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“Darkness is merely the absence of light, and fear is merely the absence of love. We can’t get rid of darkness by hitting it with a baseball hat, because there is nothing to hit. If we want to be rid of darkness, we must turn on a light. Similarly, if we want to be rid of fear, we cannot fight it but must replace it with love.” – Marianne Williamson, A Return to Love
Our fears often feel like the truth. Like everything that could go wrong will or that we’ll never be able to make something we want happen. It’s just “our nature” or “our luck” or “how it is”. Not a very loving way to think, is it? In reality, fears are just stories that we made up about life at some point to protect us from getting hurt.
What would it look like if you actually had compassion for that part of you that is terrified or maybe even paralyzed from changing or moving into unknown territory? Are you willing to take that on?
If every single person truly looked at their lives and took on the task of noticing where they’re coming from in the moment, fear or love, and began to choose love more and more often, we would be able to end wars, end world hunger, end the economic crisis and heal our environment. People aren’t inherently bad, they’re afraid. Imagine what real love would do for them?
The next time you recognize that your fears are holding you back, turn on a light. Ask yourself, “what would love do now?”
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Friday, April 24, 2009
Love
Love is such an amazing phenomenon. You see it all the time, in a mother cheering on her child at an event, a couple enjoying one another’s company over a romantic dinner, or even just a kind gesture from a stranger like giving food to someone who’s hungry or showing concern when someone gets hurt.
Considering how warm and expansive it feels when you give love unconditionally, it’s almost unbelievable how stingy we are with it. Often you become so consumed by the fear of not having enough for yourself that you refrain from giving it to anyone, INCLUDING yourself and/or blaming one another for the faults in your relationship, always looking for the leverage to ‘be right’.
So OF COURSE you feel like you don’t have enough of it – you aren’t operating from love or giving it away. How can you possibly feel that you have something you constantly deny the universe?
True generosity, to others as well as to yourself, lies in giving love away as if you had a never-ending supply of it, because you do. Love is beyond abundant, it’s eternal.
Life can be transformed through things like compassion, understanding and kindness. So when you're feeling like you don't have enough love in your life, GIVE it to others and notice the wealth of it that runs through you. Touch your own heart by touching someone elses.
Considering how warm and expansive it feels when you give love unconditionally, it’s almost unbelievable how stingy we are with it. Often you become so consumed by the fear of not having enough for yourself that you refrain from giving it to anyone, INCLUDING yourself and/or blaming one another for the faults in your relationship, always looking for the leverage to ‘be right’.
So OF COURSE you feel like you don’t have enough of it – you aren’t operating from love or giving it away. How can you possibly feel that you have something you constantly deny the universe?
True generosity, to others as well as to yourself, lies in giving love away as if you had a never-ending supply of it, because you do. Love is beyond abundant, it’s eternal.
Life can be transformed through things like compassion, understanding and kindness. So when you're feeling like you don't have enough love in your life, GIVE it to others and notice the wealth of it that runs through you. Touch your own heart by touching someone elses.
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Forgiveness
Forgiveness is an act of kindness, not just to another person, but to yourself. Being courageous enough to release the anger that stems from whatever fears you are holding on to is no small task. It requires a generosity of heart and soul that people don’t always feel they have access to. Yet the love within you truly is unlimited and expansive. That love is who you really are; and our universal purpose is to share that with the world.
Even those you think of as cruel or evil, are actually operating out of whatever very strong fear they are attached to. Similarly, we each struggle with our own fears each and every day. If you look at the vast array of people in the world, plenty of which you may disagree with or disapprove of, you actually have the opportunity to recognize a oneness that exists within us all. Every single person on this planet is united in our desire for love and acceptance as we are.
Now imagine the incredible healing power of forgiveness when you consider that all anyone really wants, at the core of who they are, is to love and be loved. Whether or not you continue communicating with that person or considering that event that you were holding something against, to hold a grudge in your heart actually creates YOUR experience as one of pain and anger. It actually affects who YOU are being and what YOU are capable of from that standpoint.
Therefore, it would stand to reason that if you ask for forgiveness from those you feel you have harmed and allow forgiveness for those you feel have harmed you, including yourself, you are actually freeing up all that wonderful energy that was previously spent on resentment and frustration.
