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Wednesday, May 8, 2013

The natural order of our lives

Posted on 2:11 AM by Unknown

Are we fighting against the inevitable? Are we trying to prolong people, places and things that in the natural order of things are meant to be over? Are we fighting against the wind instead of allowing the wind to lift our sails and carry us through?
There is a natural order to the lives we live. We come into these physical beings for a finite period. To learn lessons. To teach and to grow. We come into this physical space for a finite period to learn how to share and to give and take. We come into this physical realm to learn that though we are eternal beings, we come as humans to learn more about life. For a finite period of time in our physical cloak.
There are so many people right now that are struggling. Struggling to be something or someone they were never meant to be. We end up in situations we never dreamed possible and we become frustrated. There are so many organizations that are struggling. Struggling to innovate. To reinvent themselves to keep up with the times. There are so many things we are trying to prolong and keep in existence when their time has come to go. And when we do, we struggle and fumble. Losing the spark and joy if life because we are clinging to something or someone that no longer serves us.
We always know when something is right and when something is not. Deep down inside we know there is a natural order to life. To our existence. Subconsciously we know we have been sent here for a finite time to contribute in the best way we can to expanding the consciousness of mankind. To expand the consciousness of each other. To grow spiritually while in a finite physical body. And the reason this happens is because we are meant to understand the importance of beginnings and en dings. Peaks and valleys.
What we learn most of all is that there is a beginning and ending to everything physical. Nothing is meant to last forever in this physical plane and the reason it is not is because everyone of us is meant to experience being the leader then the follower. Being the top dog then the underdog. Being the flavor of the month and then not. And the reason we are meant to experience these opposite emotions and places is so we can learn compassion, empathy and faith. So that we can see the story from the other person’s eyes.
When the time is right, opportunity always presents itself. When the time is not, doors shut and we stop. When we learn what we are meant to learn, we change and move onto the next phase of our lives. There is a natural order to our lives. One of endings and beginnings. Beginnings and endings all the time. And when we learn to stand with our backs to the wind trusting it to lift our sails and carry us through rather than facing it and trying to resist the inevitable, we see and understand the natural order of our lives.

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Tuesday, May 7, 2013

Just wait

Posted on 1:48 AM by Unknown

Just wait
We live in a world where everything is instant
Messages
Phone calls
Internet
Facebook
Twitter
We live in a world where no one waits for anything
Twitter
Emails
Deadlines
Stress
Tumblr
We live in a world where face to face contact is almost nonexistent
Texts
Instant Messages
What’s App
BB Messenger
Emails
We live in a world where books are becoming extinct
Ipads
Kindles
Androids
We live in a world where we see what everyone is doing instantly
Facebook
TV
Skype
Computers
That’s why we are forgetting patience
Forgetting apprenticeship
Forgetting compassion
Forgetting gratitude
Forgetting each other
Because we don’t interact as much
Don’t go outside as much
Don’t hold a blade of grass in our hands
Smell the scent of fresh flowers
Feel the moisture of morning dew
See the magic of life unfolding every day
Because we are becoming too insular
Learning though the vast machines
Computers
While connecting us
They also disconnect us
From human touch
From looking in each other’s eyes
Hearing and seeing the intention from body language
Taking away our natural ability
To read each other
Instead relying on
Impersonal media that has become the norm
Internet
Facebook
Twitter
Instant Messenger
Connecting us
But disconnecting us
We are losing touch with what it takes to be patient
So we are working ourselves too hard
Putting too much pressure on ourselves
Deadlines looming
Instant answers required
Report after report requested
Whether necessary or not
But it is the new thing
The supporters say
The new game changer
The herders proclaim
So everyone has to follow like sheep
Because if we don’t
We are told
We will lose out
Because we are forgetting
It’s relationships that matter
Not the latest gadget
Or report
Or toy
It is old fashioned looking in the eyes of those
Who we need to work with or be with
That matters most
We have to learn to step away from
Instant gratification
Instant news
Instant expectations
And somehow weave into our lives
Time
To stop
To walk in the grass with bare feet
Sit out in the sunshine and inhale the sun
As my daughter said
To allow ourselves to remember the tall trees
The strong trees that surround us
Shade us
And protect us
Did not come out of the ground
Instantly
Did not grow up over night
But had to be patient
To just wait
Until
It was their time to be the majestic trees
We see today
Reminding us
We have to relearn
How to just wait
To be patient
To not fret
When we don’t have what we thought we would have
By now
Because life is growing us
Shaping us
For what we need
And came here for
If only we could
Just wait
With gratitude and grace
Just wait
And Inhale
And see all we have to be grateful for
If only we would
Just wait
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Monday, May 6, 2013

