Its so easy to get caught in the "busyness" of everyday life and lose the plot...we give ourselves all sorts of excuses anything from work to family dramas to keep ourselves away from ourselves. My favourite one is travel... " when I travel , my routine gets disrupted" or " I just need to get through this bit of work before I can settle down and look into my own needs"
Months later, I look back and I can see that I am still running the same excuse!! I know now that that I have "excused myself" from being fully present in the moment!!
Being fully present in the moment is a discipline , to me it means:
1. Being aware that I need to drink more water
2. Taking time to exercise
3. Making time for prayer or daily reflection
4. Eating consciously, slowly, appreciating the flavours and effort that has been put into its preparation
5. Looking up from my work when my kids talk to me and giving them my complete attention
6. Making time to catch up with friends/family and making even more time to laugh wholeheartedly
7. Minimising distractions that deplete my energy - internet, TV, people who whine frequently, thoughts about past failures and fears about future mistakes
8. Living in gratitude for everything ....even things that I don't like.
They are really simple things, nothing earth shattering but I know that whenever I have done this, I have felt every cell in my body radiate joy. I know that when I radiate joy - I add to the world and in my own way I help to make it a better place. Something else happens too - an exchange of energy.... you cant possibly put energy out into the world without it coming back at you multiplied. Opportunities find me easily and effortlessly.
Everyday, life presents us the opportunity to do something different from yesterday. Its a chance to renew and refresh. An opportunity to engage fully in the current moment so that when we look back we can see a life that takes our breath away... thats how I want to leave this planet...how about you? There is no other time except NOW!
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
The philosopher, leader and the connoisseur of life....
A year ago, I wrote about today. Its a special day because three people I know are born on the 24th of March...a very close friend , my boss and a business partner who was introduced to me by my boss.
One day I want the three of them to meet ...maybe over a meal and i would like to see how they get on. ...I think they will have a blast!
Its funny how life is - all three are from totally different backgrounds but i know that they have alot of common ground and similarities:
My best friend : a true warrior and live wire of any party.. the youngest of the three , wise young mother of two amazing young adults, a business woman and philosopher of life. She has done some pretty amazing things ...things that even the strongest amongst us wont do - situations where she has put herself last and thought of humanity's needs first. A true planetary citizen.
My boss : a great leader who has more followers than he knows, because he is a "dream weaver" and people like to follow someone who has a dream /vision and the bigger the dream, the bigger the following! He is a scientist at heart and despite that very pragmatic part of him that looks for proof, he is also spiritual in his own way as he recognises that there are things that human beings cannot perceive ..things bigger than us. A risk taker with a vision.
My business partner : a classy man who puts his heart out first. People remember him because of the way he connects with them , he is most comfortable around people and he loves life. A sportsman in many ways, very open to new ideas and opportunities to learn. A true connoisseur of life! A high achiever who knows that its not always about winning,
A philosopher, a leader and a connoisseur of life... three people but each of them fits all three descriptions. ...how lucky am I to have these people in my life. We sometimes forget to take a closer look at people in our lives and how they add to the planet and make our lives that much better. Today, I will drink a toast to three awesome people in my life, may you have a very happy birthday and continue to touch the lives of others in your own special way!
One day I want the three of them to meet ...maybe over a meal and i would like to see how they get on. ...I think they will have a blast!
Its funny how life is - all three are from totally different backgrounds but i know that they have alot of common ground and similarities:
My best friend : a true warrior and live wire of any party.. the youngest of the three , wise young mother of two amazing young adults, a business woman and philosopher of life. She has done some pretty amazing things ...things that even the strongest amongst us wont do - situations where she has put herself last and thought of humanity's needs first. A true planetary citizen.
My boss : a great leader who has more followers than he knows, because he is a "dream weaver" and people like to follow someone who has a dream /vision and the bigger the dream, the bigger the following! He is a scientist at heart and despite that very pragmatic part of him that looks for proof, he is also spiritual in his own way as he recognises that there are things that human beings cannot perceive ..things bigger than us. A risk taker with a vision.
My business partner : a classy man who puts his heart out first. People remember him because of the way he connects with them , he is most comfortable around people and he loves life. A sportsman in many ways, very open to new ideas and opportunities to learn. A true connoisseur of life! A high achiever who knows that its not always about winning,
A philosopher, a leader and a connoisseur of life... three people but each of them fits all three descriptions. ...how lucky am I to have these people in my life. We sometimes forget to take a closer look at people in our lives and how they add to the planet and make our lives that much better. Today, I will drink a toast to three awesome people in my life, may you have a very happy birthday and continue to touch the lives of others in your own special way!
