September 7--Happy Now

Now and then it's good to pause in our pursuit of happiness and just be happy.  
--Guillaume Apollinaire

    This quote makes me smile. The macrocosm, the big picture, what we are all here for seems to be the pursuit of happiness. I believe we came here to figure out what makes us happy. We came here to enjoy, not to suffer. We can, however, get quite caught up in following paths that we think lead to happiness only to find that they are dead-ends. Some of those paths could be fame, riches, the big house, a corner office or luxury vehicles. There's nothing wrong with any of those, it's just that they are often not the happiness pinnacle we anticipate. 

    The "pursuit of happiness" is a future-oriented thing--someday I'll get it. To "just be happy" requires centering in the present moment. It's a state of contentment with what I have, what I do, how my relationships are, and being at peace with my inner state. Can I be happy all the time? Probably not, life happens to distract me from the present. But no matter how difficult the present circumstance may be, if I can take a deep breath and be present, I recognize that I do have solutions and the resources to implement them. That makes for happiness. 

    All is well,

        Leta

[Addendum to yesterday's post on Self-Care: "Loving yourself... does not mean being self-absorbed or narcissistic or disregarding others. Rather it means welcoming yourself as the most honored guest in your own heart, a guest worthy of respect, a lovable companion." --Margot Anand]

Couldn't resist!!!

September 6--Self-Care

Lend yourself to others, but give yourself to yourself.  --Michel de Montaigne

    I want to scream every time I hear someone (especially a woman) say self-care is selfish. Fortunately that belief seems to be going by the wayside, but not quickly enough for me. Those who say self-care is selfish are busy giving themselves away to others and depleting themselves to empty. Resentment often follows.

    "Give yourself to yourself" means to take care of yourself on every level. On the physical level, that includes nutritious food, exercise, pampering, and supportive health care. Emotionally, one needs to recognize, feel and release emotions. Mental self-care requires us to keep learning and growing, keeping the mind stimulated and focusing on the positive. Spiritual care involves a variety of practices that remind us that there is something bigger than us in charge, we are a part of it, and we can rely on it. 

    With good self-care in place, giving yourself to yourself, then there is a healthy, whole, "full-tank" person to lend to others. Because you have given yourself to yourself, you can then share your best with others, rather than a depleted, weary, resentful self. Good self-care is a win-win for all. 

    Good self-care enables us to know ourselves better, understand our likes and dislikes, know our limits, and be comfortable in our own skin. It feels good. 

    Feelin' good,

        Leta

September 5--Still and Alive

You must learn to be still in the midst of activity and vibrantly alive in repose. 
--Indira Gandhi

    From my perspective, this quote is about mindfulness. Paying attention. Focusing on what I'm doing right now. 

    "Still in the midst of activity" happens for me when I'm absorbed in what I'm doing. An example would be drawing a barn quilt pattern or crocheting or even golfing. I'm completely into the activity and not thinking about other things, like what I'm going to do next. This becomes a challenge when I'm doing something mundane like washing dishes. It's easy to let the mind wander and not pay attention to the dish, the ability to wash it, and the resources (warm water, soap, sink) to do it. See--you don't think about that stuff when doing the dishes, do you? Tasks like that can become an annoyance rather than an opportunity to recognize the routine blessings of life. 

    "Vibrantly alive in repose"... hmmm... When I'm relaxing, not doing anything, this is the time to be most aware of myself, my thoughts, my internal state. Open to the divinity within me, paying attention to that "still, small voice" within. "Vibrantly alive" means maintaining and sending out a positive vibration, which I seek to do most of the time. As a yoga instructor, I think of savasana at the end of the practice, wherein one lies still for a few minutes, vibrantly alive in repose, energized from the practice. I feel vibrantly alive yet very peaceful. It's a precious time to focus within.

