[blockquote source=”Oscar Wilde”]“A flower blossoms for its own joy.”[/blockquote]

When I was a little girl, I actually thought sunflowers contained pieces of the sun – fractured bits that had splintered off and settled into the mighty flower’s gaze.

I suffered many a scraped knee trying to prove my theory – most certainly leading to my present aversion of practical mathematics.

Math never seems to factor in those little things that are so glaringly obvious…like how the Sunflower takes such simple pleasure from being just slightly outside of a little girl’s reach.

I suppose, at the time, and in my little girl way – I felt it was the closest that I might ever come to capturing the sun.

And so, each day I leapt and hopped – in desperate reach of that which couldn’t be ‘caught.’

I could have sworn once that I actually caught one smiling down to me, as if to say,

“Not yet, my love – but, in time, you may.”

Oh, and, they were right to do so – to keep their secrets safely tucked away….as sometimes even the most tempting of mysteries must be revealed in a manner that highlights its significance.

If only knew then, what I know now…that the sunshine has been within me, all along.

Much love, my dears ~ and may we always have the boldness each day, to face the sun in our very own way.

“The journey of awakening happens just at the place where we can’t get comfortable.” — Pema Chödrön

I was experiencing a moment of restlessness this morning – my mind was falling easily into anxiety’s snare, as I looked at the massive pile of tasking ahead.

breathe…sip…breath.

I’m always a bit unsettled by these much ‘pricklier’ emotions. My instinct is to move towards an immediate calming, but in doing so – I often wonder, am I perhaps missing something?

Like stepping through the briar patch, we tend to move swiftly through – deliberately avoiding any such emotions, which may trigger even the slightest wincing of pain.

But, what if these emotions were a key? A key to the profound wisdom locked within – a timeless connection between our innermost spirit, and the radiance of this light that is you.

[blockquote source=”Pema Chödrön”]”By trying to get rid of “negativity,” by trying to eradicate it, by putting it into a column labelled “bad,” we are throwing away our wisdom as well, because everything in us is creative energy—particularly our strong emotions. They are filled with life-force.”[/blockquote]

Indeed, how quickly we run from these emotions, which may, in the end prove to be our greatest teacher?

My dears, there is nothing wrong with negativity. It is a powerful emotion that transcends every aspect of our being, cutting straight through to our spiritual core.

And, it can be a terrifying experience; heart-wrenching and incessant in its desperation to find the ground beneath us.

But, it can be life-changing, as well – teaching us a little something about ourselves, we always wished to know.

It is by way of these very emotions – the crippling pain, the horrifying fear – that we may look into the eyes of another, and finally understand.

My dears, to know these emotions, is to know compassion.

And, that’s where the unconditional love begins.

So, stop running from all of those shadows, my dears – and step boldly into the light that is you.

I promise you won’t be disappointed.

[blockquote source=”Marty Rubin”]The deep roots never doubt spring will come.[/blockquote]

The air was cold and brisk this morning – a stark contrast to yesterday’s ‘balmy’ 60°. And though I’ve been feeling just a bit unwell, as of late…I knew my dear friend Spring was finally here to greet me.

She was there in the brown turning gently to a paler shade of green…

And ‘o’er the crests of trees and drying dew’…

She was there in the bits of broken ice against the stream…whisked away in the arms of a dancing stranger.

In those swirls of steam rising up from my mug….to these dampened bricks beneath my feet;

And, in every other instance of this earth’s waking up – my dears, she was right there, waiting to greet me, too.

As I stood there reflecting over this past year, I couldn’t believe just how very much my life has changed. And, always for the best. Oh, sure, there were challenges along the way; brick walls casting shadows over my resolve.

But, even in the darkness I grew.

Sometimes I wonder, were it not for these moments of contrast – would I have ever even noticed, at all?

That’s why, when the opportunity finally presents itself to us – sick or not, we must step forward to receive it.

