• Be the Tree

    • February 4, 2010 9:50 am

    Dearest Readers,

    Yesterday I received a couple of emails regarding the Big O Project that made me want to poke a stick in my eye so I shut off the computer and went to have a rest. My brain, however, wouldn’t stop thinking so I got up and went to my friends’ empty house and watched an hour of television.

    Television is something I rarely look at. I don’t have one and the only time I get to see what’s on TV is when I stay in a hotel. Believe me, this is not about being noble. I’m actually a TV addict and abstinence is the only cure. I used to watch it when I didn’t want to be watching it. TV is an energy-sucker and I would get sucked in for hours.

    As we all know, there is a lot of crap on TV but there is also good television. When I turned the box on yesterday evening it was tuned to PBS, the American Public Broadcaster, and the show that was airing was Ken Burn’s The National Parks: America’s Best Idea.

    Vanity Fair magazine had recently published a story about Teddy Roosevelt, the President who managed to secure so much of what is now National Park land in the US and I had read the article with interest. The part of program that was airing when I tuned in was describing precisely the same information as the VF piece had, which was a lovely bit of synchronicity to calm me down.

    One particular shot from the show has stayed with me until this morning. A photograph of a group of men, Roosevelt and his entourage, standing in front of an ancient sequoia tree. Of course, you cannot see that it is a tree trunk behind them because it is too huge. It looks like a wall of bark. The camera simply couldn’t capture it’s breadth. The narrator tells us the tree is estimated to be 3500 years old.

    When I get emails that make me want to poke sticks in my eyes it is of great benefit to me to remember things like 3500 year old sequoia trees. Ancient, steadfast, lasting stillness. It was here long before me and it will be here long after I’m gone. True Power. True strength.

    When I measure the day-to-day minutiae of my life against the enduring Power of Nature I am humbled by how small my “problems” really are. What is really important? Yes, my work is important. But when I remember that my life is but a blink of the Universe’s eye, everything is put in proper perspective and nothing can rattle me.

    Inspiring Message of the Day: I will not be shaken or stirred by life’s “problems”. In the face of frustration I will emulate the Power of the steadfast Sequoia.

    Right Place, Right Time

    • February 3, 2010 10:41 am

    Dearest Readers,

    Here is further proof that when we commit to working in tandem with the Life Force Energy of the Universe, this Force will support us and guide us in all that we do.

    A couple of weeks ago I was in the middle of a pretty challenging situation and needed help to process my emotional journey through the mire. I have a Spiritual Director but she is currently hiking through the Yucatan and was not available.

    Last month I had come across a pamphlet advertising a local woman’s services as counselor/spiritual guide. I took down her number thinking I might need it one day.

    When the s%&# hit the fan I called this woman’s number and miraculously she was available to see me that day. I went to her office and we ended up having a great session. I left feeling as though I was on the other side of the inner chaos.

    While in the session, I shared about my vision of fearlessness and my commitment to inspiring others to cultivate courage and walk through fear. I realized that part of what I was needing to process was letting go of the fear of disappointing people.

    With all this talk of fear, this woman said to me, “I think I have something for you.” She got up and went away, came back and gave me a book: The Fear Book: Facing Fear Once and For All by Cheri Huber.

    “I picked it up this morning,” she told me. “I didn’t know why I was picking it up. I didn’t think I really needed it — I wasn’t sure it was for me.” It wasn’t. It was for me.

    Inspiring Message of the Day: The Power that is back of all things has my back. I trust that I am being looked after, guided, supported and loved by the One Who Sustains All Things.

    Making Progress

    • February 2, 2010 9:47 am

    Dearest Readers,

    A friend sent me this prayer, written by a former slave:

    Lord, we ain’t what we want to be,
    we ain’t what we ought to be,
    we ain’t what we gonna be,
    but thank God,
    we ain’t what we was.

    This makes me think of “progress not perfection.” In times of struggle, it can be difficult to recognize progress. I often get mired in what I’m not doing well instead of looking at how much better I am dealing with the situation than I did in the past.

    One of the keys to being a great self-coach or our own best friend is to remind ourselves how well we are doing. We can never do this too often.

    Maybe I’m not perfect yet but I’m on the healing path and I’m doing my best each and every day. Some days my best is better than other days. But that’s okay, too.

    Inspiring Message of the Day: I am doing really well today. My fear tells me I’m not, that I could be doing more. But I refuse to listen. No matter what, my best is good enough!

    Give Yourself a Break

    • February 1, 2010 9:03 am

    Dearest Readers,

    Awhile back, in a post called Run for Your Life I blogged about needing more cardio-vascular exercise. I made a commitment to myself that each Sunday I would run up a looooong outdoor staircase that we have here in our fair city.

    So far, so good. I think I’ve only missed one Sunday and on that day I ran to the corner store and back to make up for it. For the fun of it, I’ve also started running to meetings or appointments instead of walking. I don’t run all the way, just a block or two, but it gets my heart rate up and I get there faster, too.

    Yesterday was an outdoor stair-master day but I decided to mix it up a little. Some friends of mine are out of town and they’ve asked me to check on their house once a day in exchange for the use of their car. Normally I drive to their neighbourhood, which is about a 45-minute walk from where I live, but why not run there instead?

    Because I haven’t actually “run” in years and years, I decided to set the bar as low as possible. Rather than pushing myself to run all the way there without stopping I decided I would walk and run.

    This walk-and-run system is one I developed in Edmonton, where I once lived for four months. At the time, I had a “yoga” practice that one of my sisters called “Yoga Balboa”, named for Rocky Balboa, the character in the Sylvester Stallone films. She once did the routine with me and, expecting asanas, instead got low-impact aerobics and stretching, hence the nickname.

    Doing Yoga Balboa everyday will start the body craving for a more rigorous workout. So in order to satisfy the craving I started running. Again, I hadn’t run for years, so the walk-and-run system was born.

    It’s a simple formula: run until you feel like you’re going to puke and then walk until it passes. Repeat.

    So yesterday I set out to walk-and-run to my friends’ house. The weather was perfect. I ran until I was out of breath, walked until I caught it, and then ran some more.

    There were moments when I was running and I felt really good! I remembered what it was like to actually go for a jog and enjoy it. My energy and stamina were surprisingly high and it was extremely satisfying to use my body this way.

    I managed to make it there and back in less than an hour. Who says you have to jog the entire distance of a run? Taking breaks when we need them is just fine.

    Inspiring Message of the Day: I will take breaks when and where I need them. Going the distance doesn’t have to mean full-speed ahead!