We think about waving a white flag when we want to quit something, when we give up or when we need help.  Often a mark of desperate measure and exhaustion, it’s not perceived as a positive sign.

What if we saw the white flag under a different light?  What if instead of giving up the flag could stand in it’s simplicity as a representation of surrender to what is?

In surrender, we can find ease because we are no longer resisting. Surrender, perceived this way, isn’t about giving up control though you’re willingly handing it over to the powers that be.

Surrender is acceptance and trust in the process of this incredible environment that hosts our experience.

We want to help those around us.  It is up to the other person to accept our offers or not.  We can help heal old hurts through these interactions.  They give an opportunity to build trust and safe space between people.  There is healing ready and waiting within these interactions.  When we ground our bodies and breathe before we ask to help we give that person neutral space with which to answer honestly.

If we reach for them or ask out of desperation or felt obligation- resentment, irritation and mistrust can grow.  Ground your feet, breath and then ask with no exceptions.  Whether they accept or refuse makes no difference.  That is the intention of living in LOVE and respect.

To remain positive through our days can be difficult, yes?  Social media, the news, negative movies and music all around, watching people become angry at the smallest of misunderstandings in stores, at work and with their families leaves little room to feel LOVE around us.  We can feel so heavy instead of light and hopeful.

There are a few ways that I have learned to help see the good in life, in people and in the MESS.  When I find myself asking ‘Why?’ or when I find myself judging my surroundings, I come right back with, ‘It is what it is.‘  This simple statement that I learned from Eckhart Tolle brings my present moment into a nonjudgmental way of seeing, watching and observing life.  I do not have to begin to categorize ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ or how to change the moment to make it more like me.  ‘It is what it is.  I am Here.’  I say this when my kids are having big reactions, when I see all of the violent movies advertised on Netflix or when I watch an argument.

Life is contrasting.  It is dynamic and unpredictable.  Nature is unbelievably fragile and gorgeous and also brutal.  ‘It is what it is.  I am Here.’  We can only affect our present moment and our inner state.  The butterfly affect of THIS way will create a larger change than you could ever campaign or rally for.

Smile in the mirror. Do that every morning and you’ll start to see a big difference in your life.

Yoko Ono

 

“Luck is believing you’re lucky.” – Tennessee Williams

So much of luck is in how you choose to see situations and people.  Focusing on the good aspects can lead to a heightened awareness of just how lucky you truly are.

Surround yourself with good feeling thoughts and make time to do things that bring joy!

“The highest form of love is to be the protector of another person’s solitude.” -Rainer Maria Rilke

We may associate being alone with loneliness but this doesn’t have to be the case.  Creativity is often born in aloneness.  There’s plenty to be said about group dynamics and the energy found there for creative interplay, but it can be important to honor solitude as the positive space that bridges the unmainfest with the manifest.  What is and what will be need a meeting place as do the earth and sky.

It could be that what comes from solitude is a form of artwork, as was the case for Rilke, or it could be a quiet reflection, or a time of  rejuvenation that produces result in the quality of interactions to follow.  When you offer the gift of solitude you open a door from which many other gifts can flow.

“Silence is a source of great strength.” – Lao Tzu

 

This weekend you could wheel up the shopping cart for the person parked next to you at the store, you could buy the person behind you a coffee,  or leave a fresh bouquet in a public spot with a tag that says, “FREE! …to brighten your home”.  Try anything that suits your heart’s desire to become part of the cycle of sharing. Random acts of kindness are contagious!

TRUST.   LOVE.   GIVE.

Happy Sharing!!  ✨💛Valerie✨

“The most precious gift we can offer others is our presence. When mindfulness embraces those we love, they will bloom like flowers” – Thich Nhat Hanh

On our morning walk my daughter handed me this flower that was along the path of a wooded trail we frequent. There were many like it upturned there by our feet but only this one with little treasures inside.  I was so happy in the moment she shared it for the usefulness found in hosting others even after the blooming of this beauty has passed.  Your presence can be a gentle, quiet retreat or an uplifting joy for someone else!  You simply have to be there.

 

My 4 year old drew this after playing with a kitten for a few minutes.  He then watched his brother play with the kitten and drew a picture of them playing.

I read the book ‘The Zen of Seeing’ by Fredrick Franck in high school and was reminded of it when I saw him happily watching and drawing.  What I learned from this book, so long ago, is that is doesn’t matter what it ends up looking like.  The judgement of ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ can take a back seat along with the mental projections and old memories of an object.  This practice is to sit down with paper and pencil, draw exactly what you SEE.  Not what it should look like, not what you think would help someone recognize, simply what you see.  Line for line, shadow and light, space and stuff.

It can help to take a fairly simply picture, turn it upside down and cover it.  Expose 1 inch at a time and draw.  This confuses the brain away from labels and trying to make it look ‘right’ because the upside down image confuses the brain, you can then simply draw the lines, shade the shadows and leave what needs to be left.

This is a meditation.  It is a practice of seeing with fresh eyes and fresh mind.  It is so good for your brain and worthy of your time.