderful to share this journey with someone–no one wants to sit in a restaurant all alone. We all need friendship and love, But there’s a big difference between sharing your life with someone and looking for someone to complete you.

It’s time to develop your talents–they’re deep inside just waiting for you to bring them alive, so go ahead and start that inner fire. Try Unconditionally loving yourself. It’s not being conceited or feeling superior at all–it’s just accepting who you are.

Get out of your head and put the focus on other people. Really be interested in what they’re talking about instead of having that internal dialogue going on in your mind that is making you feel less than. Learn to laugh at your silly mistakes. We all make them and they’re not worth the brain power to fret over.

Stand up straight and be proud because this is your life and nobody else’s. Go live it, and live it with gusto!

Who Would Miss You?

Sometimes I bet you wonder if anyone would care if you were alive or dead. Death can feel like the great escape from all your troubles, but do you really know where you would be escaping to, or if your troubles would just follow along? And even if this escaping place had great weather and was absolutely beautiful, I bet there would still be hassles just like here on Planet Earth–especially if YOU ARE part of the problems. Nope, you can’t escape from yourself that’s for sure.

But, if you did die who would miss you? Oh, you say probably no one? What about your mom or dad and those awesome siblings? Well, maybe they’re long gone, or don’t even care. Did I hear you say that partners don’t count either, and that friends are few and far between? I don’t dare ask about your dog or cat, or even your cute little guppy fish. But I’m sure the checker at the grocery store would miss your warm smile, and your co-workers would miss that infectious laugh of yours. I can tell that you don’t want to count any of these either.

I guess when you add all this up it totals to a big fat zero on who would miss you. If this is what you truly believe then you would be WRONG, my friend. How’s that, you ask? You forgot to add in the one person who would miss you, and that person is YOU! Maybe you don’t know this, but you are the person who really counts. It doesn’t matter if you’re alone in this world because living is not about how many people love you, or how many friends you have. That’s all great stuff and makes living fun, but it’s just the icing on the cake. All this crazy living is about your journey through this life and the places you go, and the things you do.

If you decide that you want to end it all today, you will be missing you and this exciting journey that you are on. Dark days come and go, and maybe today is a very dark day, but stick around, tomorrow will be better. You don’t want to miss your life because you are here for a purpose and you owe it to yourself to find out what that purpose is all about.

Learn to love yourself, and find the joy deep inside because you are worth it. Enjoy the ride of your life, and don’t mind the bumps in the road they just make it all that much more interesting.

Appreciation

“Feeling grateful or appreciative of someone or something in your life actually attracts more of the things that you appreciate and value into your life.” ~ Christiane Northrup

Do you appreciate the fact that you’re alive? Sometimes days just melt into one another and time flies by. Before you know it, another year in your life has slipped by without you even noticing. It seems like we’re all on a fast track and there’s no time just to kick back and smell the roses–heck, you’re probably too busy watering them and haven’t taken the time to notice their individual beauty.

It’s important to unplug and get outside that busy head of yours and learn to slow down. It’s amazing when you slow down how everything around you appears new and so alive. You start to see people in a different light and enjoy their company. You find yourself really listening to what they have to say. You stop judging and take up accepting instead.

When you are appreciative for everything in your life you are fully awake and not sleep walking anymore. All your senses come alive–even food tastes better. You are now a patient, stress free, and kind human.

Practice appreciation and see how your life will change.

By the way, I appreciate all of you!

“Life is full of beauty. Notice it. Notice the bumble bee, the small child, and the smiling faces. Smell the rain, and feel the wind. Live your life to the fullest potential, and fight for your dreams.” ~ Ashley Smith

The World’s Beauty is Enough

“At some point in life the world’s beauty becomes enough. You don’t need to photograph, paint or even remember it. It is enough.” ~ Toni Morrison

When I’m sitting on my deck and looking out at the simplicity and beauty of nature the problems and ugliness of the world we live in disappears. All I see is beauty, and I wonder, with this beauty how can the world be so cruel?

Maybe in life we all need to stop what we’re doing and really go outside and witness the beauty that’s before us. When was the last time you went out in the darkness and looked up at the stars and talked to the moon? How about a sunrise or sunset?

The world we live in is filled with so much beauty but we’re sometimes too busy to notice. We hear all the bad stuff that’s happening to our world, and we fear this is a bad place to be. But despite what man continues to do, the beauty is always present.

When you find yourself surrounded by the beauty of nature that is the world you live in, it takes your breath away. Standing there in the stillness you know that you can never duplicate, or truly explain what you are feeling. You have now become one with the universe.