Playing The Game of Life with my children teaches me about life

Posted on 2:24 AM by Unknown

Yesterday afternoon, I played the board game, The Game of Life, with my children. And it was a pivotal moment for me. Pivotal because as I was playing the game with them, I was reminded that life is about the choices we make. Choosing to attend University so I started the game $100,000 in the hole then spinning to move squares.
Landing on the spot where I had to choose my career and ended up as a veterinarian. Spinning again to land on the spot of buying my Starter Home. Looking at which home to buy and which one I could most afford and profit on. Going for the least expensive house with the same return as the two others in its category when I wanted the most expensive home because it suited me best. But opting to be conservative until I understood the game. After all, my career card had been a veterinarian earning $100,000 with a maximum salary of $180,000. I didn't want to get too far in debt. But my mind was telling me to go for it. But I didn't.
Then on the next spin I landed on the square where I could sue any player for $100,000. Shrugging because I could have purchased the more expensive home if I would have listened to my inner guide. But I let fear and judgment cloud my thoughts and chose not to listen. Seeing the power of choice right there and then.
And as the game progressed, I went from strength to strength. Landing on square after square that made me wealthier and wealthier. And I sat back and thought is this what life is all about, getting wealthier and wealthier? Is it really this easy to make money when you live life for you and not for anyone else?
And then at the end of the game, I crossed the finish line first, retiring early with over $3 million. But my life had gone by so quickly because I had chosen to forgo having a family. Forego making real friends. All I did was make money.  And suddenly I was at the end of my life in the game, retired with no one to share the money with. Nothing really to spend it on. And I was alone. Waiting. It was a very strange feeling.
As I sat and waited for my children to finish the game. Watching the way they think. My son choosing to take the safe route. But still ending up with no family. My daughter choosing the family route. Hoping to have a family but for some reason she did not. All of us ending the game with lots of money but nothing really to do with it.
And as I waited for them, I looked out of the kitchen window at the perfect day outside. The sky clear blue. Minimal clouds obscuring it. The tall avocado tree with its dark green leaves. The expansive lawn. The trampoline with no one jumping on it. The birds flying across the lawn. The sun streaming through the leaves of the trees, I inhaled deeply and looked back at my children and realized I have a truly wonderful life.
No it may not be filled with material riches. May not be filled with the opportunity to be at home all the time with my children as it once did. May not be filled with me having the time to write every moment possible. It may not be the dream life I was hoping for but it is a dream life. A life filled with love and caring. Family and togetherness. A home that is very comfortable. Children that love each other and me as I do them.  A husband who while we were playing was fitting a new sink in the children’s bathroom. A husband I love and have loved for over 23 years. And I am loved in  return by him. I exhaled slowly as I realized just how much I really do have to be grateful for. How much I take for granted. How much my life is what I make it.
I looked at the faces of my children. Seeing how much they are growing and have grown right before my eyes. Thinking about how important it is to be in the moment with them and my life because as I saw through my children’s ages, life passing us by so quickly when we are too busy projecting about what’s to come. Rather than focusing on what is and being grateful for every moment that we have. As I did yesterday.
And you know what I felt so full. So full of life. So full of love. So full of gratitude for the life I am living. Have lived and will live. For I have chosen to mother two beautiful children. Marry a jack of all trades man. To be the woman I am, was and am becoming. And the rewards are always there. Have always been there. And always will be there. Whenever I remember just how fortunate my life is. Whenever I remember to be grateful.
And for the game of life with my children on a lazy and beautiful Sunday afternoon, teaching me to remember it’s not the destination that counts. It’s the journey along the way. The detours. The hesitations. The mistakes. The rewards that matter the most. And for this lesson, I am truly grateful.
Here’s to another week of life ahead of me with gratitude, grace and love. 
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Saturday, May 4, 2013

