On Day 24, I quoted Golda Meir who said we need to trust ourselves and create the kind of self we would be happy with the rest of our lives. Wow. Are you doing that. I think it’s difficult to appreciate ourselves, and for that reason, we can’t trust ourselves. Maybe it’s time to inventory our gifts, positive traits, and accomplishments so we can objectively begin to rework ourselves. The concept of recreating myself seems counter-intuitive to being authentic and letting go. I love the metaphor of a river, and how we move along in the current of life, sometimes hitting the bank or getting stuck on a rock, of being pushed down into the depths and rising to the surface, of flowing along in a meandering way, with our lives being transformed by trusting the journey. Creating ourselves but being authentic can be welded into this: accept what life has to offer and respond from a place within us that is fine with change. We don’t have to actively force a change but shift our attitude ever so slightly, hardly making a ripple on the surface of the water, but deepening what’s in the depths.
Archive | April, 2015
Log Post 23, Week 23 – Following the Heart
Being a writer, I’m too much in my head. I try to write from the heart, but using words is what the brain does, not what my heart does. I like what Steve Jobs had to say about following the heart: “Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition.” Steve Job’s quote goes straight to the heart of authenticity, but it also sheds some light on what faith is all about. If you follow your heart and are faithful to your own voice, you’re living on faith and connected with the universe, the Oneness, God. The ancient Indian sage Patanjali advised that if we can stand in our truth and speak the truth, we’re acknowledging our beliefs at that particular moment in time. I find that by slowing down and doing the necessary soul searching, answers come to us and are true. But, oh, the possibilities. They are endless. Especially if you follow your heart.
Log Post 22, Week 22 – Letting Go
Check out the new cover! I decided, after 22 weeks, to redesign the book, inside and out, and now it’s a special gift or coffee table book. And on Day 22 in the book, I focused on Faith. Khalil Gibran said “Faith is a knowledge within the heart, beyond the reach of proof.” If only we had the faith that everything would turn out all right. Isn’t it what a woman wants her lover to tell her, a child wants to hear from her mother, a parishioner wants to hear from her priest? During Lent, I try harder than usual to find peace, love, meaning, oneness, in an attempt to conquer worry. On my desk in the office, I keep a small magnet decorated with green foliage, trees, and flowers as the background on which I pasted the words “You don’t have to spend another moment wondering and worrying.” It seems to me that if we trust the universe and live in the moment, there can be no worrying. Worry is about something in the past or something in the future, both of which are out of control. We just need to open up our hearts to the present moment with complete abandonment, in faith, for worry to be conquered and no longer part of our lives.