Seeking Balance

As the snow balances on the branches of a tree with grace and ease, I wonder why it is so daunting to find that simple balance in our own lives. What I have discovered is if you don't make a conscious effort to find balance you will become much like a dryer completely out of balance.

Sometimes the disaster of being out of balance is the wake-up call you need to address the lopsided life that you're living. It can mean that you're letting the stress of work take over your life, or it can mean that you've stopped taking care of yourself.

Either way, your life is no longer your own, and the only person that can take it back is you. What this means is that you have to get clear about the blocks, distractions, and way you're living that is no longer serving you. If that statement sounds overwhelming to you, it should.

This process is not for you if you expect it to happen in an hour, day, or even six weeks. Just as you can't lose weight by taking a pill, you won't be able to complete this process get an "A" and then go right back to what you were doing. This will be an ongoing journey with twists, unexpected turns and road blocks. But you will be able to garner small wins by making small changes. 

These small changes add up over time to more significant change. For me though the most significant factor is that now I feel different. I can accept when things get out of balance, and I can more easily tip things back into a better balance. The reason is that I no longer expect it to happen quickly, and I don't expect to get it perfect. I can accept when life happens, and I am aware of what helps me get back in balance.

Instead I realize that like the snow balancing on the branch, balance in your life will be temporary and fleeting. However, it will come back around if you nurture yourself and your mind, body, and spirit. All you need to do to start is take a couple minutes to breathe and recognize the beauty of the snow falling.

"You begin to do your part in the Life Pattern by doing all the good things you feel motivated toward, even though they are just little good things at first. You give these priority in your life over all the superficial things that customarily clutter human lives." --Peace Pilgrim

Follow Your Heart

Well the universe has been speaking to me. It seems that I often don't listen or I ignore what it is trying to tell me. Recently, I wasn't the only one to experience the message being sent to me. My friend Ruth came up a few weekends ago to visit me in the mountains to hang out, get outside, and regroup. Both of us needed time away. Although I wasn't "away", I had permission to be on vacation with a friend in town.

I have been having strange and vivid dreams, and during this weekend I woke up feeling unsettled. I have been wrestling with what I want in my life. It's not just about my career or what I do. It's about my life and embracing who I am and what I offer to the world, which is enough. Anyway, I switched on my lamp, and I grabbed some cards I had picked up in Sedona. The first one I felt compelled to draw was "Follow Your Heart".

Keep in mind the first card that was drawn when I was actually in Sedona was "Open Your Heart". Yes, I had a physic reading by a third generation physic of Native American and Japanese descent....I am open to the fact that God sometimes speaks to people in different ways. And when in Sedona, new age capital of the U.S., why not?

I feel good about the movement as I have progressed from opening my heart to following my heart. I feel that I have opened my heart to the possibilities, and now that it is open I need to stop and listen. I believe in the integration of the head and heart to become your best self. I just didn't realize that often my head was overruling my heart. At different times in life you need to lead more with your head and at other times more with your heart. Right now, for me my heart is emerging as the appropriate leader at this point in my life.

It's interesting the universe wanted me to have a witness. Ruth and I went hiking on the American Trail near Ashcroft in Aspen. We had eaten a later breakfast and skipped lunch so we were famished after our hike. We went into Aspen. We stopped for sushi. It was closed (off-season). Then we went to an Italian place (not open for 40 minutes), so we decided sushi at Zheng's in Basalt.

We had a wonderful and more affordable meal, and then we got our fortune cookies following our meal. Yes, sushi and fortune cookies, only in America. I felt gravitation to the fortune cookie nearest me, and I cracked it open to read: "Follow your heart's desires".

I was telling another friend about this experience, and she asked me an interesting question. "Do you know what your heart wants?" That gave me pause. She said that is where she gets caught. I am following my heart again though I don't know how it will look as I travel this path.

What I know at this point is that I want my life to include writing and creative expression. I am embracing love and compassion for myself when previously I only reserved those sentiments for others. I want to form and nurture meaningful connections. I want to get outside in nature as much as possible, and I want to do less to do more.

Happy 2012!

A new year a new you, right? Well there is something amazing as the calendar flips over. It does give you that sense of a new start. For me I want to focus on health, happiness, saving money, writing, and enjoying life. I think I can do those things with love and compassion. May this year bring you joy.