Follow Your Hopes…
I am probably one of the most positive people I know. Those that know me personally usually agree! The mistake that often comes with that it that people will say to me… ‘well it is easy for you Anne because you are just so positive!’ Despite what has happened in my life (and trust me I have had my fair share of disappointments and let downs in every category of life), I still know that the only way to get through anything is with hope! Hope is where change lives! Hope is the doorway that change walks right on through.
My hope is to be happy again when I am sad. My hope is to feel free when I feel restricted. My hope is to find peace when I feel unsettled. My hope is to find beauty when something is feeling ugly. The list goes on….
Somehow, following the North Star of hope has led me through areas of darkness in my life and into the light.
An interesting game circulated around Facebook recently ~ it was a play it forward type list of yourself. I was asked to list eights things others may or may not know about me. Here were my 8 things that I listed… an interesting twist is revealed in them.
1. Love ambiance - anywhere, at home, restaurants, coffee shops or nature itself. Tender connection/candlelit moments.
2. People think I like to cook because I make homemade tasty meals all the time. I honestly wished I enjoyed it more…truth be told it is only because I love to take good care of myself and my family.
3. People think I have a green thumb because I have lots of plants in my home and flowers in my garden. It really is because I pick strong and hearty ones. Just won’t do the finicky or too delicate.
4. Even though I have been working out consistent for 14 years, if I get temporarily off track… I still have to push hard against my own resistance to get back on track.
5. I journal every day 3 pages. I have for the past 7 years. Sometimes those pages have been effortless and sometimes a struggle.
6. I don’t wear a lot of jewelry but I do wear earrings everyday.
7. My sister told me when I was pregnant with my first child, I would cry more. She was right. I do cry much more after having my children.
8. I love music. I love lyrics that sing like a poem to the soul. I do believe beyond love - music comes as the next universal language.
The interesting twist is that although certain areas of my life present themselves easily and effortlessly, it doesn’t mean that I didn’t have to cross my own river of resistance inside.
I got the chance to hear the Dalai Lama speak in person four years ago, and something that really stuck with me was him saying… “I have to work on all the same things you do, I have to practice everyday how to have more kindness.” He was so down to earth about it and surprisingly funny at the same time.
We are all working on areas of our lives that require us to work through our own resistance, our own shedding of what holds us back, our own blockages that need healing and our own release to renew and open the door for hopeful change.
What I found is that in order to have hope, I have to be kind to myself. What does it mean to be kind to oneself? It means talking and treating that ‘self’ with a reverence of true importance. It’s the way I talk to my children when they are struggling with something. I give them hope and affirm the ability to create a change.
When it comes to the spiritual practice during the times of the New and Full Moons, I have had some really amazing results with these rituals ~ getting more intimate with myself and becoming my own best friend, showing myself true kindness.
Try this act of kindness:
For the next 14 days - from the Full Moon to the day of the New Moon make a commitment to only speak and act with pure kindness to oneself. What do you do when you find yourself wandering in dis-empowering directions with inner dialogue and harsher attitudes toward your life? You simply remind yourself… only kindness today!
Doesn’t matter how many times you have to remind yourself! If you commit to pure true self-kindness, everything will begin to shift to support your dreams of manifestations by the time you reach the New Moon — the natural alignment for new creations.
Prime the landscape of your soul with a dose of self-respect that comes from allowing self-forgiveness and lives in self-kindness.
Namaste my friends!
Anne