Monday, March 15, 2010
....just being...
I often get asked what I have been up to lately... "just being" ...is my reply. Here's what i have learnt :
1. Its ok to be silent if I have nothing to say...the world is noisy enough without my voice to add to that noise
2. Friendships and loved ones add colour to my life
3. Its nice to take the back seat to allow someone else to shine and bask in their glory
4. I dont have to be anything, or do anything to be loved, accepted or recognised, I can be just me
5. Laughing out loud and laughing often is the best way to live a long and happy life
6. When a friend needs help, be there, in the bigger scheme of things, getting the opportunity to demonstrate generosity of spirit is a gift in itself
7. Learning keeps me alert and inspired
8. Slow down to take in life, and make time for prayer, reflection and gratitude
How do I feel? .... Absolutely Brilliant!!
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Lover of Life
Its Valentine's Day and the first day of the Chinese Lunar New Year. My belief with any sort of celebration is " why should it be just for that one group of people" ...why is it that Valentine's Day is for lovers...its a day of love and friendship and its also Chinese New Year...its also a day of renewal.
This morning, I had a trail of sparkles from my children's' bedrooms leading downstairs to the dining table...on this table were two "love jars" for each one of them. The jars were filled with love notes, pictures, crystals and other bits that reminded me of moments with them. We then had breakfast together and we are going off to the science centre to just spend the day together and this evening, I have planned a chinese new year dinner .
It does look like effort for some people but its not effort for me as its for the people I love. Its easy to get caught up in life and postpone celebration. Many of us, do that...In fact this year I was going to do that because I wondered whether it was relevant anymore for my kids as they are becoming teenagers now. I am glad I changed my mind and chose to celebrate. I feel its an attitude that I consciously chose to adopt many years ago..... why should I change it now? Everyday here on this planet is a reason to celebrate life... and I do have parties for no reason but if there is a reason such as Valentine's Day or Chinese New Year....you cant stop me!
Life is a one time journey and if I put some magic in it for my children....perhaps they will take some of that magic and put it out into the world when they are adults. Yes Valentine's Day is for lovers ... I choose to be a lover of Life anytime!
Saturday, February 6, 2010
always connected to the ones we love
They never leave us... grandparents, parents and loved ones.... they stay in our hearts and they watch over us. They may not be physically present but the part of them that connects us to them ...was never born and will never die.
If they could speak to us, they would ask us to be happy, to live our lives fully and never live in regret. They would tell us that they are ok now that they have gone back to their source. They would say that all the things they struggled with , on the earthly plane no longer matter in the bigger scheme of things and that they are fine with that.
" Perhaps they are not stars, but rather openings in heaven where the love of our lost ones shines down upon us to let us know that they are happy" (eskimo proverb)
Dedicated to anyone who has lost a loved one
Sunday, January 31, 2010
"He fights no more in War!...
An interesting thought came to me this morning. I was thinking about inner conflicts and the energy that surrounds it . I notice that I am sometimes not even aware that I am conflicted. I get into "auto pilot" and get lost in the day that I sometimes forget to "check in " on what I am feeling. and its not anything big, its just everyday events, ...conflict between what i must do and what I want to do... people I want to meet vs people I have to meet... and then, there are more familiar conflicts ...its got to do with what I think of myself on the inside vs what I want to project of myself to the external world!
In some ways, its what we are used to, its a part of life having to deal with duality and polarity. And yet I remember times when there's been a raging "war" inside of me. That's just me...one person .. If I take that and multiply it by the number of people I know and if I make that picture bigger by taking into account all of the people in our planet .... this builds a scary picture for me. If our thoughts are energy and are made of the same stuff that everything else around us is made of and if we are a part of everything else... then the my inner conflict is connected to the external conflicts in the world. That thought makes me very conscious of my thoughts and the energy I project into the world. The words from a song called The warriors prayer by Tim Wheater come to mind " He fights no more in war!"
I am not sure if we can completely do away with conflict as I think its a necessary part of life and it helps us clarify what's important to us. It is a process of life, but when we get sucked into the " drama or content" and cant lift ourselves out to rise above it... then we suffer and our suffering adds to the suffering of the world. And it is this suffering that causes wars in us and around us. We get connected to the details and forget to step back to see what is really happening... usually its a call for recognition, love, appreciation or acceptance ... how hard is that?... to give to ourselves or others around us?? This is what I am thinking of today. Follow youtube to Stuart Wilde's warriors prayer, its warms my spirit and inspires me :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HlLpl8L3h8E
In some ways, its what we are used to, its a part of life having to deal with duality and polarity. And yet I remember times when there's been a raging "war" inside of me. That's just me...one person .. If I take that and multiply it by the number of people I know and if I make that picture bigger by taking into account all of the people in our planet .... this builds a scary picture for me. If our thoughts are energy and are made of the same stuff that everything else around us is made of and if we are a part of everything else... then the my inner conflict is connected to the external conflicts in the world. That thought makes me very conscious of my thoughts and the energy I project into the world. The words from a song called The warriors prayer by Tim Wheater come to mind " He fights no more in war!"