So in service of your best self, who you really are, take on forgiving at least one person this week. But start with forgiving yourself.
**If you’re having trouble getting to this place of forgiveness, get in touch with me and I’d be happy to provide you with some further assistance in getting complete with the situation first.
Even those you think of as cruel or evil, are actually operating out of whatever very strong fear they are attached to. Similarly, we each struggle with our own fears each and every day. If you look at the vast array of people in the world, plenty of which you may disagree with or disapprove of, you actually have the opportunity to recognize a oneness that exists within us all. Every single person on this planet is united in our desire for love and acceptance as we are.
Now imagine the incredible healing power of forgiveness when you consider that all anyone really wants, at the core of who they are, is to love and be loved. Whether or not you continue communicating with that person or considering that event that you were holding something against, to hold a grudge in your heart actually creates YOUR experience as one of pain and anger. It actually affects who YOU are being and what YOU are capable of from that standpoint.
Therefore, it would stand to reason that if you ask for forgiveness from those you feel you have harmed and allow forgiveness for those you feel have harmed you, including yourself, you are actually freeing up all that wonderful energy that was previously spent on resentment and frustration.
So in service of your best self, who you really are, take on forgiving at least one person this week. But start with forgiving yourself.
**If you’re having trouble getting to this place of forgiveness, get in touch with me and I’d be happy to provide you with some further assistance in getting complete with the situation first.
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Never Too Late
“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do.” ~Mark Twain
That’s one of my favorite quotes. It’s what I believe they really mean when they say ‘carpe diem’; seize the day. Every day, in every moment, you have the chance to do that thing you’ve always wanted to do, to create that life you’ve always wanted to live. It doesn’t matter what point you’re at in life or what you’ve endured along the way. You are a naturally creative and resourceful being with the power to alter your own personal universe just because you say so.
Age, gender, race, sexuality, religion – none of these are truly deciding factors as to whether or not you can do or achieve something, they are only used as excuses and protestations for why something isn’t possible for you. (Look at Barack Obama – how many people thought we would ever have a black president?) In reality, you can do absolutely anything. Even if it were just something you were curious about – like what it would be like to live in another country? Or if that person you loved so long ago is still available or still thinks about you? Or if after all the time you’ve spent in your field, if you could really change careers NOW and actually do what you’re passionate about?
Part of the wonder of life is that we GET to be curious and subsequently explore and discover! True, it may not turn out the way you hope it to when you play it out in your mind – but it least it will turn out. Regrets are completely arbitrary when you can truly say that you do and have lived life fully.
So plan that trip, re-unite with that person, start interviewing, take whatever chance it is that you’re avoiding – do whatever it is that you think you can’t. In telling you what you can and can’t do, no one’s voice will ever be as strong as your own.
That’s one of my favorite quotes. It’s what I believe they really mean when they say ‘carpe diem’; seize the day. Every day, in every moment, you have the chance to do that thing you’ve always wanted to do, to create that life you’ve always wanted to live. It doesn’t matter what point you’re at in life or what you’ve endured along the way. You are a naturally creative and resourceful being with the power to alter your own personal universe just because you say so.
Age, gender, race, sexuality, religion – none of these are truly deciding factors as to whether or not you can do or achieve something, they are only used as excuses and protestations for why something isn’t possible for you. (Look at Barack Obama – how many people thought we would ever have a black president?) In reality, you can do absolutely anything. Even if it were just something you were curious about – like what it would be like to live in another country? Or if that person you loved so long ago is still available or still thinks about you? Or if after all the time you’ve spent in your field, if you could really change careers NOW and actually do what you’re passionate about?
Part of the wonder of life is that we GET to be curious and subsequently explore and discover! True, it may not turn out the way you hope it to when you play it out in your mind – but it least it will turn out. Regrets are completely arbitrary when you can truly say that you do and have lived life fully.
So plan that trip, re-unite with that person, start interviewing, take whatever chance it is that you’re avoiding – do whatever it is that you think you can’t. In telling you what you can and can’t do, no one’s voice will ever be as strong as your own.
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