To embrace the subtlety of our changes, carries with it an awareness unlike any ever felt before…

Some call this wisdom, an enlightenment of sorts – I call this, finally waking up.

So, you see, my dears in the end there will be just one question left to answer –

That is, are you certain you’ve lived the life you’ve always wished for?

Stepping into the contrast of these changes, my dears – will grant you the insight you’ve been looking for.

“To stay with a broken heart, with a rumbling stomach, with the feeling of hopelessness and wanting to get revenge—that is the path of true awakening.” ~ Pema Chödrön

That’s the trick, now isn’t it? To find peace within our hearts even in those moments intended to topple us to our knees. To find strength within our hopelessness. To find faith, when we’ve lost our willingness to believe.

We may see these moments as our spiritual ‘test’—but, aren’t they really, at heart, our own spiritual awakening?

“Let yourself be silently drawn by the strange pull of what you really love. It will not lead you astray.” ~ Rumi

To which, some may challenge, ‘easier said, than done.’

Because, being silently drawn is often made simpler—when it is, that we may tuck cleanly out of our own way.

We are somewhat ‘programmed’ aren’t we? To solve any issue that arise. We spend hours contemplating each what if scenario—but fewer less moments, coming nearer to the real truth of our understanding.

Not everything is meant to be solved.

Sometimes, it’s these very moments are intended to be our teachers.

“Things don’t really get solved. They come together and they fall apart. Then they come together and fall apart again. It’s just like that. The healing comes from letting there be room for all of this to happen: room for grief, for relief, for misery, for joy.” ~ Pema Chödrön

Life is just this way.

My dears, sometimes the ‘crisis is the healing.’

And fear, is often the ‘vanguard to courage.’

For a link to the full video: Pema Chödrön: The Nature of Fear and Fearlessness

[blockquote source=”Donna Quesada”]When you catch yourself slipping into a pool of negativity, notice how it derives from nothing other than resistance to the current situation.[/blockquote]

I was having a rather difficult yoga practice today. My mind engaged in an exhaustive battle with a million and one inconsequential things. And, all the while my body stiffened into an unsettled sort of protest.

sigh…what an awfully messy way to greet one’s yoga mat…

At times, the heart and mind can seem an inseparable pairing – forming a graceful union between our physical being and very best spiritual intentions.

And, other times…well…they seem to suffer the wounds of this world’s most mortal enemies.

Is it any wonder that we feel so weakened by this? Our bodies trapped smack dab in the midst of it – an unwilling participant in an ages old battle.

I remember watching my little ones quarrel. As a parent, I instinctively rushed in to ‘fix things’ – unaware, that sometimes even this is a much needed part of the process.You see, if it weren’t for all this ‘bumping into edges’ – I don’t think we’d ever learn the spiritual truth about who we really are.

So, as troubling as it may seem, at times – perhaps, we need these moments to get to the bottom of things. Just as I needed this moment on my yoga mat, to help me find my way to inner peace.

And find it, I did…in a crumpled up, messy sort of way.

You see, when we are able to begin seeing life in just this way – why suddenly, even those ‘worst case scenarios’ become our greatest opportunities for awakening.

And, realizing the greatest of gifts are found always in this ‘in between.’

[blockquote source=”Yevgeny Zamyatin”]The lilac branches are bowed under the weight of the flowers: blooming is hard, and the most important thing is – to bloom.[/blockquote]

There’s a tree that blooms near my house each year; blossoms the size of saucer dishes, and a fragrance to capture even the most unsuspecting of hearts.

Each year I wait like a child at Christmas for that tree to bloom – and just for the very simple privilege of standing amongst it’s magnificent flourishes.

And, it doesn’t ever matter how big or how small – oh, my heavens, no. Because, each new bud in its final ‘breaking free’ – has the capacity to invoke the same sense of profound gratitude.

Gratitude for it’s long-awaited arrival.

My dears, are we not all blossoms of this wondrous earth…our magnificence born from this same patch of dirt?

