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Acceptance is a tricky quality to master. Most people mistake acceptance for agreement and therefore resist it. Acceptance does not mean that we give in or roll over. It means we connect fully with the situation. We stop struggling. We own the hand that we have been dealt and accept it without judgment. Once we do this a very interesting thing occurs, our life and the situation changes.
It is easy to forget that our greatest point of power is in the present moment. When life feels overwhelming and it seems like we can never catch up, it is imperative that we bring ourselves back to the here and now. It is in this very moment, right now, that we have access to our greatest power and our ultimate potential.
As we grow older, if we are not careful we can lose our way to what is special and meaningful in our lives. It is our childhood dreams that have a way of pointing us in the right direction. Many of us have lost our way. Just as children in a storybook may need to leave a trail to find their way back home, we too need a way to retrieve the dynamic parts of ourselves.
What does it take to make something happen? Once our vision is clear it is easier to hit our mark. Sometimes we need to go through a process that is similar to changing the focus on a camera. When this happens our outlook may appear blurry and unclear. This is because we are refining or creating a new picture. During this stage we need to shift our position and move where there is more light and clarity.
When a natural disaster occurs and the earth quakes, we are immediately reminded of both our instability and our interconnectedness. It is interesting to note how often we fail to recognize our connection to each other and to the earth until an event or crisis brings us together. Our minds have been trained to focus on what we can see. The problem is that our physical eyes and our perceptions are often limited or flawed. We only see what we can recognize. So if something is going on abroad or in the water or in the air, we may not realize that it is happening to us as well. Many of us treat our bodies and our inner worlds the same way. We assume that the inside is not really as important as the outside until a disease or an eruption occurs.
This is a very difficult question to ask when faced with terrible circumstances. But when we do have the courage to ask, it automatically begins to turn whatever current problems we are facing into an opportunity for growth and power. The question itself seems to pierce right through the darkness and guide us toward the light of insight and awareness. The density that surrounds our problems can become the fertilizer for the seed of possibility. Learning how to navigate these challenging situations is one thing, but understanding that the very same challenge can reveal the best part of our self is another thing all together.
Many of us have had the experience of feeling separate from the rest of the world, when all of a sudden we are on the outside looking in. These are moments in time when we are with a group of people and although we are there physically, we experience an overall sense of separateness and isolation. What is it that catapults us out of the circle into a separate energy current? Are we meant to promptly rejoin the circle or is there a reason for us to be alone and with ourselves?
Many of us were brought up to believe that if we do well in school, pick a job or career and follow it with determination, our life will be somewhat safe and secure. Of course we knew that we still had to deal with many of life's challenges but taking this course seemed to go a long way toward making us feel grounded and normal. Most of us can see that picture of reality is no longer in play.
In life each of us has our own personal relationship with gratitude. Just as we do to love, food, money, sex... It is our relationship to these aspects of life that help create and define our own personal story. We don't always contemplate our life from this perspective. Often our perception of relationships are limited to our experience with people. When people are involved the issues can become clouded. It is our relationship to the qualities themselves that give us the power to influence and rewrite our story every day.
There was a time when a gift was something sacred and special. It reflected our true nature and soul's purpose. It reminded us of who we are and where we belonged. Whether we were the giver or the receiver, the exchange was one of inspiration and meaning. The gift often held a clue or insight that helped us along our path. It was meant to remind us of our inner calling, our contribution to community and our destiny.
Do you have a bully in your brain telling you what to do? Do you find that there is a taskmaster inside of your head that is constantly driving you to accomplish more and more? Do you feel beat up? Does this bully move your attention toward a sense of lack and unease? Does the focus move you toward worry, doubt and fear? Is the emphasis on what has not been done yet instead of what has been completed? Who is this bully and how did it get inside our heads?
Every day we deal with the element of time. Almost everything we do revolves around this issue. We frequently look at our watches or the clock to see what time it is as a reference point in regard to our daily schedule. But there is another measure of time that we are constantly considering although it may be just below our consciousness. It is an ongoing awareness that knocks at the door of our psyche, reminding us of what we are meant to do. Somewhere inside of us there is an internal clock that is continually monitoring just how much time we have left to accomplish our heart's desire and soul's purpose.
Does your mind tend to go to the worse case scenario? Do you find yourself feeling rejected or angry if you call someone and leave a message and they don't return your call? Do you imagine that they don't respect you or that perhaps you have offended them in some way? When there is a space of time between an action you have taken and your expectation, do you think the worst?
Sometimes we are unaware of the impression that we are relaying to others. Many of us have a series of "tells" that we are giving to the world. They are clues about the way we think, feel and behave. Often these subtitles are patterns that we project unconsciously that remain below our awareness. Are these subtitles your friend? Are they telling the world about your beautiful gifts and talents or are they revealing your fears and limitations?
We are frequently unaware of the power of an inner tweak. Inner tweaking has to do with the little messages that we send to ourselves throughout the day. For example, our heart is racing after a brisk walk so we tell ourselves to calm down and our breathing automatically slows down in response to our suggestion. Or we notice that we are speaking too loudly so we direct ourselves to lower our voice and it does. Why is it that we take for granted our ability to make significant physical changes regarding our breathing, our voices and the way we move our body but still doubt the power that we have within to affect our physical health and over all well-being?
Have you ever noticed how much you can get done when avoiding something that you can't really face or don't want to do? It's fascinating to watch. Cleaning, making calls, surfing the web or staring mindlessly into the refrigerator all come easy when avoiding a particular task. Sometimes we have to give ourselves the room to squirm around. As we squirm we may actually be searching for the right word, sentence or skill that we need to face the task that seems so forbidding or draining.
Have you ever found yourself caught in an energy pocket? It can happen unexpectedly. You are in the grocery store and all of a sudden it feels as if it is rush hour on the freeway. The energy is intense, people are aggressive and the shopping carts have become weapons of destruction. If we're not careful, we'll get hit. It might be a surprise attack from behind as someone bangs into the back of your ankle or it may be head on as people push their way forward. It is difficult to contain this chain of events once it begins to unfold. The pocket seems to follow us out the door. The world has suddenly changed. Gone are the friendly faces that we may have seen earlier. We continue to struggle as we make our way home. People are angry and rude and everywhere we look there is the possibility of conflict and rage. What happened?
Feeling good is one of life's unexpected treasures. Sometimes it just happens. You are walking along and all of sudden you feel happy. You don't know why but you can definitely feel the shift. You may not be able to put your finger on it but the heaviness that you have been carrying seems to have lifted. You feel lighthearted, hopeful and full of opportunity. What is it that makes us feel good and when we discover it, can we sustain it?
