Find Your Middle Ground
Life is a series of highs and lows. Be grateful in the highs. Be graceful in the lows. Find contentment in your Middle Ground
Being Out of Integrity
This is a re-post I found inspiring to me today. Take time to find your middle ground and come home to your Self.
oooOOOooo
I used to think that when I was out of integrity I was not walking my own talk and my thoughts were not in alignment with my beliefs and values.
That when my thinking and actions weren’t aligned, I was letting myself down in some away, and not honoring my best self.
And then I woke up and experienced it as something more.
The signs of being out of integrity were the same. For me, its an icky uncomfortable feeling in my gut. I’ve come to recognize this as my unconscious letting me know that something isn’t right. There is something to discover within.
When this feeling happens I ask myself two questions and then listen for an answer.
1. Am I feeling fearful? ….I didn’t defect any fear. There were no anxious thoughts or worries.
2. Am I out of integrity?…. and I couldn’t see anything “wrong”. I wasn’t letting myself down by being out of alignment with my thoughts and actions. Usually there’s something that comes up – like avoiding exercise, over eating, trying to get out of a commitment I regretted having made, or feeling bad because I was snippy with someone when I was focused elsewhere. This time it made no sense whatsoever. But there was no “bad” deed or self denial to be dug up and exposed.
So what was going on?
I decided to set aside time to be with myself for yoga and meditation. I moved gently and then simply sat. Being fully present and open to see what would show up.
As I did, I felt a gentle wave of warm loving energy and a softening around my heart. A small voice without words seemed to say “Ah here you are. I’ve missed you.”
The well intentioned judge disappeared and was replaced by pure loving kindness. I gave it space to be and to grow. It moved through my very being. Enfolding me and nurturing my spirit.
My realization is this:
Before I would judge myself as in some way as being “wrong”, and then I would make it “right” by changing how I was behaving or thinking. My judge is well intentioned, but sees things as right or wrong and can be very critical.
When we let go of the judge, a loving connection with ourselves can seed itself and grow. Harmony is found again and everything is aligned once more with life and the world.
Now I know that when I am out of integrity then I am not taking time to be kind to myself.
It’s not about changing my thinking and actions, its about opening my heart and connecting to my Self.
Namaste
Tao Inspiration – The Path to Serenity
Fill your bowl to the brim and it will spill.
Keep sharpening your knife and it will blunt.
Chase after money and security and your heart will never unclench.
Care about people’s approval and you will be their prisoner.
Do your work, then step back.
The only path to serenity.
~ Mitchell, Stephen. Tao Te Ching (Perennial Classics) . Harper Perennial. Kindle Edition.
“Do your work, then step back”. So simple, yet not easy to do when we are caught up in demanding jobs and the chaotic busyness of our techno driven lives.
We all need time to pause, reflect and replenish.Only then will we find true balance and the serenity in life.
Namaste
Silent Celebration
A catbird tries to fly
against the wind only
to be blown backward.
I know that feeling –
setting out with certainty
and arriving somewhere
entirely different. When
I respond with acceptance
to my unexpected
destination, the sun
clangs its cymbals of
light in silent celebration.
~ Danna Faulds
Stop trying to fly against the wind and fully embrace where you are in the highs of lows of life. Celebrate the unexpected… and the sunshine today!
Haiku – power down
Power down. Switch off.
Slow down to the speed of Life.
Find your Middle Ground.
Find your Middle Ground is about stepping away from the busyness of our lives and our screens. More than ever we need to take time to pause and come to our senses.
When we are mindful of the present moment and simply allow it to be, we open a door to our natural state of being – accepting, loving, peaceful, kind and content. Most of us are so distracted and moving so fast that we get caught up in the world of “doing” or worrying about what we should be doing next.
Too much doing and thinking disconnects us from our sense of “being”and who we really are.
Inspiration – The Dark and the Light
“The dark does not destroy the light;
it defines it.
Its our fear of the dark that casts our
joy into the shadows.”
Brene Brown
Take a moment to reflect on how this appears in your life.
Instead of wishing the dark away, how can you embrace it and shine through?
Your Sacred Ground
Todays insight is taken from from Brené Brown’s book “Gifts Of Imperfection”. This is the place to come to when you feel insecure, nervous and vulnerable, especially in new situations.
“Don’t shrink
Don’t puff up
Stand on your sacred ground”
This sacred ground is the place of embracing your authentic self in the moment.
No need to think you are not good enough or that you are better than others.
Simply stand in the knowing of who you are.
Most of us find it when we have experienced some struggle in the highs and lows of life.
It’s a powerful place to truly Be.
When I read this I think of Yoga and standing in Mountain Pose or Tadasana. Rooted to the ground, yet tall and strong. In this moment you become the mountain.
Namaste
Dirt time!
The sun came out and Meghan and I enjoyed some digging in the dirt!
