The unconscious, primitive reaction I had to the news was fear. This fear sent me back to my safe place; back to those habits that I had in my youth. Habits that served a purpose when I was younger, but which are nowdeterimental to my happiness. It was amazing how these habits jumped back into my life and burst out as knee-jerk reactions. I would catch myself doing or saying something out of character amazed at my own unconscious actions.
The power of acceptance and forgiveness shown through a beautiful wedding. Imagine if you could go through the day and not judge anyone. What if you had the ability to see each individual as their pure essence? What if you could love them for their good without diminishing that good because of physical, psychological, or philosophical differences? This is pure acceptance. And it is powerful. There is unencumbered joy when there is no judgment but only acceptance and where there is no hostility but only forgiveness.
We are each unique. It is apparent in our eye color, our hair color, and our skin tone. We are unique in our clothing, our jewelry, and if we have piercings or tattoos. Differences are in how we talk, what we talk about, and what we value. We are unique in where we live, how we live, and what we love. We are unique in our humor, our knowledge base, and our careers. But how often do we criticize, fear, or belittle those who are different from us? How often do we become frustrated, angry, and disappointed by those who do not think and act the way we do? How often do we forget that we are all the same and that we all have value?
How often do we think and think and think through a problem only to feel that the logical answer is not correct? How often do we become sad and depressed when the logical, cognitive answer is not the one that makes our heart sing? How often do we receive flashes of insight on what to do or say? How often do we just “feel in our gut” what to do?
Research conducted by the Kellogg School of Management shows us how our intuition can be more correct than our logic. . .
Now if one is fearless but has no love
abundant but has no moderation
rises up but has no humility
Surely he is doomed
– From Verse 67 of Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu as translated by Jonathan Star
How often do we long for courage, abundance, and power? Yet when we see others who have one or all of these are they truly happy or admirable? How would Paris Hilton, Donald Trump, and Rod Blagojevich rate in Lao Tzu’s mind?
Recently I attended the first ever Martha Beck Coaches Convention.It was an amazingly powerful experience to be surrounded by over 200 women and men all striving for peace and understanding in our world. There was a joyful calm enveloping the event because there was a lack of competition, jealousy, anxiety, fear, and feelings of inadequacy […]
So next time you are down because things are not easy, remember to follow your own path by knowing and speaking your own truth and having the determination and persistence to continue down your own path even if things look scary and hard.
We have all experienced obstacles that seemed devastating at the time but ended up bringing a positive life change. There have been times when we stuck to our truth and eventually we came out on top.
But then I got to thinking. How many of us are living our lives without out a plan? How many of us wake up in the morning feeling unfulfilled? How many of us feel there should be something more or different that we should be doing, something we should have? We can’t define what it is but we know we don’t have it now. How many of us don’t have a life plan?
When I signed up to do the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer, I had no idea what an amazing experience it would be. There were so many incredible people who taught me the true meaning of strength, determination, generosity, joy, and hope.
This physical cleansing experience mirrored many of the spiritual and emotional cleansings I experienced later in the trip.