Cause and Affect
Posted on January 4, 2017 Leave a Comment
If you were the country’s First Spouse, what would be your cause?
Historically, First Ladies have championed a cause. Pursued a project. Motivated a movement.
Now imagine yourself in their position. It’s January, and your spouse will begin their first term as President. The focus and flurry has been immense, and everything in your life is new. Just when you are beginning to breathe, a smartly-dressed team member with a clipboard turns to you in a crowded room and asks loudly,
“So. What’s your cause gonna be?”
Whoosh. (That’s your breath leaving your body.)
Fortunately, the majority of us can breathe again right now as we come back into our own reality. And if the one person who actually owns the above reality is reading this, she can breathe too.
Because there is no wrong choice.
And we can all choose to support a cause that interests us, right where we are, with what we have.
So again, what would your cause be?
Here’s a fun, quick, three-step exercise to guide you:
STEP ONE: What lights you up? For example, my list might look something like this:
- My pet
- Goat’s-milk soap
- Fresh eggs
- Family gatherings
- A good talk with a good friend
- Snowshoeing
STEP TWO: What are possible larger concepts of your specific items? Continuing with this example:
- Animal welfare
- Sustainability
- Food industry
- Eldercare
- Mental health
- Healthy movement
STEP THREE: Pick one. What are actions you can take to support this in your life, right now? Some ideas for these examples:
- Donate a bag of dog food to your local animal shelter
- Make a homemade soup
- Buy from a farmers’ market
- Call your Mom/Dad/Grandparent for an extended visit
- Read an uplifting article from Heal Your Life
- Stand up and move on the hour during your desk-job workday
And remember, offering up a prayer is also a right action.
You don’t have to be in a privileged position in order to have power. Your actions have an affect.
You make a difference.
Now it’s your turn. Share below some of your interests. Unsure of what a larger connection could be? Looking for ideas on actions you could take? Ask for help and see what gets sparked in this safe space of comments, below.
New Year, Awesome You
Posted on December 28, 2016 6 Comments
This amazing image is from blazenwinters.
I’m a highly reflective person by nature. Although this serves me well overall, it can sometimes drive me bonkers. Also those near me. Perhaps you yourself have also received comments like these from people you love and who dearly love you:
- “Don’t think so much. Just roll with it.”
- “Don’t feel so much. Not everything really means something.”
- “What are you talking about?!?”
Then again, maybe it’s only me…
Either way, it’s all good. Because we are in connection with the Divine when we are truly being ourselves. No matter if others understand. Or not.
It’s not necessary to be understood, in order to be loved and supported. (Click to Tweet this!)
The close of an old year and the beginning of a new one nurtures reflection in just about everyone. Here is an approach that is hugely helpful in its direct simplicity, and it comes from Marie Forleo:
Think about your past year, then ask yourself:
- What’s something I did that I’m proud of?
- What’s a mistake I made, and what did I learn?
- What story am I willing to let go of before the New Year?
At the risk of not being understood, here are examples from my own life:
- I am proud of myself for creating and sharing a free, online, self-paced training program for folks that use a specific library manager system.
- I goofed on a free day I had, when I tagged along with my husband on his errands instead of puttering at home with my interests. But I learned to begin to identify and prioritize my wants and needs. And to make that more important than my desire to make others happy.
- I’m willing to let go of my story of being the Keeper of the Extended Family. I believe I can let go of orchestrating ideal gatherings, and instead allow them in whatever form they arrive. Perhaps not every situation needs solving…Ooo! I can let go of my story of being the Solver. (A story I didn’t even know I carried, until just now.)
What insights do you have when you look through this annual mirror?
As we move together into a New Year, keep being you.
You are loved and supported.
I’d love to see your reflections in the comments below. You are more inspiring than you know. Go, you!
To: Me. Love, Me.
Posted on December 21, 2016 1 Comment
This holiday season I’m doing pretty well with keeping my sanity.
That said, I still do slide toward cray-cray. But this year I’m doing better at turning the sleigh around before actually arriving at Crazy Town.
Wanna know my secret, Santa?
Receiving.
I have been consciously shifting into receptivity, replenishment, renewal. In the moment, not as an addition to my To-Do list. Sometimes it takes the form of a random time-out for pleasure reading. Sometimes it arrives as deciding to serve leftovers for supper — again. Sometimes it comes as postponing sending the Christmas cards.
Dare I say this is the latest I have ever gotten my Christmas cards out? And that I cut my list almost in half this year? And that I’m allowing for the possibility that I send none next year? (Gasp!)
Okay, my recent getaway to Florida with two great friends was admittedly the hard-hitting experiential message that showed me just how much I need to create this internal oasis, wherever I am. It took a major milestone to realize that I need a daily dose.
Bucket list. Yes. Yes, it was worth it!
Yet I’m discovering that I am able to show up much more fully — for everything — because I’ve filled my own self first.
I am learning that sometimes it really is about me.
I must care for myself first in order to then be able to care for others. I’m learning to prioritize me, and my great surprise gift is that it’s actually not at the expense of others — not at all.
This has been mind-blowing for me. And I want this gift for you, too.
