“A friend is one who overlooks your broken fence and admires the flowers in your garden.” – Unknown
You may never know what it means to another person when you take a moment to highlight something about them you appreciate or if you bestow an act of kindness on them. You may or may not see what another perceives as a difficulty, but even so you can be a bearer of kindness.
How can the connections you cherish be lifted by spotting the flowers?
“Write your purpose in pen, your path in pencil.” – Gabriela Cardoza
When you give yourself focus and flexibility, you may find that leaving a little room for the unexpected, allows miraculous happenings. You can stay steady in aim and open to edits and rewrites…
“The present moment is filled with joy and happiness. If you are attentive, you will see it.” – Thich Nhat Hanh
Energy follows intention and attention. People see what they place their attention on and whatever that focus is, is what grows. The moment you are in now has the potential to be filled with joy and happiness if that is what you seek.
What happens if you allow just a few moments to notice the joys in both your external and internal world?
Let simplicity hold your experience as expectation falls away.
What connects you to another, to all — across space, time, and divided minds?
At the source of every interaction, you can choose what leads you and how that aids you in deciphering meaning in your experience.
What gifts are buried in angles, layers, and movement according to perspective? If there are no gifts to be seen, are you willing to move a little more for sake of connection?
“Sell your cleverness and buy bewilderment! Cleverness is opinion; bewilderment is vision.” – RUMI
How can embracing what baffles you bring you into sharper focus and possibly lead you to receiving beyond what you thought possible?
What flows to a receptive mind that may otherwise go unnoticed by one that’s busy being clever?
The spring of love arrives
to transform the dust into a garden.
The call is heard from the heavens
to bid the wings of soul to fly.
The sea becomes filled with pearls.
The dry land receives the water of life.
The stone becomes a ruby,
and the body becomes all soul.
-RUMI
What is wishing to be transformed in your life? How can love lift the dust and guide you to the areas that are ready to be tended for growth and blossoming?
““Whoever has learned how to listen to trees no longer wants to be a tree. He wants to be nothing except what he is. That is home. That is happiness.” – Hermann Hesse
How can deep, intentional listening in nature or another quiet space open up a greater sense of contentment and self acceptance?
“One of the basic rules of the universe is that nothing is perfect. Perfection simply doesn’t exist… Without imperfection, neither you nor I would exist.” – Stephen Hawking
How can imperfection be embraced in your life so that you can live with a little more comfort, a little more grace, and maybe a little more love?
What may happen if you perceive imperfections as confirmation of existing in harmony with the cosmos?
“Just because the world is heavy doesn’t mean you can’t stay soft. Soft as air. Soft as dreams. Go gently. Trust. Walk. Breathe.” – Victoria Erickson, Edge of Wonder
We have progressed into a new year and it seems hopes for better have been pinned to the turning of a calendar. What if instead of counting on the days to be different, you watched yourself for difference? How can you notice the external and quietly, gently flow with the internal that is yours to navigate? Whatever you see happening around you need not be a determinant of your way of being or the energy you call forward.
How can you be fresh for what appears to be old, outdated, and maybe a little too heavy? How can you be as light as air, as expansive as a dream, or as soft as an idea just glimpsed? What would it take to nudge you gently to the zero point, where you can strip away what you think you know about yourself and this world?
This year our winter solstice shared the stage with the planet conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn. It was a beautiful sight; the sunset, the moon, the stars and the hygge inside our homes aligned for much of the world this time of year. Hygge showed up in our home through a fire, a warm drink and the intention of releasing something that is no longer serving us daily. Each of us had a slip of paper and wrote something down. These releases can be physical, emotional, a verbal habit, a place…whatever you want to bring light to. Then it was burned and let go with the knowledge that this step is only the beginning of letting go.
Let these slowly longer days flow IN and the longest nights slowly flow OUT just like our calm winter breath. Historically, this has been a time for humans to repair clothes, tools, slow cook and hold deep gratitude for food that was harvested and saved to get you through.
Peace. Light. Hygge.
Presence and Positivity 