“The greatest revelation is stillness.” – Lao Tzu

Just try being still for one minute in this crazy world, in your busy day, in your ‘monkey mind’.  That is where the answer and the path lies for me, in the pause, before I respond, act or think.

And then the question becomes, “Am I focusing on love?”

The sage is not concerned with what is beneficial to him but what is best for the highest good, in the end.  The big picture looms large and clear to those who can find the stillness.

In the hush, in the silence, we listen to our higher selves.

“Be of service to your family and others,” it tells me, “By letting them see their glory, by praising and encouraging them.”

“Live in the moment, don’t lose any more time over nonsense.”

“Have gratitude for being born.”

“ Forgive”

“Make amends and take action.”

“We are one.”

After a meditative moment, we may feel warm; have a good sense of self, peace and direction.  Discovery of self is on its way, again, another lotus petal or onion skin peeling back and away, the raw, teary-eyed, priceless, inner self.  On the journey, you move past behavior, into your thoughts, through emotion, past pre conception…to your true self.

Peace reigns supreme in the stillness.

I stay here in the calm, releasing and absorbing positive energy flow.  I am a conduit.  I choose to focus on joy.  I live in possibility and hopefulness… knowing that my energy flows where my attention goes.  I trust love, I wish to experience peace and I heal in the abundance of wellness.  I am a mind aware of my infinite nature.  I validate my inner creative artist by finding and expressing my authenticity.  Welcome to the process.  Join me in the stillness where our minds expand and join.  It is a frequency.  It is an elevated thought.  It is acting with integrity. It is found within, not without.   It is common ground.

“Everyday I get to work with my interior designer on how beautiful I make my day.” – Me

I am blessed to be alive.  I am blessed to be alive.  I am blessed to be alive.

I am happy, peaceful, loving and contented.

I am calm, quiet, assured and confident.

I am joyous, generous, innocent and kind.

I am compassionate, tolerant, accepting and capable.

I am grateful, creative, competent and harmonious.

I am healthy, strong, organized and motivated.

I am blessed to be alive, I am blessed to be alive, I am blessed to be alive.

Say this over and over and over again in silence for one minute.  Then write your own affirmations of what you want for yourself.  I AM……(think of 4 things). Then write 3-6 lines of affirmations that are personal to you.  Feel free to use, dissect or borrow from mine.  Great way to start the week and end the weekend on an up note.

The saying goes, “You win some, you lose some.”  The bad news is… we lost to the Kings in Round 2 – Game 7 on OUR ice in a despicable manner.  Final score was 6-2.

Good news is… We got to see it, weep, shake our heads and carry on.  No more hockey game anxiety for me till September.

It was Teemu Selanne’s last minutes, last period, last game in his long and stellar hockey career.

We might have had the youngest goalie John Gibson (20 years old) play in the playoffs, but we also had ‘the flash’, Teemu Selanne, the oldest hockey player in the playoffs (43 years old) take his final curtain bow. So long Number 8.He represented us well.

What do you do when you swallow a bitter pill?  How do you recover from a letdown?

I feel my way through it, I get a little angry, my energy dips, I complain about it and then I move on.

What do you do?  How do you handle it?

Connected by blood, a pact or the past can make you feel guilty for being different, changing your mind or believing in something contrary.

Ask yourself if you have really done anything wrong.  In some families, it is wrong to beat to a different drummer.  In some societal clans, it is wrong to think outside the box.  In some relationships, it is wrong to have an opinion of your own.

As long as you are truthful to self, didn’t commit a crime, were not responsible for any wrongdoing, are kind and respectful towards others, you have nothing to be guilty about.

Another misnomer believes you are to be held accountable for someone else’s behavior.  That is a tactic manipulators use to avoid taking any blame for their actions.  They don’t want to be answerable to their own misconduct and try to pin it on circumstance or the nearest victim.  Don’t fall for it.

Each of us lives, thinks, says and comports themselves independently of others.  Being interdependent in society, community, family or relationship does not mean we are no longer held accountable for our own responses, lives, deeds, words and thoughts.

Most of the shadows of this life are caused by standing in one’s own sunshine.

 Ralph Waldo Emerson 

Just to let you know, I am human and have bouts of the blahs or blues like everyone else.  Even though I am past my womanly reproductive prime, I still cycle.  I still have crazy days when I don’t even want to live with myself, never mind be pleasant to you.

I recently had one of these momentous, dramatic moments and again I insist  – having a bevy of considerate, compassionate and generous friends makes all the difference.  So does opening your mouth and letting them know you are not ok.

For whatever reason, and sometimes it IS unknown, we all dip, coast or plunge some days.  Not letting it become a massive isolationist issue takes being able to trust someone enough to let him or her know you are feeling a tad vulnerable.  Once I am willing to let you in, we can be intimate partners in recruiting best possible scenarios within my head and replacing self-indulgent, self-pitying and victim based depression with happier, productive thoughts.

The opposite of trust is doubt.  And when you are in the midst of feeling low and lonely, you doubt you will ever recuperate.  That’s when faithful, sympathetic friends come in handy.

When we are fiercely independent or private, it takes courage to rely, depend or believe in another person’s ability to help us out of this one.

I have learned to empower myself by having confidence in others.  I can take a break from running the world and let someone else take the reins for a while.  This does not have to be literal.  It is a matter of allowing yourself the optimism that perhaps you don’t have all the answers, cannot comprehend everything or have no clue about anything.  Imagine that.

I learn every time I am sad or perplexed with unknown, unwarranted discouragement that reliable, steadfast and true friends that I can be frank, candid and raw with surround me.  Thank you.  May I be even half as helpful to you, when you are blue.

This graceful wreath adorns my treehouse as of Mother’s Day.  Thank you – Love of my Life.

Natural leaves of lime green myrtle, pink larkspur and green hydrangea.

Thank you to my children and friends for their texts, phone calls, cards and gifts.  Nothing says Happy Mother’s Day and Thank You Mom – like thoughtful gestures!