I encourage you to let go, receive, and be filled. It’s proving to be both blissful and grounding to move through my days in this way. No matter where I am or what my situation is.
I have been gifted with a 7-minute Receiving meditation that I’ve found hugely helpful for shifting into receptivity in the here and now, and I’d like to share it with you.
Click this image for a Receiving Meditation from Rebecca Campbell.
Christmas is about receiving. May you receive hope, redemption, salvation, and love this season — across all traditions.
What are you ready to receive in your life, your soul?
Breathe. Receive. I’ve missed me. We miss you. Welcome home.
When Your Groove Has Become A Rut
Posted on December 14, 2016 Leave a Comment
Here’s a story that I had been operating under a couple of years ago:
- Well-held values + Hard-won success = Living the dream
- Living the Dream = Lifelong happiness and fulfillment
When the solid earth of my dream job had over time crumbled out from under my feet, I had a bit of a personal crisis. This was my dream job, right? I had worked my butt off for it! When had it become a nightmare? Was I just ungrateful? Had my dream job abandoned me? Worse yet, was I the one who had given up on it?
What I had yet to learn at the time was that after over a decade, I had outgrown that dream. That it had expanded together with me as much as it was able to, and that I had more of me to become. That just because I now dreamed bigger and it was unable to go further did not mean the relationship had been in vain.
For the first time in my life I had true compassion for people who chose to just ride out their careers–for 30 years or more–and took up personal growth through developing new hobbies instead. Or they just started drinking heavily.
We are meant to grow. We are meant to expand. Do not fear that being at your crossroads means you are dissing the road that got you there.
Maybe you can identify with this personal questioning on your own journey…
If you are telling yourself that you made your bed and now must lie in it, I encourage you to take another look.. Yes, you made that bed. And, you can make another. Just because we started in a crib doesn’t mean that it fits us today. Or that it should.
But it was right and good and perfect for that time. Just as now is, at this time.
How far you have come is to be celebrated. Yet so is your moving beyond it. Let go.
And then, when we finally get what we want, we do all that we can to hold onto it. It is at this exact moment that we fall out of flow with Life. Like the wheel of Life that never stops turning, the longer you cling on and try to stay where you were, the more out of flow with Life you get. –Rebecca Campbell, author of Rise Sister Rise
Once upon a time you dreamed a dream. You worked your butt off, and attained it.
And it was good, very good.
Now, you dream a new dream.
And this is good. Very good.
Rise.
What have you had to let go of in your past as you’ve grown into your present? Acknowledge it here in the comments. Our individual examples are universal stories. You are not alone.
Stop “Should-ing” On Yourself
Posted on December 7, 2016 2 Comments
I love this time of year. From Thanksgiving through the New Year, it’s a constant sense of anticipation, hopefulness, and connection.
And it can also bring self-imposed expectation, striving, and sneaky idealistic perfection.
Dangit.
You might recognize some of the symptoms, yourself:
- As long as I’m hosting dinner, I should include everyone–making it 60 instead of 20.
- There are 126 on my Christmas card list–I should send cards to everyone because, after all, it’s Christmas.
- I should go to (insert family member’s name here)’s house for Christmas Eve, because I grew up doing that.
- We have so many great holiday treats–I should make all of them because, well, it’s tradition.
- I think I’ll get another gift for each of the kids, because I should give them something more substantial.
Wait a minute. These examples aren’t inherently right or wrong–they are just fabulous opportunities to pause and take a personal reading.
- Am I thrilled with who I am additionally inviting, or am I just trying to avoid family drama?
- Do I love sending a card to each person on my list, or do I feel guilty at the thought of no longer sending to some?
- Am I uplifted to take my family to my Great-Aunt-Twice-Removed Bessie’s every Christmas Eve, or do I want something else?
- Do I still enjoy my standby holiday treats, or is it time to try new recipes–or fewer?
- Do I know that I am enough and am giving out of love, or am I seeking to be enough through my gift-giving?
There is no wrong answer, there is simply awareness. For me, that makes all the difference in following my joy.
Besides, you never know if Great-Aunt-Twice-Removed Bessie is wishing for a quiet Christmas Eve, for once. She’s got her own joy to follow, too.
If the impulse comes from a joyous thought that feels good, follow it. If the impulse comes from an uncomfortable thought that felt bad, don’t follow it.
—Abraham
This holiday season, we need to take care of our Self. Kris Carr has a fabulous Holiday Self-Care Planner and stress-management tips that I appreciate.
Do it because it’s what you desire. Do it because it brings you pleasure. Do it because it makes you come alive. Do it because it lights you up. Do it because your intuition told you to. Do it because it ignites a spark in your heart. Do it because it lights a fire between your legs. Do it because it’s what you came here to do.
–Rebecca Campbell
Reach for the better-feeling thought. Follow what lights you up. Recognize and let go of your “shoulds.”
I’m thinking my Christmas card list will be smaller. Or maybe I don’t send any this year. I’ll sit with that thought for a while, and see how it feels.
Now to you — what holiday “hit” are you getting at this time that could be looked at anew? In what way can you best care for yourself in this particular situation? Please share in the comments below.
And have a truly happy holiday season! 🙂
gina drellack 