And looking towards the sun each day, do our faces not warm to the same brilliant rays? Do we not cling desperately through the harshest storms, to shed these trappings of our human form?

And gently turning towards earth again, when this, our time, has reached its end.

When purpose becomes our legacy…and we, just a faded bloom against a patch of green.

And knowing that our sweetness clings, to the hearts of those who embrace our ‘spring.’

“Feelings, whether of compassion or irritation, should be welcomed, recognized, and treated on an absolutely equal basis; because both are ourselves. The tangerine I am eating is me. The mustard greens I am planting are me. I plant with all my heart and mind. I clean this teapot with the kind of attention I would have were I giving the baby Buddha or Jesus a bath. Nothing should be treated more carefully than anything else. In mindfulness, compassion, irritation, mustard green plant, and teapot are all sacred.”
― Thích Nhất Hạnh

Someone recently suggested to me that I ‘cling’ far too much to my emotions. And, that as a result of all my sticking-ness, I’m keeping myself from my own happiness.

*sideways glance*

I have to admit, it caught me a bit off guard. As a writer, I tend to embrace all matters of heart – knowing that in some sense, it shall help me to connect to others.

And, I suppose I would rather like to think that I just simply enjoy the heck out of the fullness of each emotion.

I like the fluttering heart when I fall in love.

I like the feeling of my soul completely satisfied after a lengthy day.

I like that little gasp that leaves my lips the moment I see something amazing.

But, most of all – I crave any and all things that remind me that I am so very much human.

And, I’m not at all afraid of this being human.

I like the squishiness of being toe deep in mud; I like the stinging of a hot summer’s sun. I like the bug bites, the skin rashes…the unsettledness. Because, in balance it brings depth to my simple visions.

My dears, to exist fully in any given moment, can seem an awfully scary thing. But, it can likewise be that one thing that serves to connect us all.

Through our shared experiences, we may understand…we may grow…we may feel a sense of closeness to one another.

And, isn’t that the basis of humanity? This awkward fumbling sense of always being human.

Maybe, I do cling a bit to things-but I only hold on long enough to understand.

And then, just like that – I let it slip from my hand, grateful for all that it shared with me in those short little moments we were together.

[pullquote align=”left” background=”on”]Why wait for the loss of hearing to appreciate sound? Turn off the white noise of your thoughts and start to listen. ~  Bella Bathurst[/pullquote]

I was reading an article online this morning, a most beautiful piece about a woman who developed a degenerative disease causing her to lose most of her hearing in her late 20s.

And, after 12 years living in this space of muffled silence, a pioneering new surgery allowed for the insertion of a micro prosthetic device—which restored her hearing to perfect, once again.

The article would have been remarkable ending with just this—the story of a young woman who lost it all, and gained it back once again. But, as is the case with every good story…there is always a ‘hook’ hidden deeper beneath the pages of text—something which, hopefully, just might cause our perspective to shift.

And, as I made my way through and wandered these words, I realized this was really a story about listening.

 ”For those with more serious loss, the decline of one sense often strengthens others. Watch anyone who has had hearing problems for a while and it’s obvious that they are listening differently. They listen with the whole of themselves, bodies turned towards the speaker, drinking in cues.”

How often do we find ourselves blocking out the ‘noise’ of our day? The buzzing swirls and hums of all of our techno-gadgets, the bustling scramble of our morning rush, and the white noise that frames out our day?

Have we, perhaps, become deaf in a whole brand new way? Do we tuck ourselves quietly away in this space of our thoughts in order to block out this droning on of our day?

But more importantly, in this process of filtering out—have we damaged our capacity to listen?

How often do we take the time to listen to these most wonderful things…like, the ‘exhilarating ripple’ of a voice…our own child’s voice peeking through the blanket of playground noise…or, the wind brushing through the trees as they sway in the wind, and their leaves share with us their greatest of secrets?