Morning Silhouettes

Posted on 2:29 AM by Unknown

Morning silhouettes
I love dawn
Just before the sun comes out fully
Just before the night retreats to the other side
When the silhouettes are prominent
And the shadows loom
When the promise of a new day
A new beginning is present
When the night is about to recede
Making way for a new day to begin
When the birds are waking
Chirping
Against the silence
Of the beginning
Of a new day
I love it when the sky is shadowy and grey
And there are hints of light
Conjuring up thoughts of what is to come
When the wispy clouds look dark
Against the light of the eastern sky
When I inhale the freshness of the new day
Staring out the window
Feeling the magic that occurs
Every single day
Of our lives
The ending of yesterday
And the beginning of today
Over and over again
Reminding me of the chance
Of the possibility
That exists not just for me
But for us all
There is always an ending
And a beginning
Always a new chapter
To live out
Always a new day
To begin
As long as I am breathing
I am living
I love the silence of the morning
Of dawn
Of life
Continuously moving on
Knowing I am a part of life
As long as I am living and breathing
Grateful to experience the turn of each day
Grateful for seeing the morning
Taking over from the night
Like dance partners
Exchanging leads
Reversing roles
The light from the dark
Silhouettes greater than the physical things
Until the sun becomes stronger
Pushing aside the dark
Slowly rising from the East
Spreading its radiant light
As everything begins to waken
And the silhouettes start to fade
The physical things become more prominent
As the light of the new day
Takes the lead
From the night
Shining bright
Ushering in today
The opportunity for us to be
Whatever it is we want to be
I love the promise of the new day
The feeling of renewal
The feeling of turning over a new leaf
As the silhouettes fade
And the darkness recedes
As the light comes through
Allowing me to turn off the artificial lights inside
And let in the natural light from outside
Infusing me with energy
And the power to embrace
The dawn of a new day
Morning silhouettes
Magical, Mystical
Morning Silhouettes
Ushering in the dawn
Of the New Day
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Friday, May 3, 2013

May peace be with us all

Posted on 2:15 AM by Unknown

Peace be with you. May peace be with us all.
This was the thought that came into my mind this morning during my meditation and as I have said before I am led to explore these thoughts to see where they take me. There is a lot of conflict and strife in our world and in our immediate communities because the scarcity mentality is so prevalent that it is driving our society to take as much as it can from each other.
We are all so nervous about where we are heading with banks collapsing. Economies collapsing. People out of work and seemingly no chance of finding work. Hopes are dashed and people are resorting to taking from those who they feel have excess because they are so desperate.
I was told there have been break ins in my little Island home where the thieves are not taking electronics. They are taking bare necessities, food for their families, clothing for their children. When I hear these stories a sadness runs through me because there is enough abundance in our world. It’s just that we have forgotten how to ask for it. Forgotten how to ask for help because ego has become greater than our needs. And more importantly we have forgotten how to share the abundance because we want to keep everything for ourselves.
So rather than asking for help, we pretend we have enough until there is nothing left and we resort to taking from each other. All of us need to start looking out for each other. Sharing with each other. Seeing those in need who may have too much pride to ask for help and spreading our abundance to them. As I have said so many times before there is enough in this world for everyone. We have just forgotten how to share it. Forgotten that we don’t need to hoard while others starve or go without.
We need to spread peace in our world again so that people can have hope and faith and love in their hearts again. And once they do, they will be able to contribute to society rather than take from society because they will feel a part of society rather than outcasts of society.
Our world, our communities and we are in need of peace. In need of love. In need of connectedness. In need of sharing.  And it begins with small gestures. A smile here and there. Looking in the eyes of those in need and validating they are just as important as those without. Kindness and community need to be at the top of our lists so that we can spread peace. Share joy and abundance.
 So today let’s all see those in need and help them in whatever way we can by acknowledging them, giving them something they need or simply by being there. And then I saw this quote today and knew I had to share it here, “Share what you have whenever you can. It makes a difference ... not only to others, but it adds lightness and joy to your life, too.”
By sharing we lighten our loads allowing us to radiate out more love and light which ultimately leads to peace.  Sharing really does make a difference.
May peace be with you. May peace be with us all.
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Thursday, May 2, 2013