I am not sure if we can completely do away with conflict as I think its a necessary part of life and it helps us clarify what's important to us. It is a process of life, but when we get sucked into the " drama or content" and cant lift ourselves out to rise above it... then we suffer and our suffering adds to the suffering of the world. And it is this suffering that causes wars in us and around us. We get connected to the details and forget to step back to see what is really happening... usually its a call for recognition, love, appreciation or acceptance ... how hard is that?... to give to ourselves or others around us?? This is what I am thinking of today. Follow youtube to Stuart Wilde's warriors prayer, its warms my spirit and inspires me :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HlLpl8L3h8E
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Married to amazement !
"When it's over, I want to say I have been a bride married to amazement, I've been a bridegroom taking the world into my arms." — Mary Oliver
I was looking up something on the net with a friend, when we came across this phrase and both of us laughed and she suggested that I change my facebook profile to "married ...to amazement" . This was exactly what my friend needed to hear as we were talking about relationships and how some people prefer to stay married because they are so afraid of being alone... well ....not if you are married to amazement! You will never be alone!
So tonight I started thinking about what this means....what would a person's life look like if they were " married to amazement" ??
I guess, this person would be laughing alot, having fun, going with the flow...generally enjoying their life journey. Here lies the difference,
it is about an attitude to life....embracing life and celebrating the wonder and not being too hung up on the outcome.
When I got married, we only had one "agreement" ....and it said " Life is good with you and Life is good without you" ...meaning... "I am not going to curl up and die if things didnt work out". Both of us will still be ok." It took us away from the " destination" we wanted to get to and helped us focus on the journey instead. It worked for a while.... it probably worked as long as it needed to....you see, there is a bigger scheme of things ( most times we only see parts of it ) but we need to trust that everything that is happening, is happening for our highest good... breathe deep and dive into life. There is a song by Martika that goes " Love, thy will be done "... when I think of this, I see myself, standing on a mountain top, arms raised up to the heaven's and allowing all goodness and power to flow to me from above...and then taking a deep breath and jumping off the edge of that mountain. And when I fall, i float like a feather, and I get to go on different adventures ...floating in the arms of a gentle breeze that takes me from place to place.
The choice to live like that is a moment to moment choice.....its almost like if we make a pact with life by saying " I will give 100 percent to each moment and you (Life) will look after me and help me learn and do what I came to do in this life time" and that's all we have to do...just do our part and let life amaze us with what it brings to us"
I was looking up something on the net with a friend, when we came across this phrase and both of us laughed and she suggested that I change my facebook profile to "married ...to amazement" . This was exactly what my friend needed to hear as we were talking about relationships and how some people prefer to stay married because they are so afraid of being alone... well ....not if you are married to amazement! You will never be alone!
So tonight I started thinking about what this means....what would a person's life look like if they were " married to amazement" ??
I guess, this person would be laughing alot, having fun, going with the flow...generally enjoying their life journey. Here lies the difference,
it is about an attitude to life....embracing life and celebrating the wonder and not being too hung up on the outcome.
When I got married, we only had one "agreement" ....and it said " Life is good with you and Life is good without you" ...meaning... "I am not going to curl up and die if things didnt work out". Both of us will still be ok." It took us away from the " destination" we wanted to get to and helped us focus on the journey instead. It worked for a while.... it probably worked as long as it needed to....you see, there is a bigger scheme of things ( most times we only see parts of it ) but we need to trust that everything that is happening, is happening for our highest good... breathe deep and dive into life. There is a song by Martika that goes " Love, thy will be done "... when I think of this, I see myself, standing on a mountain top, arms raised up to the heaven's and allowing all goodness and power to flow to me from above...and then taking a deep breath and jumping off the edge of that mountain. And when I fall, i float like a feather, and I get to go on different adventures ...floating in the arms of a gentle breeze that takes me from place to place.
The choice to live like that is a moment to moment choice.....its almost like if we make a pact with life by saying " I will give 100 percent to each moment and you (Life) will look after me and help me learn and do what I came to do in this life time" and that's all we have to do...just do our part and let life amaze us with what it brings to us"
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