The Power of Directing Attention

Oh what a beautiful morning!

To expect the Power of our Potent Force to be handed to us by some physical person, situation or experience is to deny acceptance of our own Universal Power. By failing to see where the Source of our potential lies, we end up suffering the impotency of empty experiences that exist without energy and without the power to make pathways for development. Gregge Tiffen (Deserve Success and You Will Command It – March, 2008)

When we put our loving attention on the person not the problem, we harmonize humanity.

This week as I held my intention to ‘harmonize with the good in the world’, I experiencedmoments when any ‘good’ seemed to have slipped away.

I lost sight of my intention, let go of curiosity, or allowed an external force undue influence. My attention went to problems – my own and the world’s – noticing those things that I judge as ‘bad’ or ‘lacking’. As you might guess, I found more than enough to drag me down. 

And, I declined to allow them to keep me there.

As soon as the slightest hint suggested I was putting my power in the hands of someone or something outside of me, I stopped. The clues that suggest my attention is misplaced include: feeling angst, angry, impatient, or lethargic; ignoring my daily self-care habits; worrying about things about which I have no control. I’m sure that it will be a lifelong learning opportunity to refine, notice and pause when I’m in this place. It IS the pause that refreshes!   

In the pause, I take a breath (or two or three or even a walk), doing my best not to pass judgement (‘you know better than …’). I put each distraction aside. I’d like to say that I do so gracefully and with gratitude for the learning and the energy redirected. What’s more accurate is that I snuffed them out, putting my attention, my focus where it can best serve. Only in hindsight did I truly feel gratitude for the experience.

The pause is my opportunity to redirect. I asked: what is in front of me that deserves my attention right now?

Then, I had the ability to attend to those things – several mundane tasks that come with the season (love checking each off of my ‘to do’ list!), reading and research to support my goal of writing, a nice long visit with a dear friend who is moving from the community, and – of course, long walks in nature with my ‘Harmonizer in Chief’ Cool Hand Luke.

More and more I’m deepening my understanding that personal and spiritual development isn’t somewhere ‘out there’ to be completed by attending a workshop, reading a book or listening to a guru – though each of these can make a positive contribution. Rather, our development depends on where we put our attention moment to moment, day to day.

When we do so with the slightest acceptance of our true Power, our growth can be exponential, inspiring quantum leaps in our capacity to navigate life on the planet and plant the seeds of wisdom that we will carry with us into eternity.  And, we do our part to harmonize humanity.

Harmonizing with Mom while awaiting a treat.

My Piece of Peace: Sowing Seeds of Harmony in Our Chaotic World

Cool Hand Luke - Harmonizer in Chief

… maintaining harmony in your individual space contributes to the harmony of the planet. Gregge Tiffen (It’s Springtime: Flow With the Power of Nature – March, 2007)

Harmony – a combination of parts into a pleasing or orderly whole; congruity. Webster’s New World Dictionary

As I enter the 12th and final month of my 67th journey around the sun (in this lifetime, that is), I’m focused on harmony and fueled by a deep desire to contribute to peace on the planet.

If you’ve been reading these posts for a bit, you know that I believe peace starts up close and personal within each of us. How we operate and the environments we create either contribute to harmony or detract from it. If I’m stirred up, fearful, agitated I’m contributing to the chaos. That knowing should stop me in my tracts and provoke me to clean up whatever is at the root. When I’m aware, it does and I’m able to make a shift. When I’m not aware … let’s just say ‘it’s messy’.

For the most part these days, I’m feeling harmonious with myself and with life. So, I wondered: how can it be that I’m experiencing harmony in the midst of the upset and chaos in the world coupled with the unknowns in my own life as I shift my attention to new, but not yet clear, domains of expression?