Is it really possible to turn off the bustle of thought, and really listen with all of our being?

Indeed, this earth “has music for those who listen“—so, try not to let it get lost inside the ‘noise’ of your day.

So, lean inwards and towards the ‘music’ of life, and breathe fully the ‘melody’ of this moment. But more so, and most important of all—don’t become ‘deaf’ to your day.

Because, you may just find to your “listening ears, all nature sings, and round me rings the music of the spheres.”

[blockquote source=”Anthon St. Maarten”]Never surrender your hopes and dreams to the fateful limitations others have placed on their own lives. The vision of your true destiny does not reside within the blinkered outlook of the naysayers and the doom prophets.[/blockquote]

I read a most beautiful story the other day – about a poor shepherd boy, who wished only to share his heart with this world. But, try as he might, the villagers saw only a fool…

“You’re just a poor shepherd boy, what have you to give,” they laughed.

So, with calloused hands and empty heart, he resigned himself to the endlessness of the fields before him.

But, he had the love of his Master’s daughter…a beautiful young woman, who saw within him that which others could not yet see.

In the well-worn creases that ran the length of his furrowed brow, she saw a compassion greater than any she had ever known;

And, in those blood-stained wrappings that carefully covered his wounds…she saw the humility of a man who would gladly give to the needs of others before his own;

She saw the magnificence of his most beautiful human soul.

Oh, but when her father discovered her love for this boy – he forbade her from ever seeing him again.

“An illiterate shepherd…? What might the others think?” he scoffed.

But, like most rebellious teens – guess what? She married him anyway.

Her father was so enraged, that he stripped her of all entitlements of wealth – leaving her with nothing, but the love for this young man.

But, my dears…sometimes ‘just love’ is plenty enough.

Many years passed, as the beautiful woman stood loyally by her husband’s side – believing, in the destiny of those ‘much greater things. ‘

And do you know, this ‘poor illiterate fool’…he went on to become one of this world’s greatest spiritual scholars? Sharing the lesson that was needed most in this world….

An understanding of the richness of just being human.

And yet, even on his deathbed – he wished to give more.

“I have not lived a life like Moses,” he cried – fearing God’s judgement.

To which, his beautiful wife replied, “My dear, God will not judge Akiba for not being Moses. God will judge Akiba for not being Akiba.”

You see, my dears – we are born with just one spiritual obligation, that is…to be ourselves.

To measure our worth, in terms of fullness of heart…and not, against the ‘that which we don’t have’s.

Such that we may always know the riches of this just being human.

Namaste, and much love, my dears…

“True compassion does not come from wanting to help out those less fortunate than ourselves but from realizing our kinship with all beings.” ~ Pema Chödrön

I read a poem this morning, by author Ellen Bass ~ in which she poses a most simple question, “What if you knew you’d be the last to touch someone?” how might you change your interaction with this world?

The question is indeed most simple, but also one worthy of much deeper contemplation.

What if you knew you’d be the last person to touch another? To be, of their absolulte and final moments on this earth?

Would you, perhaps, take that one moment longer to consider their words?

Might you offer a bit more patience and compassion in lieu of tossing about such grumbling words?

But more importantly, would you perhaps…let them slip past those many fortresses you’ve built, and in order to experience the true depths of your compassion?

If only we knew…

“What if you knew you’d be the last
to touch someone?
If you were taking tickets, for example,
at the theater, tearing them,
giving back the ragged stubs,
you might take care to touch that palm,
brush your fingertips
along the life line’s crease.
When a man pulls his wheeled suitcase
too slowly through the airport, when
the car in front of me doesn’t signal,
when the clerk at the pharmacy
won’t say Thank you, I don’t remember
they’re going to die.” – Ellen Bass

My dears, on this day, be mindful to others ~ that their story here is forever intertwined with your existence. And when, at first glance you feel your ‘temperature rising’ ~ allow a pause instead, for impulse to give way to compassion.

Namaste, and much love on this day ~