New Perspective

I return from my time away with an updated prescription for my internal vision. For the moment I see things with a fresher angle. Stepping out of my day to day routine while on vacation reminded me that it's a big world out there, and mine is just a minuscule fraction of its enormity.

There's so many lifestyles to observe and personalities to behold. Even the landscape holds and presents a  unique energy and message. I was immersed in a world where others appeared only to be focused on moving from one external distraction to the next, and I have to say I found it a refreshing reprieve from my normal mental and emotional analysis and pondering. I too found myself letting go of my need to know and understand the significance of each and every moment that presented itself to me. I simply didn't care, not in a cold and removed way but from a place of acceptance and flow.

As the blinders fell away, taking me from tunnel vision to panavision, I sensed my very limited ability and knowledge in understanding this complex universe. Mine is but one simplistic take on an expansive and limitless experience, and my ego was okay with that. Actually, there was a relief of sorts as the internal burden I have placed upon myself to uncover the answers simply fell away, allowing my spirit an enormous sigh.

In truth, I must admit that I originally had plans to take just one week off from my usual blog posts but I felt I was being pushed to extend my break. I fought what I was being asked to do, or more accurately not do. I felt a compulsive sense of responsibility to my duty, to reach out to all of you and provide a moment of insight and connection. What could possibly happen if I let two weeks pass before posting instead of one I can not say, all I do know is that it seemed as though I was not fulfilling my commitment.

This wasn't an egoic energy, but was nevertheless an over inflated mode of importance. Somewhere long ago I had learned that I was responsible for others' feelings and healing and I became a self-appointed shepherd leading them out of the darkness. The universe was encouraging me to take a back seat, watch the show as it unfolded and know I do not have to be the director and tour guide for everyone that might cross my path. Life will move on without me, and people will find their way. I simply wasn't that important.

The message was not that I held no value, I understood I am indeed invaluable, but that the burden doesn't rest squarely on my shoulders. The cosmos are chock full of beings and opportunities, many much wiser and more impactful than me, that can pick up where I might have left off. I was being put in my very humble place. It felt refreshing as I sensed and knew the universal orchestrations for myself and others. I was reminded that I was not running a one man show but am in truth a microcosm of something far greater than my human mind can comprehend.

The same can be said for each and every one of you. Perhaps it manifests in your life each time you find yourself saying "Yes" to the next committee, meeting or chairperson role when what you really mean is "No". Are you still performing household chores and duties for your family long past the time they are capable of pitching in with a helping hand? Let it go. Let the pieces fall where they may. Somehow, someway they will be picked up. Perhaps not in the fashion that you deem fit, but one that might serve another by offering a valuable lesson or an improved insight. Yours, and mine, is not the only way nor are we held solely accountable for how things do turn out.

Take a vacation, if not to a foreign land or new destination take the time to travel to an area close to your home where you have yet to explore. Take a different route to your typical destinations or eat at a new restaurant and simply observe the vast possibilities, experiences and people that are at play outside of the four metaphoric walls of your life. Know that none of us has all the answers, or responsibility. It's okay to say, "I don't know," or, "I'm not going to fix that" and, "I'm taking a break." There is a great freedom in those words, one that I hope will find their way into your world and your heart.

Be well and happy.

Vacation

As I embark on vacation I share these wise words from another in hopes that you too may have a moment (or two) to implement them as well. We all deserve a break...

Be well and happy.

Change is in Order

In a recent conversation I had with another they continued to reference the personal work they've been undertaking as "trying to be a better person". It got me to thinking that for many that is the motivating factor behind their efforts to heal and grow, and I'm here to tell you that it is the worst kind.

 

The phrase "being a better person" implies that there is something lacking about you, that somehow you don't measure up. And if that is so, ask yourself, "When will I know when I've reached my goal? When will I be good enough?" For most the answer is "Never." How so?

 

The notion of a "better person" is so very judgmental and subjective, open to numerous interpretations that can change with any given situation, time or place. It also implies that at any point you might be inferior or superior. It's a trap that is fraught with pressure. In short, it's a mental mirage that will leave you unsatisfied, disgruntled and playing the puppet to your own ego as you try to reach some invisible target.

 

I suggest that perhaps simply setting one's sight's on change might be healthier and more productive. With change blossoms opportunities to heal, know and understand oneself more fully. Change is suggestive of something new to behold, a birthing of one thing to the next. Any small step towards change is progress indeed and need not be evaluated for its value or worthiness, and there is no ultimate goal to attain or tension to endure. With intentions set towards change we offer ourselves an unlimited space and potential to flourish and cultivate that which inspires us and brings us greater joy.

 

Be well and happy.

 

 

Stewing

I'm feeling quite unsettled. Things around me do not seem to be progressing with an ease and predictability. I'm not the only one, many people I've spoken to are in a state of flux. I enjoy order, or at least the illusion of such, and these seemingly random occurrences and sidebars have left me floundering. I feel exhausted and agitated, confused as to the meaning of it all.

Even this week's post feels disjointed and lacking clarity and purpose in my mind but I do what I do each and every week, I share with my reader's what is present in my awareness. This week, that happens to be a sea of confusion. I trust that each and every one of you has moments that have felt the same.

 

I can't figure out the point of any of it and the best I can conclude is that is the point, stop trying to figure it out and trust that what is brewing and causing me to stew will eventually make sense. Eventually, I've just realized I hate that word. Eventually requires blind faith but all this chaos makes me want to rip off the blinders so that I might know now what it is the universe is formulating. But the more I struggle, the deeper I sink into the quicksand of frustration. It's best to relax and bob along the surface to where it is I am being lead.

 

As I relinquish the struggle I see myself floating along on the lazy river, buoyed by a purple swim noodle. "Oh, so there is support," I hear my mind state with a sigh of relief. I relax and stop my mental ping pong match, no longer attempting to follow each and every volley or event and connect it to some importance or path. Instead, I simply glide through all that seems to whiz by me and accept that sometimes the answers are not initially available.

 

Resignation sets in, not in the form of defeat but in the shape of release and acceptance. Yes, things are happening and right now I know not the reason why, only that there is a reason, one that I will be privy to when the time is right. Until then, there is nothing I need do but flow, allowing myself passage through all the confetti that is being tossed about in my day. Ultimately I trust that as it all settles what will lie before me will be a new and vibrant mosaic, the newest stepping stone on my walk of life. 

 

Be well and happy.