Upon reflection, I identified five strategies that help me create and maintain harmony:

• Taking excellent care of my physical body including eating healthy foods; scheduling body work and acupuncture regularly; supplementing food with vitamins, herbs and other nutritional support; stretching; daily walks or hikes in nature with Cool Hand Luke; getting plenty of rest.
• Committing to ‘no-pressure’ and no worry (care – yes; worry – no) around the unknowns. I’m committed to thoughtful consideration without worry of what my next work in the world will be and what sources of income will support me. My intention is to allow ‘what wants to emerge’ to do just that without forcing it. Embracing the unknown is key. I look out at the messy world with this same commitment.
• Experimenting, discovering, and operating at my pace, not the pace I think the world has set for me. After decades of ‘fast’ – even knowing that I’m built for ‘slow’, I’m limiting the number activities I put into each day, risking the possibility of boredom (no way with the growing stack of books calling for attention!) by doing less and moving slowly.
• Making space and clearing out ‘stuff’. In the wake of closing the bed and breakfast operation, I’ve cleared, cleaned and reorganized every shelf and drawer in closets and cabinets throughout the house. The garage will follow in its time as winter gives way to warmer weather.
• Expressing kindness wherever I roam. Whether it’s a simple smile or a gentle hello as I engage with the world, withholding a snarky remark on Facebook, or offering to help a friend, these acts contribute to my well-being and remind me that I have a choice in each and every interaction.

In sowing seeds of harmony, I’m aiming to forge a new energy toward nurturing peace on the planet. Peace that puts attention on harmony not discord, on abundance not lack, on intelligence not its absence, on love not hate or fear, on the beauty that is in EVERY thing, on the power we each are granted that no man or system can take away without our cooperation, on joy and on life itself.

Learning: Questions & Curiosity

The Woods Out Back -- Grateful for SNOW!

Here is where your people have lost the path. You have spent too much time thinking that we humans are at the top of everything. You have spent too much time trying to learn about things and not enough time trying to learn from them. You have thought too much and honored too little. Dan, the Lakota elder speaking in Kent Nerbern’s the Wolf at Twilight: An Indian Elder’s Journey through a Land of Ghosts and Shadows -- https://www.betterworldbooks.com/product/detail/The-Wolf-at-Twilight--An-Indian-Elder-s-Journey-Through-a-Land-of-Ghosts-and-Shadows-9781577315780

Every point in the Universe is a point of experience. There is no void, and no point lacking in any experience. Consciousness moves from very definitive points of learning linked by other experiences that are also learning experiences. … Welcome the next moment with love and excitement. … The only means for growth is to observe, to analyze, to create, to experience. Gregge Tiffen (Fanned Fire and Forced Love Never Did Well – February, 2008) -- https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=Gregge+tiffen+Fanned+Fire+and+Forced+Love&rh=n%3A283155%2Ck%3AGregge+tiffen+Fanned+Fire+and+Forced+Love

I begin writing this post without clarity about where to begin or, honestly, what I want to share beyond the quotes above.  Perhaps it’s that I don’t have words or even thoughts that seem adequate for expansion.

During this past week I’ve been deeply touched reading the second book in Kent Nerbern’s trilogy of stories that emerged from his association with a Lakota elder. My words feel lacking in their description as Nerbern shares the oral tradition of native peoples, telling their story using the wise elder’s voice.

Not only wisdom, but experience is shared. Not only lightness and humor, but the darkness and anger from a history lived, experienced. It is not the glossy, sanitized ‘Indian’  history I learned in school.  I’ve long believed that our treatment of those who were here when we Anglos arrived was, at best, unjust. But, I simply (and sadly) was not aware of the depth and breadth of the atrocities my ancestors perpetrated on those who had long made this land their home. 

I wonder, now that I begin to learn ‘about’ this side of history, how will what I’ve learned inform me going forward? What can I learn ‘from’ these stories to contribute to my growth?