The story of one of my greatest teachers, Damon Fox

Posted on 2:27 AM by Unknown

Yesterday I read a compelling story about a young man who walks the streets every day in Bermuda. Up and down and all around. He looks like he is running from something. His eyes wide but always with a smile. Almost like he knows something the rest of us don’t. He holds his hands like he is beating a drum. My family nicknaming him the Drummer Man. Something about him drawing us to him. Some days he walks slower than others. But most days he walks with a sense of urgency.
I always wondered what his story was. How this tall and good looking young man ended up walking the streets day in and day out. How he looks harmless some days and wild others. I have to admit I was drawn to this young man. Trying to figure out his story.
So I was happy to read his story. To discover this young man has demons he is choosing to fight by being out in nature. Communing with nature. Walking rain, blow or shine so he can naturally increase his endorphin levels and help to suppress the darkness that is threatening him. Overwhelming him. Trying to pull him into a place he knows he will not return from. He says he walks so he does not end up on drugs or sitting on the walls drinking like some of the other people he knows. He says he walks to clear his mind.
I believe walking calls him when he is on the brink. And after reading how he is the way he is because society has condemned him because of past mistakes, that led him to make a simple and naïve mistake that landed him in prison in a foreign land. Beaten like he was a nobody.  Then placed in a halfway house, I felt his pain. I understood his shame and why he retreated into his shell. Losing confidence in his abilities.
Doors shut in his face. Judgment of his character became the norm and soon he was an outcast. Unable to bring himself back from the pain and shame. Realizing why whenever I saw him, he seemed to touch a place in me I did not quite understand. But after reading his story I knew it was because I looked at him and thought when he was born then grew into a little boy, he probably had dreams of becoming something or someone greater than the man walking the streets.
Looking at him then at my son I am raising and wondering how dreams could be shattered so completely that this young man’s only means of salvation is to walk the streets. Thinking that young man is someone’s son. Someone who had dreams of what their son could become as I have about my son.
And now I know this young man has a name, his name is Damon Fox and he walks because it is the only way he can stop himself from going completely mad. From losing touch with reality altogether. He walks so he can free himself but more importantly he walks because it gives him purpose. A sense of accomplishment. And I now understand that he is not dangerous. Not crazy but a man trying to find peace with where he is in life.
A man who seems to bring joy to those who accept him for who he is and why he does what he does. A man always with a smile on his face. A man with a story just like the rest of us. A man seeking his place in society without going to the dark side. His story is now out there and people acknowledge him. I commend the reporter who wrote the story about Damon because now he has a name and he has become human in most of our eyes rather than a person who walks the street.
He is not Walking Man or Drummer Man. He is Damon Fox and he has a story just like you and me. Any one of us could have been given the hard knocks he was given and the question becomes what would we have done. There are only six degrees of separation between us all so we need not condemn or judge anyone until we know their story.
Damon will be taking part in our annual End to End charity walk and I am rooting for him. Hoping that whatever it is he needs to come back from the brink is opening for him. Hoping we remember to not judge or condemn anyone because of how interconnected we all are. Hoping for hope.
Thank you Damon for walking every day. For communing with nature until we discovered who you are and why you are. Teaching us that everyone has a story and everyone matters. Good luck to you and I will speak your name and acknowledge you for who you are when I see you. As will my family as we shared your story last night. No longer thinking of you as the Drummer Man but knowing you as Damon Fox, the least expected teacher, but one of the greatest for us. 
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Wednesday, May 1, 2013

Harnessing the power of our thoughts

Posted on 2:13 AM by Unknown

Our minds are amazing. They are more powerful than any machine or computer we could ever invent because whatever we invent is limited by the barriers we create in our minds. But the mind is like something unreal. Something from a science fiction novel because of all that it can do and recall.
Our minds are the engines of our lives. We are what we believe. We become what we believe we are capable of becoming. We attract that which we dwell upon the most whether it is positive or negative. The story we tell ourselves about our lives is the story that manifests for us. So we need to be aware of the story we are telling in order to live the lives we want.
How often do you recall thinking about something or wishing you had something only for it to manifest when you least expect or how you least expected it would? Lately this has been happening in my life quite a lot. I find the thoughts that make me tingle when I have them are usually the ones I forget about. Cast aside. And the reason I do is because these thoughts are more sensations than direct thoughts. But they are powerful because these are the ones that usually manifest much later and in ways least expected.
Leading me to believe our minds are so powerful that we have to be careful about what we feed them. What we allow into them. What limitations we place on ourselves. Because every consistent thought we create becomes imprinted on our minds. Becoming like mantras. Setting up a chain of events that will manifest according to what we project and think about the most. Whether those thoughts focus on what we want in life or what we don’t want.
If we believe we are only capable of small gifts and small lives that is what will manifest. If we are constantly envious of others and believe their lives are better than ours, that’s what we will attract. Constantly thinking about what we don’t want crowds our brains and does not allow space for what we want to come into fruition. Consequently we live the lives we don’t want because that’s what we are focused on. Our lives are exactly how we think they will be because it is what we believe that becomes true.
If we are constantly judging others without examining our lives and correcting what we need about ourselves, we will attract the judgment we have placed on others into our lives so we can learn from that judgment.
The mind is a terrible thing to waste because it is our best gateway to manifesting the life we want. So we have to be really careful about the script we are feeding the mind.  Because we are truly what we believe.  And we truly attract that which we project. If you don’t believe me think about where you are in your life right now and honestly think about all the thoughts that got you to where you are. Is there a pattern? Have you manifested your deepest darkest thoughts?
When we start connecting the dots about the choices we make, the people we surround ourselves with, the paths we take, we will see there is a pattern and a rhythm to the lives we are living. And it comes from the most powerful resource we have, our minds. Remembering the old clique, "be careful what you wish for 'cause you might just get it", is the same as we attract that which we project. 
Our mental state is so much more important that our physical state yet we work so much harder on our exterior being than we do on our interior being, the engine that fuels our whole self.  Learning to practice times of silence, of inner journeying, of inner reckoning is how we will be able to balance who we are with what we project and ultimately with what we attract. Harnessing the power of our thoughts is the greatest gift we can ever give to ourselves. 
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