Choose Growth

One can choose to go back toward safety or forward toward growth. Growth must be chosen again and again; fear must be overcome again and again.

Abraham Maslow 1908-1970, Psychologist

Still Climbing for the Second Half

As we start the second half of 2012, we all need some encouragement!

See Inspiration from Success.com

The Guest House - Rumi

and one of my most favourites....
 

The Guest House

This being human is a guest house.
Every morning a new arrival.

A joy, a depression, a meanness,
some momentary awareness comes
as an unexpected visitor.

Welcome and entertain them all!
Even if they're a crowd of sorrows,
who violently sweep your house
empty of its furniture,
still, treat each guest honorably.
He may be clearing you out
for some new delight.

The dark thought, the shame, the malice,
meet them at the door laughing,
and invite them in.

Be grateful for whoever comes,
because each has been sent
as a guide from beyond.






Rumi

Pacing

Pacing your accomplishments could be one of the hardest things in our journey. When we want to move ahead, it should happen, right? Wrong!

For some, focusing on moving ahead can be a battle that takes all our resources, all our time, and oftentimes all our humour.

Can we lose the "extra 10, 20, 30" pounds we've (oops!) accumulated, by a quick-fix remedy? Some magical turning back of the clock. But is our over-the-top remedy of drastic calorie reduction sustainable? Can we commit to a half-marathon, or the "Goofy" (January 2012, Disneyland) without lacing up our runners on a (very) regular basis?
 

Each step we take to "get there", needs to focus on the joy of being where we are. As Joe Vitale said in The Key, "How much good can you stand?"; enjoy and appreciate the present moment, because the next one is on its way. I believe that when we know that each little goal gets us to the BIG one, we can celebrate each plateau along the path. Don't sabotage yourself by giving up. We need to realize that our momentum may ebb and flow but always we are carried forward in the direction of our choice.

Life experience has taught me to balance and be patient. It might take longer but it will so be worth the wait. And then one day, you're sitting cross-legged in your yoga class and you surprise even yourself when you are able to lift you own body weight.

Choices - how to spend the rest of your life?

It does not matter that we are no longer 21, most of us did not even know each other at that stage of our lives. But the shared stories give life to our past and I can understand (albeit just a little) of what choices you made that brought you to this person that you are today. It is only in the sharing that I can get a glimpse of the joy and pain that molded you, and the “why” of our meeting at this point in time. We give and we take and if we are wise, we incorporate what we have taken, to pass on to someone else who will need it someday. Like a wave, we come to land and then step back to reflect.

Many, many (many) years ago I was asked to be Class Valedictorian. My teacher, John A. (Class of ’71) said that I was one of the only students who could describe succinctly, yet poetically what needed to be said. What he did not assess was my ability to stand in front of a crowd and speak. I refused, it is a decision that pops up in my thinking every now and then. What would have happened if I had agreed? As time went on, I realized that that one day was just that, one day, a few hours, a few words. I would have survived, regardless of my shaking knees.

Today, I have a friend who is breaking new ground from her old stories. She has abandoned the parts of herself that no longer serve her well, to become someone more courageous. She is a rolling stone. She is a gypsy. And however long or short this period might be, she has taken the challenge of standing at the podium and is giving the best speech of her life.

Congratulations my friend. I have learned a lot from you.

What choices do you need to make to celebrate the rest of your life?

Guided to Cross

My friend M. and I met the day her family moved into our neighbourhood. Over the following 22 years, we have often reminisced about our meeting. Me, mom to 2 small children, shy and not commonly taken to walking over to a stranger with an out-stretched hand. M, with 2 smaller children, an army brat quite used to packing up and going but still surprised at the behaviour of a stranger, me! From that day onwards, I have truly believed that I was guided to make a connection that has proven to be invaluable over the life of our friendship. We walk, we talk, we eat, we wine, and we grow.

We don’t see each other often, sometimes it seems like months go by without contact and then it is like a simultaneous drawing together (you know, the “hey! I been thinking of you, so glad you called” conversations we have with our favourite people). Some friendships were meant to be, and I give thanks for having the awareness that day so long ago when I crossed the street because... I HAD to, I didn’t know why but I knew that it had to happen. That day, the earth shifted to bring me a friend.

M. brings many things to my life; laughter, deep thought, someone who has seen me at my best and certainly at my worst, who supports, and who speaks the truth.

I share below, one of her gifts to the world. This urban oasis can only be created by a human being with a good soul.

Did you or didn’t you, when intuition told you to step into the unknown? (Click to Tweet)

3 - Woman Intersection

 

3-Woman Intersection #Spokane

at a given moment yesterday
at a 4-way stop
we met.

each on the walk of our day
each on a journey.

strangers but women
been be become
each carrying the parcels of our lives
aware of our differences
knowing our similarities.

we nod smile wink
and carry on
until we meet again

and again
and again.


We meet again, as strangers. (Click to Tweet)

Same person, different face. How do we react?  (Click to Tweet)