I find myself with many questions and curiosity; few answers. A portal has opened to a point of learning from which to explore new territory. What experiences are on the path? What wisdom may be hidden in the depths and how might it contribute to my foundation, my capacity to hold a steady, loving course in the midst of the world’s chaos? What is being revealed to become a part of my expression in the world?  I hope you’ll stay tuned and, as always, share your thoughts.

P.S. Perhaps a new pattern for my weekly posts is emerging. Or, maybe it’s simply the nature of this time ending one phase (the bed & breakfast) and opening another that is just beginning to reveal itself. As I drafted this post and looked back to last week’s, I notice they end with questions – questions I’m in at these moments in time. Being in questions is familiar territory for me, sometimes keeping me from jumping in too quickly with what I know. Perhaps the joy of not knowing is a skill that we need to grow.

Before the snow, gentleness and evening light in the woods.

Learning Love

Finally!  Snow on the Peaks

We know, deep down, that it is the greatest power on earth. Are we afraid of such power? In order to use the power of love we need to drop all facades and show ourselves as trusting, uninhibited children of a loving Universe. … Love seeks no power over the mundane. Love wants no ego aggrandizement. Love turns from hatred and bears no arms in anger. Love accepts things as equal and is never short of tolerance. … To accept love, we must change.  Gregge Tiffen (The Numerology of Love – February, 2007)

Not one effort toward love is ever lost in the record of the Universe. It goes on imprinting into the hearts of total strangers, carried like a spark into generations untold. Rivera Sun (The Dandelion Insurrection)  a story of revolutionary lovers and love-in-action transforming the landscape of their world. Find it here: http://www.riverasun.com/online…/the-dandelion-insurrection/  Or here: https://www.amazon.com/The-Dandelion-Insurrect…/…/098481325X

Earlier in the week as I was journaling about something totally different (or so I thought), I found my pen putting these words on the page:  WAR does not work. Never has. Never will. No war on drugs, cancer, poverty, on anything can ever work because victory in a battle is transitory. Only personal transformation can bring peace. Nothing is built by tearing something or someone else apart. This I know.

I wondered how it is that I ‘know’ this and found an answer, at least in part, in Gregge’s words.  My knowing comes from that place deep inside, a Universal knowing of the power of love.  In those moments of quiet by the fire, I’d touched that place.

My journaling made its way back to the initial topic. I moved on into my day. But a seed had been planted, a curiosity about the true nature of love. I felt a deeper awareness that the systems, institutions, and other of man’s creations are grounded in fear and control not love, a sense that was supported by reading I did later in the day.

This isn’t new to me, but feels rather like an opening for something new to emerge. And, it pointed to how far I’ve come, as well as to how much I have yet to learn and experience in this domain. It evoked questions to consider and experiments to be conducted:

• What facades do I hold on to – knowingly or not – that prevent me from using the power of love?
• How can I trust the Universe more deeply and allow that to be reflected in relating to others and to the world?
• How can I expand my understanding and increase my capacity for tolerance?
• What new possibilities for activism and engagement arise as I grow in my capacity to use the power of love?
• What changes do I need to make in order to be, to accept and to express the ever-present Universal love that our world so desperately needs?

In the midst of these reflections (and caring for a lost puppy that we found in the woods – a story perhaps for another day), the amazing Rivera Sun posted the above quote yesterday, reminding me that every word we utter, every action we take lives on forever as energy in this Universe.

So let our words – especially our words of resistance and change – be grounded in the power that is love.

As Gregge Tiffen so often said, ‘the journey continues’. I hope you’ll join me from your unique path and let’s bring more ‘love power’ to the planet.

Cool Hand Luke & long walks in the woods

The Three G's of Power

A Beautiful Afternoon in the Woods

Today I sing my song with gusto, grace and gratitude. Rev. Dr. David Goldberg - Daily Guide for 7 February 2018 in Science of Mind magazine.

