Tag: purpose

The Wisdom of Our Wee Warriors.

When my daughter was much younger, she came racing up the stairs.

With tear-stained cheeks and a puffy red face, she cried “He hit me back!!”

As I remember, it was some scuffle over a favorite toy. Though, more importantly, it was her first introduction to the theory of ’cause and effect.’

“What you put out there, always comes back to you,” my Mother would say. And, do you know – she was right every single time.

Think of yourself in a recent moment, where things didn’t go quite so well. Perhaps it was a moment of anger or disgust. Or, maybe – fear found the means to nudge its way in.

In that split second, we lose our connection. We forget our place on choosing which path.

And, that’s what it really boils down to, isn’t it? For on any given day we are presented with the choice of determining our interaction with this world.

“Know well what leads you forward and what hold you back,” the Buddha shared. “but choose always the path that leads to wisdom.”

The Buddha offered that this life is ripe with challenges, but – that our ‘suffering’ is but one choice within it.

Choose the path which leads to wisdom. That is to say, use the struggle to raise inner awareness.

This is how we learn. This is how we grow. This is how we transform our technique of interfacing with an often complex world.

“Did you try asking nicely,” I asked, leading her by the hand. And, when her brother saw her tiny tears – he didn’t hesitate to share.

And, in one of my proudest Mommy moments he said to her, “Lexy, when you hug me – I’ll hug you back.”

Perhaps a little something to be gleaned from the hearts of our littlest planet dwellers – that is, when you place love into this world…love is what surrounds you.

Namaste my loves ❤️

Finding Purpose and Giving Our Whole Heart to It.

I’ve been feeling just a wee bit self-conscious lately. My hand tremors have become somewhat more prominent, you see. And with that, my mind has become far more self aware.

From a very young age, I was taught that a woman’s hands should be fluent, elegant and refined. Though, as I sit here watching them tremble – I wonder if grace might ever find its place amongst these fingertips again.

Facing a life-altering diagnosis isn’t easy. Though, finding our place within change is much harder still.

But, life is full of glorious changes. In an instant, our lives may be transformed – for better, for worse.

That’s part of the adventure, now isn’t it? Oh, that we might learn to become fearless explorers, undaunted by the path ahead.

Oliver Sacks once wrote of a sudden clarity he felt upon learning of his terminal cancer diagnosis—as if a tremendous burden had been lifted, and his soul’s ‘one true purpose’ restored. He spoke of the intensity he now felt in just simply being alive, knowing he alone was responsible for the wholeness of his being.

“It is up to me now to choose,” he wrote “how to live out the months that remain to me. I have to live in the richest, deepest, most productive way I can.”

My darlings, every day, I am reminded of this miracle of being alive. From my window, I watch as the trees bow humbly to the breeze. Immediately, I am filled with the same depth of gratitude.

Though, why must we be content to wait? Should not each day impose a similar sense of glory? And, why must purpose be motivated by cause?

Indeed, it is up to us to choose. Whether to live a life of unbridled magnitude – of courage, of faith, of optimism, of belief…

Or, to simply settle in to a routine which carries us further away…

How sad that we often lose sight of purpose – as we tumble forward into the dialogue of ‘what happens next.’

We forget that without purpose our lives would have no meaning.

We forget to allow meaning into our day.

Oh, but that we might, as the Buddha suggested, find our purpose in this life, and then… give our whole heart and soul to it.

When Purpose is Revealed.

It was described as the hug seen ’round the world’ as teacher, Jim Routon discovered that his seven-year-old neighbor, Hezekiah Darbon had survived the Oklahoma tornados.

In this single frame, I am lifted by the prospect that our lives are intrinsically connected; that humanity is not without pause, and that we ‘simple humans’ are never without love.

In this single frame, I see hope redefined by the capacity and willingness of spirit to rise above.

And, oh my darlings, in this single frame – the majesty of our purpose is revealed

In this one single moment – milliseconds, really – you and I can forever change this world.

Remember, compassion speaks loudest in all those tucked away ‘spaces in between.’

Namaste, my loves…❤️

Photo: AP

What is Your One?

My darlings, today is a reminder of ‘one’ –

One hand

One heart

One smile

One word

One hand, to help another…

One heart, to heal a wound…

One smile, to bring about togetherness…

One word, to change this world.

It’s all about you, my darlings. Choose your ‘ones’ carefully – and know, that within each there is nestled dearly – a one that might just fill a ‘forever wound.’

My ‘one’ on this day was embodied in within the purring of this fuzzy, four-legged friend.

So tell me, my dearest darlings – what is your ‘one’ for today?

What Is Your Why?

Having a rough day, my darlings?

Put your hand to your heart, and tell me – what is it that you feel? Is it the thumping sound of soul come alive? A fearless explorer waiting to take on this world?

Is it the sound of life finding you with each new breath? That first kiss? That something missed? That sense of ease within the falling rain?

My darlings, what you feel now is purpose – it is your ‘why‘. That irrepressible force that carries you through each day.

And, is the very reason you are alive.

So, cherish this day – my loving friends. Take wrong turns, follow overgrown paths. Delight in the sense of new adventure.

But, by all means – don’t wait for life to happen to you; take little steps to find your life’s greatest bliss.

And remember, as Friedrich Nietzsche once said,

“He who has a why to live for can bear almost any how.”

So, now tell me, won’t you – my dearest darlings: On this day, what is your why?

Choosing the Path of Purpose.

My darlings, a beautiful passage this morning from the venerable, Thich Nhat Hanh. It is a reminder of the inexhaustible joy realized through a path of service.

“To bring joy to one person in the morning,” he begins “and to ease the pain of one person in the afternoon. We know that the happiness of others is our own happiness…We know that every word, every look, every action, and every smile can bring happiness to others. We know that if we practice wholeheartedly, we ourselves may become an inexhaustible source of peace and joy for our loved ones and for all species.”

I’ve always been drawn to a path of service. Even as a young child I remember feeling this ‘need’ to reach out to others. To share with them, my love – to help alleviate their pain.

At times, that need was quite nearly unbearable – alleviated only by the smile of another human soul.

Indeed, to bring joy to another – to practice with wholehearted compassion; is to become a source of unmitigated love.

So, my darlings, if I might ask – which path do you choose today?

For me, I choose this path of purpose.

<3

To Have Courage Enough to Live.

Philosopher Immanuel Kant once wrote, “By a lie, a man annihilates his dignity as a man.”

I’d like to think his reference extended far beyond it’s most literal translation. That is to say, we must all at some point learn this lesson of ‘to thine own self be true.’

To Kant, the world was simple – a series of fundamental concepts which structured our human experience. And, believing that one could never enjoy a direct relationship with their surroundings. That at best, our experience was comprised of a synapse of senses.

But, I think there’s so much more to it, than that.

Come to think of it, I’m not sure he and I would have gotten on so very well. As, it’s difficult for me to see things in terms which are so very ‘black and white.’

You see, I believe the world to be ripe with a million glorious colors…of passionate pinks, Monet blues, and Tiger Lily reds. And, isn’t it always those colors in between that make this life so very much worth living?

Life is not always so simple, my darlings.

At times, we may succeed…and others, we may fail. But, rest assured we’ll always have this symphony of shades.

Our inner truth shines brightly, my darlings. And our sole purpose in this life, my darlings – is to have ‘courage enough’ to experience it.