Word fun

Mark Nepo: "There is no greater act than putting yourself before another."
What is your reaction to that statement? "Selfish" may be the most common term to come to mind.
Now here's the whole quote:

"There is no greater act than putting yourself before another. Not before another as in coming first, but rather as in opening yourself before another, exposing your essence before another. Only in being this authentic can real kinship be known and real kindness released."

This way of living that Nepo suggests is the essence of my vision for my life: Whole heart connection. It's a practice.
If you don't put yourself fully before others on a regular basis, why not? It's a question worth pondering.
        Leta

What's Wrong? What's Right?

     I just finished watching the movie, I AM, by Tom Shadyak. It's definitely worth the time, about 75 minutes. He starts out with the question, "What's wrong with the world?" He ends up with the question, "What's right with the world?"
     This is an invitation to pay attention to your own thoughts and feelings. Note how you feel when you say or think, "what's wrong with ...?" For instance, "what's wrong with me?" Is there anything about that self-judgmental statement that feels good?
     Now let's practice, "what's right with ...?" Your thinking or your conversation moves in a whole different direction. It feels uplifting. It feels hopeful. It feels encouraging.
     Imagine if each of us started viewing our lives and our immediate surroundings and those we come in contact with from the standpoint of "what's right with ... ?" Every single moment and interaction is more enjoyable. Life becomes a simple state of contentment rather than a problem to be fixed.
     What's right with the world? I am, and you are!
                Leta

Spring please...

     I'm excited for spring to get here. (I will confess, sure, nature is wonderful, but I LOVE March Madness and Opening Day of baseball season even more!)
     So I've read ahead a bit in my daily reader, The Book of Awakening, by Mark Nepo. Here is his writing for April 5:

All the buried seeds
crack open in the dark
the instant they surrender
to a process they can't see.
What a powerful lesson is the beginning of spring. All around us, everything small and buried surrenders to a process that none of the buried parts can see. And this innate surrender allows everything edible and fragrant to break ground into a life of light that we call spring.
In nature, we are quietly given countless models of how to give ourselves over to what appears dark and hopeless, but which ultimately is an awakening that is beyond all imagining. This moving through the dark into blossom is the threshold to God.
As a seed buried in the earth cannot imagine itself as an orchid or hyacinth, neither can a heart packed with hurt imagine itself loved or at peace. The courage of the seed is that once cracking, it cracks all the way. 

Love and blessings,
Leta

OneLessStranger

     I am a airbnb host, one of my business ventures that I truly love. (airbnb.com) The company recently sent a total of $1 million out to hosts (I received $10) to go out and make "one less stranger." That's one of the things I love about the company--it's all about connection, all over the world, making peace one interaction at a time.
     Here's the story of my OneLessStranger adventure this past Sunday morning:

I've just returned from a lovely morning adventure to Starbucks.
Dan was my first new contact, as he was the employee I gave the money to for treating customers. Also working there is a neighbor, Tyler, fun to see him. Despite the early hour (7:15), the folks there were in a great mood. Fun environment. I sat there for a couple hours and read E-Squared, working on my upcoming class.
Thanks to the two folks who left their money at my house Thursday night, I had $65 to play with. I left $10 in tips, and the rest went to customers.
I met Locke, a young man with whom I had a great chat. And yes, I approached him, not the other way around. I am delighted to say that I have, via an informal survey I am undertaking, found another person besides me who likes surprises. When I asked Locke if such is the case for him, his face lit up and he said "yes" without hesitation. More fun!

Kindness rocks.

Smile. It's a great OneLessStranger starter.
          Leta

Surprise?

     Am I the only person on the planet who likes surprises? I'm beginning to think so. I had a powerful lesson just this past week that most people do NOT like surprises.
     As a former card-carrying contol freak, I understand that there are personalities that don't care for surprises. Why is that? Lack of control? Expecting bad things to happen? Unwillingness to believe good could happen? Plain old fear? Embarrassment? I want to expand my understanding.
     I love surprises. Trust me, I've had some less-than-wonderful surprises in my life. I guess it comes down to Einstein's very important question: Do you believe the world is a friendly place, or not? I definitely believe it is, and I believe people are inherently good, and life supports us in every way.
     How about you? Do you like surprises? I plan to do more informal research on this topic, so there's more to come...
     Life is good!
               Leta

Make 2015 a Year of Discovery

Words from Margaret Stortz:

"Our spiritual ground zero is the recognition of our own natural holiness, the basic goodness inherent in us because of our oneness with Spirit. Once we allow that this truth is our truth, we can stop beating ourselves up. We can let the self-forgiveness and healing take place as necessary. Then we may discover that ours is more a task of discovery rather than fixing. The spiritual raw material is always present for us."

     What if we just drop the idea that something about us needs to be fixed? What if we approach our lives as a process of discovery of new ways to be and behave? Discover what works for us? Discover what makes us happy? Discover what we truly care about in life? Discover what we really want to create in our lives?
     Doesn't "discover" feel much better than "fix"?
          Joyous discovery to you in this glorious new year!
                    Leta