Power doesn’t need anything to support it other than the conviction that the Power is there. Gregge Tiffen - Fanned Fire and Forced Love Never Did Well – February, 2008

… security is silent and insecurity is loud. Senator John Kennedy (R-Louisiana) – 7 February 2018 interview, MSNBC

I love life! Even the ‘dumps’ and whatever events seem to take me there have gifts to share (though, being human, I don’t always recognize them in that moment).  I especially find joy in discovering several ideas which at first seem totally separate then, upon reflection, converge to create yet another gift. And, I’m quite jazzed when I see both a personal and a global application.

So, this morning finds me pumped, inspired by three words in an affirmation yesterday: gusto, grace, gratitude. Upon reflection, I discovered just how powerful those three words are up close and personal in my own life, as well as how relevant (and much needed!) they are in the world.

The three words resonated deeply when I first read them. ‘Gusto, Grace, and Gratitude’ gained more life during a conversation with a colleague/friend across the pond.  Later, I wanted to make an honest evaluation of how I measure up to each (not against any worldly yardstick, just my own self-satisfaction).

• Gratitude – my strongest of the three G’s. I’ve come to live in deep gratitude and express it frequently. “Thank you. Thank you. Thank you for this day” is the mantra that begins and ends each day. I’m aware of my gratitude when I step out the door or look out the window at the natural beauty that surrounds me and when I get a gentle nudge from Cool Hand Luke reminding me to take a break. The list could go on (and on, and on …). What I’ve come to understand from practicing gratitude, is that she opens the way to all of the good in my life. She even lights the path that helps me see purpose in the ‘monsters’ that lurk in the corners.
• Grace – gaining strength in my life, in part thanks to gratitude. I’ve come to walk through life with a greater sense of ease and patience with myself and others. I aim to have a strong sense of what is right without being self-righteous and to be thoughtful in how I respond to people and ideas that I find repulsive. Remembering that we are each part of a larger whole, each with her/his unique and individual learning to do on this earthly sojourn helps me maintain (and, hopefully, express) grace.
• Gusto – at first glance, not my strong suit. Yet, as I explored its meaning (keen enjoyment, enthusiasm, appreciation, zest, relish; great vigor or liveliness), I realized that gusto doesn’t need to be loud or flashy. Like power and security, gratitude and grace, gusto is very much an inside job that finds reflection in how I walk through the world. What I wrote to begin this post sounds a lot like ‘gusto’ to me.

So, what about ThreeG Power in the world? Military might, chest thumping, and parading the weaponry of coercive force are not signs of strength or power.  Name calling and negative comments keep us mired in the muck, distracted from the business of life, peace, justice, compassion and creating a world where all are honored and valued.  

I see amazing power from putting the Three G’s into practice in our lives. Imagine what’s possible when we add gobs of gratitude, grace and gusto to mass consciousness to counter the destructive forces of fear and negativity in the worlds of politics, commerce, religion, media, et cetera. Imagine the transformation that’s possible in our individual disagreements with one another.

Which of the Three G’s speaks most powerfully to you? What will you do this week to nurture them all?

All Seeing Eye of the Majestic Pine

What's Certain?

Eclipsed Moon - January 31, 2018

And thus ever, behind the coarse effect, is a fine cause, which being narrowly seen, is itself the effect of a finer cause.  Ralph Waldo Emerson*

The Spirit knows and the Law obeys. Ernest Holmes in The Science of Mind*

Spiritual development reduces your habitual fear buttons to a minimum level until they are eliminated altogether. Gregge Tiffen in Open Secrets: Revealing Habits – February, 2011 https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=Gregge+Tiffen+Open+Secrets+Revealing+Habits

I’m not certain about much, but I am certain that the Law of Cause and Effect is always operating in all ways. It is a law, not of the land, but of the Infinite Universe of which we all are an integral part. On this physical plane, we see so many examples of the Law that we likely don’t pay attention until something goes awry. Unlike laws of the land which are sure to change (that is, after all one tool of control), the Law of Cause and Effect is immutable. IT always has been and IT always will be.

