on a date with adventure.

I have been romanced by novelty lately. Everyday, flowers marked with change, exploration, and the sure sense of flow show up on my doorstep. In candlelight, we feast on curiosity and toast to the absence of normalcy. My journey is made anew, and I am falling more in love with each passing moment.

Nothing is the same in this new town- well, besides my love for chocolate chip cookies and the unnecessary amount of time it takes to blow dry my hair. But, other than that, I'm in a constant state of discovery. I've discovered a new lullaby of the train passing out my window, comfort in the voice of a new friend, a fresh feeling of air as I step outside on unfamiliar paths. I've discovered the energy I receive in exploring the uncertain. I've discovered a lack of need to attach myself to expectation. And, the most important treasure yet, I've discovered my Spirit has known all along exactly where to lead me in this journey of mine.

Even when normalcy and routine begin to vie for my affection, I have discovered a strength to appreciate the newness of each moment, of each setting sun over the city's lights, of each flake of snow that covers the earth. I have discovered a need to stay curious, to love on adventure, to follow my bliss.

This journey of mine has many places to reach. But, for now, this moment is my journey. This moment is my adventure, and I will open myself to it all.

be free.

i feel this overwhelming need to tell you that you are free at any moment you want to be.

your mind, your heart, your spirit- they are all just cage-less birds waiting patiently behind the illusionary bars you have set them in. some of us spend life times constructing the perfect self-induced home for our most precious belongings. a home that is safely confined to comfort or to the fear of surrender and letting go. we pick the cage's color, the ornate detailing, the size of our boxed in, simulated freedom. we control the creation of our own aviary. but, it's ok and feels safe as long as we are in control.

we seem to like control, so let's go with that. just as it was our choice to give these cages standing room in our lives, it is our choice in what we do with them at each moment.

a complete demolition of these lifelong creations of restriction? why that may be too much too soon and leave its inhabitants flightless, unable to catch air under their premature wings.

but, you have the power to just open the door. at any moment. you have the power.

remember, your heart, mind and spirit, they are already cage-less by nature. they are already ready and willing to fly free, to flow with the current of the honest air. their wings may be slightly stunted from time behind imagined bars, but they will grow strong nonetheless. every time the door is opened and they are given permission to explore beyond illusion, freedom is yours.

yes, freedom is yours.

see this.

“What would you do if you knew you were enough just as you are today, if you knew- really knew- that you were in your essential nature a compassionate, gentle being capable of being fully present with yourself and the world? Would you trust yourself more?” –Oriah

Declare to begin this year embracing the goodness that you are. For whatever this year does or doesn’t bring, little does that compare to the growing awareness of who you are, of becoming more in touch with your true, compassionate self. Vow to know yourself, love yourself, and trust yourself, and everything else will fall right in line with what you truly need. You have the power not only to realize your essential, sacred nature but also to LIVE according to that nature. You are beauty, strength, peace, and love. You are bliss and hope. You are you, and that is always enough. Continue to embrace and unfold. Continue to trust.

Simple Math.

According to the substitution property of equality, if a=b then we can change any b to an a or a to a b, and they mean the same thing.

So, consider this.

1 John 4:8 tells us "God is love". (God=a, love=b)

And in Psalms 46:10, we are commanded, "Be still and know that I am God"

Therefore, according to the substitution property, we can read this as, "Be still and know that I am love."

Wow, this means love is always available, always present, always God. Life suddenly feels so sweet and precious when I realize I am completely, fully, and eternally surrounded by love. As I look to God, there is love. As I look to others, there is love. As I look to myself, yes, even there, is love. For Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 3:10, "Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple, and that God's spirit dwells in your midst?" We all are love. I am love. The essence of everything it means to love- to give, to receive, to teach, to learn, to be. With this, I feel a new respect for myself. I feel a new respect for others, for who they are as love. I feel a new respect for the unexpected places life takes me, because I know, if I continue to allow the presence and the flow of God to carry me, if I am open and still with no resistance, I will sense the warm and assuring blanket of love swaddling me like a child resting in the comfort of a safe home. I will sense exactly who I am.

It's really easy to forget this and to get caught up in what makes us seem unlike love. Stress, fear, doubt, anger, hate... the list could go on and on and on. We are not these things. We were not born these things, nor do we grow into these things. No. These moments are only the simple forgetfulness that our true essential nature is love, is God. We are love. God is love. Every moment, love is available to us. Every situation, love is there. God is there. Did you hear that? Every moment. All we have to do is "be still and know". It's that simple.

"(Love) always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails." -1 Cor. 13:7-8

I'll let you do the substitution on that one. :)

it's all up to you.

“Our fears are only what we tell them to be.” - Norah Jones

Really think about this statement. In order for something to be a fear, we had to first see it (or feel it) then consciously decide not to welcome it. We had to label it as bad, scary, or uncomfortable. We had to give it the controlling power over our true, peaceful nature. We had to allow it to create anxiety. We had to choose to name it fear.

Now, think about this. What if we would have chosen to give it another name? Another label? Another type of power? What if we would have welcomed it? What if we could create it into anything we wanted it to be? What then?

Think about that.... So cool.

Yea, we’ve got the power. :)

compassion.

The Catholic priest Henri Nouwen wrote,

Forgiveness is the name of love practiced among people who love poorly. The hard truth is that all of us love poorly. We need to forgive and be forgiven every day, every hour- unceasingly. That is the great work of love among the fellowship of the weak that is the human family.

Compassion is no easy act. When someone "does us wrong, " it is so much easier to put them out of our hearts because of how they made us feel- unloved. However, in order to embrace the true essence of unity, we are to get to the point where we no longer need to seperate ourselves fromthem. When we can see in us the same struggle we see in them; it just may come in a different form. True compassion does not mean accepting others' actions regardless of the consequences to us or the world, but about being able to say no where we need to without making the other less of a human being. For a man's problem is not just his problem, but it is really our human problem; he may just be the one acting it out at that moment. And by realizing this, we can see the expansiveness of who we are as a person and as a whole, and this expansiveness makes us capable of comapssion where we thought it was impossible. Alexander Solzhenitsyn wrote, after suffering the horrors of a Siberian prison camp:

It it were all so simple! If only there were evil people somewhere insidiously committing evil deeds, and it were necessary only to seperate them from the rest of us and destroy them. But the line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being. And who is willing to destroy a piece of his own heart?

Next time you get the oppurtunity to show forgiveness and compassion to someone TAKE IT! And remember, they are just a human being doing the best that they can, searching for the home for which all our hearts long.

Let us help one another get there.

whispering assurances

you are exactly where you are supposed to be

in life

this very moment

take a breath

breathe it in

in every situation, a blessing can be found

it is well