In my world, looking up today…

Good fortune to have my camera at the ready.

Heart smiles and more heart smiles.

BE-ing in the moment.

Awhile ago I was asked this question:
What’s been the most useful life lesson you’ve picked up over the years?

I have just re-read my reply, and it reached right into my soul. A spirit-gift to myself.

1) The nature of impermanence. Things will always pass. Good or bad, they’ll always pass. Appreciate each moment for the good it brings. (And the good it brings may not always be apparent until much later – just wait.)

2) Live consciously. Don’t make a mess in the first place, and you won’t have to clean it up later. (Literally and figuratively.)

3) We teach others how to treat us. Don’t see yourself as a victim in life; see yourself as a volunteer. In other words, if you’re eating a &$#% sandwich, chances are you ordered it.

4) Rule 62. (Don’t take yourself so seriously.)

Beautiful, clear autumn morning.  Sun rising with an amazingly inspiring flourish of orange-gold and purple over the forest of changing leaves.  These morning moments have become so rare.  I envelop myself in them, cradled in the comfort of familiar silent solitude.

In the quietness, a fleeting thought – it is not events that have happened that make us the ‘walking wounded’; it is our lack of forgiveness of them that keeps us in pain.

Forgiveness does not come from a place of superiority or judgement:  “I have seen your actions and judged them.  They are not up to my high standards, but I’ll let it slide this time.”

True forgiveness involves acceptance, understanding and compassion.  Connection with another being.  Humility and gentle thinking.

Forgiveness… a path of freedom.

Several times in the last few days I have come across others writing about ‘falling backwards’.  The repetition is not by accident; of that I am sure.

Falling backwards requires complete trust.  Or the possibility of broken wrists.  Facing forward and trusting that  whatever is behind us will offer a soft place to land.  And knowing that the falling isn’t what will harm us; resistance to the fall is what creates injury.

A spiritual Nestea plunge.

Am I trusting enough in those moments of free-fall to notice and observe my reaction, and to accept the fall?  Can I enjoy the journey on the way down?

To be vulnerable… that is strength.

To allow others to see and feel who we truly are, at the risk of judgement against the deepest parts of our souls… that is courage.

“When we walk to the edge of all the light we have and take the step into the darkness of the unknown, we must believe that one of two things will happen. There will be something solid for us to stand on or we will be taught to fly.”

That is trust.