Like each of us individually, cause and effect are distinct, but not separate. The only separation in the Universe is our erroneous thinking that separation is real. EveryTHING is connected. We are not separate from our thoughts and our habits, from the world, or from one another.

Our thoughts and habits are us. Through them, we create a joy-filled, satisfied life OR a life of havoc and despair.  Cause = Effect = Cause … ad infinitum.

I’ve been reflecting on this in the midst of closing the bed & breakfast and preparing myself and my home to share with a house-mate. Being mindful of keeping my thoughts and actions on the ‘high road’, with clear intent of my direction and being open to the vast array of possibilities for how that may unfold. I’m denying access to thoughts arising from the pervasive fear in our culture, while also considering concerns and issues that may arise.

I’m practicing this as well in my observations of and interactions with those segments of the world with or about whom I disagree. Yes, I’m concerned about the direction of our country (and our world) on many levels. I find it challenging to listen to many elected ‘leaders’ at all. And, I’m determined to listen not with disdain or despair, but with care and compassion added to the concerns I deeply feel.  As Michelle Obama (oh, how I miss her!) suggested during the 2016 campaign, I aim to go ‘high’ no matter how ‘low’ another goes.

No matter how divergent our views, we are all connected.  It seems to me that only by our individual spiritual development, of which understanding and practicing the Law of Cause and Effect both in our up-close and personal lives AND in all our interactions with the world will we create a world that embraces the certainty of Universal Law while dancing with the uncertainty created by we humans.

What are your thoughts and habits contributing to you and to our world?

*quotes are from a ‘Daily Guide’ essay written by Rev. Dr. Margaret Stortz in the January, 2018 issue of Science of Mind magazine.

A Wise, Old Tree in the Woods Out Back

When The Roast Is Done

Finally, some snow on the peaks!

... consistency establishes a vortex, and that is your responsibility to yourself. Take the information in, and distill it into your own knowledgeable terms because it is your essence that makes the system work for you. You then become strong in your conviction of who you are and what you are doing. No matter what the world says, you stick to it. Gregge Tiffen (Earth and Second Earth, a volume in The Collected Works of Gregge Tiffen)

When the roast is done, take it out of the oven.

I wavered this week. As I moved toward implementing my decision to close my bed and breakfast business (yep, I made that decision since my last post!), I hesitated. ‘Well, maybe it would work if I …’ I thought. ‘That last insurance quote wasn’t too bad, perhaps I should …’ On the surface, each thought was a good idea worthy of consideration. But they didn’t fit with what I know deep inside: I’m done with this.

I recognized the thoughts as doubts sourced in the all too pervasive scarcity consciousness perpetuated to control using fear. Recognizing the source helped.

But what tipped the scales and moved me into action was a keen awareness based in self-observation over the past several months. My enjoyment of hosting was waning, despite the lovely people who visit. When I received a very expensive insurance quote that simply didn’t work financially, my soul cheered. Every cell in my body knew it was time to end this chapter. Yet my gut clinched at declining to accept reservations as I weighed the decision carefully. ‘Maybe I can find a better insurance option’ I thought. One did emerge that made a bit more financial sense. In the end that didn’t shake the knowing that I was done and the soft calling of some new focus.

Remembering the high cost of continuing when something is done helped. Whether it’s a roast in the oven, a job that no longer inspires (or is barely tolerable), a stale relationship, done is done. Keeping a roast in the oven not only burns the roast, it leaves no room for the chocolate cake that you yearn to be bake. And …

Pouring water in a full glass wastes water and makes a mess.

Operating the B&B had become a ‘full glass’. Observing the energy I expended with a guest here recently confirmed that. This roast is done. To continue wouldn’t serve me or future guests. And, I’ve ridden in this ‘rodeo’ before, ending chapters (jobs, partnerships, relationships, housing, etc.) not knowing what the next would bring. Without exception each brought what I needed and, they’ve all turned out just fine.

