♥ - Permission to Simply Be - ♥

Working through Transitions

During the pause between achievements, many people begin to question what their life is about.

The elation we feel when we have learned an important lesson, achieved a goal, or had a big breakthrough can sometimes be met with a period of downtime afterward. During this period of transition, we may feel unsure and not know where to turn next. Many people, during the pause between achievements, begin to wonder what their life is about. These feelings are common and strike everyone from time to time. Human beings are active creatures—we feel best when we are working on a project or vigorously pursuing a goal. But there is nothing inherently wrong with spending a day, a week, or even a month simply existing and not having a plan. Just be. It won’t be long before you embark upon your next voyage of growth and discovery. 

The quiet lull into we which we fall between ideas, projects, and goals can make life seem empty. After accomplishing one objective, you may want to move immediately on to the next. However, when your next step is unclear, you may feel frustrated, disconnected, or even a mild depression. You may even perceive your lack of forward momentum as an indicator of imminent stagnation. To calm these distressing thoughts, try to accept that if your intent is personal growth, you will continue to grow as an individual whether striving for a specific objective or not. Spending time immersed in life’s rigors and pleasures can be a cathartic experience that gives you the time you need to think about what you have recently gone through and leisurely contemplate what you wish to do next. You may also find that in simply being and going through the motions of everyday life, you reconnect with your priorities in a very organic, unforced way. 

The mindful transitional pause can take many forms. For some, it can be a period of reflection that helps them understand how their life has unfolded. For others, it can be a period of adjustment, where new values based on recent changes are integrated into daily life. Just because you’re not headed swiftly to a final destination doesn’t mean you should assume that you have lost your drive. The stage between journeys can become a wonderful period of relaxation that prepares you for the path that will soon be revealed to you.

  

  

♥ - MORNING COFFEE - ♥

Eliminate Regrets

 

by Jane Powell 

“Anything that you should have done, but didn’t, ties you to your past.”

Is your mental and emotional clutter getting in the way of a fulfilling life? It’s time to clean out the “need-to’s,” “have-to’s,” and “ought-to’s,” from your past. When you have regrets it’s tough to move forward and grow.

Put the past in the past. Return anything you borrowed.  Make apologies where needed. Get your bills up to date. Send the card or gift you forgot to send. Make the phone call you need to make.

Taking care of these things cleans your mental slate and eliminates any regrets or resentments you may harbor.

Now, take a deep breath; look ahead. Both your conscience, and your future vision, is clear.

Ask yourself: “Is how I am being going to bring me what I really want?” Be what you want!

Today, be what you want.

If you want love, be loving.

If you want peace, be peaceful.

If you want fun, be funny.

If you want something “new,” be different.

If you want adventure, be open.

If you want success, be alive.

If you want joy, be kind

Be what you want!

Maybe life is all about being first after all! Not so fast. Being first is about consciousness, not competitiveness, i.e., “as you sow, so shall you reap.” To be loved, you have to be willing to love first; to be cherished, you have to be willing to give respect first; to be heard, you have to be willing to listen first; and to experience forgiveness and freedom, you have to be willing to forgive first.

I honestly believe that the only way to get to happiness is to be happy already. Many people live their life according to the formula: Do + Have = Be. They cannot just be happy because first they have to do “x,” and then they have to have “y.” In other words, they have to have a house, they have to do more, they have to do even more, they have to have a partner, they have to have lots of money, etc. But why not just be happy?

In the healing process, people often convince themselves that they have to get well before they can choose happiness again. In my work I encourage my clients to honor their pain and choose peace, to feel fear and choose love, to face the anger and choose forgiveness, to experience the heartbreak and choose happiness, and to experience guilt and choose innocence.

Gandhi once said you have to be the change you want. Why? Because the mirror cannot change without you. And the world is only a mirror. Remember, you see only your thoughts. When you shift, shift happens. If you don’t, you simply experience more of the same. It is no good saying, “I’ll be open with you, as soon as you are open with me.” Be first. Be different if you want a different outcome. Be the goal.

What “to be” decisions will you make today? Think of your goals, your challenges, your relationships, and ask yourself, “Is how I am being going to bring me what I really want?” Be still a moment and reset your intention to be loving no matter what, to be kind in spite of everything, to shine your light come what may. Your “to be” decisions are between you and God. Let nothing steal them away.

Direction of advance

 
Today your life will advance. Now is when you can choose the direction of that advance.

On this day, your actions will result in consequences. The specific actions you choose to take will determine exactly what those consequences will be.

Though many events and circumstances come your way, life does not happen to you. Rather, the substance of your life happens through you, because you determine how to respond to those events and circumstances.

Your true priorities are not the ones you merely talk about or admire, but are the ones you actually follow and sustain from one moment to the next. Your life will go precisely where those authentic priorities take you.

In every waking moment of every day, you are accomplishing things and making a difference in your world. Whatever you most consistently focus your thoughts and actions upon, you will create.

In each small moment, you have great power because you can intentionally direct the energy of your life. Choose wisely, with love, faithful to your purpose, and know the fulfillment that you are here to know.

Ralph Marston

♥ - THE INNER ME.... - ♥