So, here's the thing...

It's one of my favorite words in the English language. Joy. Not happiness, but joy. There is a difference. One has to do with the fleeting and temporary, the other is a deep contentment with oneself and with life in general. What brings you joy? Where does your heart reside? Do you even know? Hey, I'm the first one to say that a trip to Europe, or a new pair of shoes, sends a little thrill down my spine. The thought of going out to dinner with someone special puts a big smile on my face too. Those are the day in/day out things that gives us a lift, that makes us giddy with excitement, but they're fleeting. We know this. We know the superficial things in life provide little in the way of lasting, long term contentment. If I never bought another thing for myself, if I never got to see Ireland again, or eat crab legs, I would still have a sense of contentment and joy because of the consistent focus I work to maintain. A focus that doesn't involve anything ...

The greatest lessons we can learn come from the shadow part of ourselves. Without the darkness there is no light. Embracing all that we don't understand about ourselves, or all the scares us, is one of the greatest gifts we are given. "Nothing is either good or bad, but thinking makes it so". Thanks Will Shakespere. Once you set upon a path of self-discovery you will encounter the darkness of your heart and soul. It's in there. I know it, you know it. Do you flee or do you stand and face it? And, are you ready to face it? Sounds so ominous, doesn't it? THE DARKNESS of your soul. The black heart of every man, woman and child. Religion would lead us to believe this is the "sinful" part of ourselves. I disagree. It is the part of oursleves that will yield the greatest growth, and it's a sure path that will lead out of darkness and into the light...truth, awareness, love and all that good stuff. The darkness is good too, don't get m...

We are all connected on some level , and in some mystical cosmic way....(yes, I'm running the risk of sounding a little too "new-agey" here, but hey, it's how I'm wired). We are all basically the same at the core....in our humanness, our vulnerabilities, hopes, fears, and joys. These make us one. In this season of Spring, with all it's renewal and rebirth, I'd like to focus on our interconnectedness. It's more then we realize. One year ago I was knee-deep in isolation and fear. I felt connected to NOTHING, NO THING, and certainly NO ONE, not even my children, and it pains me to write that. But in the process of losing myself over fourteen years I had allowed myself to disconnect from even that which was intrinsically connected to me. I lost my humanity in that I did not feel a kinship with any other human being. It was a self-imposed hell born out of forgetting my true identity. It happens. What I didn't realize was that all I had to d...

Let me begin by saying it doesn't mean to be self-depreciating, or to play small. It doesn't mean that you don't stand and SHINE in your gloriousness, in your talent, in your beauty. It simply means to take nothing for granted while you're doing it. Nothing is a given, this we know. Everything is in flux, the tide comes in and the tide goes out....daily. But who are we not to shine while we're here? Who are we to not grab the brass ring and scream with delight at the top of our lungs? My mother thought she was teaching me to be humble when she told me to stop being "precocious", to "settle down", to "be a lady", to "keep your voice down", "don't make too much about your looks", etc. I have come to believe that last comment was her way of shielding me, because the ravages of puberty paid me a visit for a long time back in the seventies! I think she was trying to tell me to see my inner beauty, and that ...

There is a fact of life that took me a long time to accept. Namely, not everyone in your life will like you. I know. I am not liked by certain people, and they like to let me know this by the way they look at me. That "disapproving look". That, "Is she for real"? look. That, "Hmm, I don't trust her" look. I have no real idea why certain people do this, but this I know....I am blissfully uncaring of the opinion of other people. In fact, what other people think of me is absolutely none of my business anyway! To live one's life completely unbothered by the good opinion of other people is the way to go, and it took me thirty years to feel this way. Call it getting older, call it tolerance, or call it enlightenment, but don't take what others think personally, whatever you do. Don't let it take you thirty years to get this. It's best to just let people be, opinions and all. If truth be known, someone else's opinion of us ha...

We wake up everyday to bad news in our world. The devastation in Japan is overwhelming, beyond anything most of us can imagine. The feeling of helplessness in the face of such a disaster is common. Really, what can I do here in my little world, a part of the world that hasn't experienced anything nearly as catastrophic? Sending money is easy, writing a check is basic. Can I actually go to Japan and physically help? No. Can I wipe the tears away from a mother who has lost everything near and dear to her heart? Can I bring her child back? Can I rebuild her home? No, no, and again, no. So what can I do? I pray. I meditate. Simply. Openly. And with as much love as I can hold and send forth out of my heart and into the hearts of everyone affected. Does it make me feel better? Yes. Does it really help? I have to believe that in some way it does. I have to believe that at the moment my loving energy goes out into the world, it meets up with a struggling heart calling...

We all do it. We spin off in our own directions and try our best to keep pace with what's happening around us, then all of a sudden you feel that "off" feeling, the one that says you need to slow down and come back to your starting point again. My starting point is while I'm still in bed, it's still dark, the birds have just begun to chirp, it's before I have to get up so I stretch and feel glad to have a body that carries me beautifully through my days. I silently ask how I may serve this day, I ask to be led to where I need to be, presented with the people that I need to see, and I ask for peace of mind and a calm demeanor to sit upon my brow. Most days I see this unfold before me, some days I don't. I hit the door running the other morning, and I didn't stop until late that night. I honestly didn't sit down, other then driving, for the entire day. It was less then a stellar day for a few reasons.....I didn't take the time to center mys...