As with changes past, I discovered that I changed, grew, expanded from the B&B experience. My future growth requires something new, and that’s not yet clearly defined. After a fantastic four year ride, that ‘something’ is calling for my focus, my energy, my interest and attention. I’m closing with much gratitude and the conviction that my decision to do so is as ‘right’ as the decision to dive in four years ago. That time too was one of questioning, not knowing, and being open to what’s next. Guidance and clarity brought the path. I stepped on it and began the walk, step by step. What a journey!

Each step (and the missteps too!) brought learning. With learning, a deepened understanding of who I am continues to emerge.

So, let the next chapter begin! And, let me stick to living life confident in what I know and in learning even more.

What about you? Is there a ‘roast’ in your oven that’s done? A chocolate cake yearning to be baked? This week, I invite you to take a look inside. Discover what may be complete. And, bake a new cake!

End of the Bed & Breakfast Chapter of the Dragonfly House

Fifty-Six Cents

Two Washingtons, One Jefferson, One Lincoln = 56 Cents

You give energy direction. When you focus on something, you magnetize raw energy. Pay attention! (Gregge Tiffen, The Language of a Mystic: Originality – January, 2009)

I found 56 cents on our walk this morning. Two quarters, a nickel and a penny glistening in the road caught my eye as I called Luke and changed our route to avoid walking in the dust of an on-coming road grader. I picked them up with a smile. My next thought was that this morning’s find was in stark contrast to an unpleasant encounter on a morning walk earlier in the week.

Today, I felt a sense of being reminded: be open to the flow, trust, and know that flow is always present.

And, I knew that this reminder showed up right on time, (Duh! That IS how the Universe works!) as I’m in the midst of considering letting go of what’s been a significant source of income for several years so I can honor a yearning I’ve had for quite some time (more about that as the year unfolds!).

As we continued our walk, I reflected on how the week has brought me numerous confirmations that where I put my attention and focus determines what shows up next: former clients reaching out to explore coaching with me again, a friend inquiring if I’d be interested in exploring a partnership around an idea that I’d thought about before but discarded because I didn’t know how to pursue it (Ah, yes – divine timing!). I also could see that my ‘unpleasant’ encounter was simply an opportunity to keep my focus and not be triggered to go down the rabbit hole of negativity that I could have easily done.

That’s what managing our personal energy is about: maintaining awareness so that we are consciously choosing where to focus.  For me, that means that rather than worry about all the ‘bad’ things that might happen if I let go, I put my attention on where I want to go, continuing to unfold a fulfilling life that suits how I’m designed. Stay tuned. The adventure that is 2018 is just beginning.

What about you?  What’s showing up in your life and what does that say about your focus?

Snow. Snow. Where is the Snow? Come. Please. We Need You.

Life Is Learning. Learning IS Life

Ever vigilant Luke on a Christmas Day hike.

It’s unfortunate that life, as a learning experience provided by the Universe, isn’t seriously considered very early in life. If it were, you’d embrace, utilize, and enjoy what life experience is giving you all the time. Gregge Tiffen (Open Secrets: Mystical Longings – January, 2011) -- [You can find it here: https://smile.amazon.com/Open-Secrets-Mystical-Gregge-Tiffen-ebook/dp/B01LG9UBFM/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1515626615&sr=1-1&keywords=Mystical+Longings+-+Gregge+Tiffen]

This week I found myself imagining a world where we humans aren’t bumping into one another so much. That is, a peace-filled world rather than the one we’re navigating where it seems we have to be ever vigilant to maintain our sense of self – self-control, self-worth, and self-commitment.

In reflecting on this need to be hyper-observant, even careful (can you imagine ‘filled with CARE’?) in the midst of the world’s chaos, I came back to a Universal tenet that anchors me when I look out at and need to engage with that world:  Life is for learning. Remembering this is especially helpful when I’m in the midst of a challenging event. I am here – in this body at this time to do just that - learn. So are we all. And, wow, the opportunities are vast, perhaps even infinite!

But just how do we embrace the concept that ‘life is learning; learning is life’ with ease? How do we avoid overwhelm and pressure at the sheer vastness of what is available for us to learn? Here are some possibilities to consider.

• Recognize that you are always learning, even if you discover that you aren’t.
• Give yourself credit for ALL you have learned during this sojourn, whether it’s learning to tie your shoes or discovering what you don’t yet know. Celebrate how much you know and what is still to be discovered.
• Avoid comparing your learning to that of others. Your learning is as unique to you as your fingerprint.
• Use what you know. Experiment. There’s no ‘good, bad, right, wrong’ in learning only discovery of what works and what doesn’t.
• Acknowledge that no one is grading your learning! The Universe does not make mistakes.
• Embrace the idea that learning is a never-ending journey. There is no end, and each new tidbit of knowledge is a completed step on the path.
• Define what you want to learn, and take your first step toward acquiring that knowledge.
• Expect the unexpected and delight in new information and insights that seem to come out of nowhere.
• Question everything, especially things that you think you already know.
• Use your senses – all five + one of them. Some of our greatest learning can come from strengthening our ability to gain information from our senses.
• Listen to your ‘gut’ (your instinct or whatever name you give your innate sense of knowing) over what the world tells you.
• Travel the learning road at your pace. Adjust your speed to fit conditions.
• Recognize that all knowledge has the potential to become wisdom, and allow that wisdom to emerge in its time.
• BREATHE! Plop yourself in the driver’s seat. Fasten your seat belt. Relax. Have fun. Enjoy the ride!

Gentleness resting in the woods out back.

Step By Step

On The Road ...

Whatever step you choose will take you closer to where you want to be.   … Creative force is the energy necessary to begin a new experience. … Energy is always in motion.  Gregge Tiffen – Life: The Staircase of Many Steps – January, 2008

Happy New Year! The page has turned, and here we are with the blank canvas of a new year to paint. 361 more days to engage in life - to live, to love, to experiment, to learn, to grow - before we complete the cycle of this calendar year.

Traditionally we set goals, make ‘resolutions’ and plans, to start a new year. And, all too often ‘life’ steps in with other ideas. Or, resistance in some form rears its head.

Overwhelm happens when we forget that all we need to do is take a step. Then another and another, continuing on step by step allowing each step to reveal the next.  When we do this moment by moment, day to day we have the potential to make huge progress on our journey.

The Beauty of Exploration - Hoar Frost on The Palouse - Pullman, Washington

It’s oh so simple, yet from time to time most of us find ourselves stopped, stuck, resisting anything resembling movement.  For me, that’s the time to remember that my body doesn’t give a hoot about love, life or learning. It sees the new, the adventure, and growth as dangerous threats to its sole concern – survival.

Clever in its ways, the body throws out all manner of reasons to not participate in life.  I’m tired. It doesn’t matter. It’s not worth it. I don’t know how. These are the cloaks my body wears to hide what I’m coming to understand is simply resistance. They are clues that I need to step up, challenge, and command my body to MOVE, to take a step, to be in action.

In responding to these clues I’m strengthening my ability to call forth my will.  It helps me to remember that the journey of 1,000 miles begins with turning on the ignition and that the journey is complete mile by mile. The 2656 mile road that I took in December is a fresh reminder as I look ahead to what I want to accomplish in 2018.

I also find that engaging curiosity counters the lethargy of resistance. The simple shift from ‘I don’t know how’ to ‘I wonder how/what I can learn’ is powerful fuel for moving into action.

As I practice these skills, I notice that the creative force needed to engage in new experiences comes forth more naturally and that a gentle flow of life’s events seems to emerge. Step by step through these events I live, I love, I learn, I grow.

Step by step we can accomplish much in this year that is just beginning. May we each step fully into the energy that is always in motion!

Almost Home ... Sangres in the Distance