    Chillin',

        Leta

September 4--Continuous Blessings

When we lose one blessing, another is often most unexpectedly given in its place. 
--C. S. Lewis

    It's the ebb and flow of life. The challenge is to release the focus on the lost blessing (allowing time for grieving if need be), and to be open to the replacing blessing. 
    I worked for over six years as a finance manager for a church. We had an outstanding staff that worked together in a spectacular fashion. I loved the job. I could not wait to get to work. It is truly awesome to have that feeling relative to one's job. Well, as is typical with churches, there was a change in senior pastor, and the new pastor and I were like gasoline and a lighted match together. It wasn't long before I was going home in tears nearly every day. Finally, after about eight months of that, I resigned, without another job lined up. It was crushing to go from so much joy at work to so much misery.
    By then, I had renewed aspirations of self-employment. I was studying to be a spiritual living coach and initiating a writing habit. Long story short, I completed the coaching course, wrote my first book, and went on to become a yoga instructor. I am happily self-employed with a flexible schedule that I love. Who knew all these blessings would come from the lost blessing of the church job?
    Whatever "it" is, "it" is probably not the worst that could happen. It's the stepping stone to the next blessing. 
    Keeping the faith,
        Leta

September 3--Rich Opportunity

It is perfectly true, as philosophers say, that life must be understood backwards. But they forget the other proposition, that it must be lived forwards. 
--Soren Kierkegaard

    We learn from the past, let it go, and use it to expand our wisdom, i.e. live forward. That's a successful mode of living. 

    Speaking of philosophers, I share this from my daily meditation from the Center for Action and Contemplation:

The term “perennial philosophy”. . . refers to a fourfold realization: (1) there is only one Reality (call it, among other names, God, Mother, Tao, Allah, Dharmakaya, Brahman, or Great Spirit) that is the source and substance of all creation; (2) that while each of us is a manifestation of this Reality, most of us identify with something much smaller, that is, our culturally conditioned individual ego; (3) that this identification with the smaller self gives rise to needless anxiety, unnecessary suffering, and cross-cultural competition and violence; and (4) that peace, compassion, and justice naturally replace anxiety, needless suffering, competition, and violence when we realize our true nature as a manifestation of this singular Reality. The great sages and mystics of every civilization throughout human history have taught these truths in the language of their time and culture.  --Rabbi Rami Shapiro

    Let us recognize where we've come from, let us recognize who we truly are, and let us use this knowledge and the awakening of 2020 to live forward in peace, compassion and justice. This is the sacred calling of our time. 

    Leta

September 2--Take a Nap

Learn from yesterday, live for today, look to tomorrow, rest this afternoon. 
--Charles M. Schulz

    Schulz created one of my favorite comic strips, "Peanuts." An extraordinary amount of life and wisdom passed through those comics over the years. The quote above pretty well sums it up. 
    Learn from yesterday... We can make the best of what's happened to us, forgive and make amends if needed, let emotions flow, and move on. Or we can pack our grudges and resentments into an nice big heavy suitcase and drag them around for a long time. You decide.
    Live for today... Today is all we have. It can be "best day yet," wherein we serenely complete the next thing right in front of us, aware and enjoying our relationships and our place in the world. Or we can spend today wishing we were somewhere else, doing something else, dissatisfied with life. You decide. 
    Look to tomorrow... We can look ahead with joyful anticipation, expecting life to continue to get better and better. We can make plans for future fun and create new ways to enjoy life here on our magnificent Earth. Or we can dread waking up in the morning to face another day of the same old ugliness, personally and throughout the world. You decide. 
    Rest this afternoon... Leave it to Schulz to encourage us to take a nap. We can take a mental and physical break from it all, and awaken with an improved attitude. Or we can push on through life and exhaust ourselves. You decide. 
    Napping is my favorite hobby. Yes, I consider it a hobby. I LOVE to sleep. My nap is my "stop the world, I'm getting off" time. Unless I'm working full-time at my tax job, I rarely miss a nap. I plan my schedule around my nap time. I'm serious! Napping is that important to me. 
    zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz,
        Leta

Being a lover of baseball... 

September 1--BalancE

Life is about balance. The good and the bad. The highs and the lows. The pina and the colada.  --Ellen DeGeneres

    I'm a Libra. Balance is everything. I even teach the Melt Method, which is all about the body's balance system. Just the idea of balance is comforting to me, maybe because in my early years, there was so little of it in my young life. 

    It is now September on the calendar. This month in the past has been particularly UN-balanced for me. My mom and dad both died on September 24, 21 years apart. (How's that for a bizarre coincidence?!?!) My biggest health challenges to date have been in September. Plenty of good stuff has happened in September, too, but I'm still just a little wary of this month. 

    As long as we are in human form, we'll be seeing opposites. I believe that's one of the challenges we elect to take on to come here--learning to handle opposites. It is in developing that skill that we truly become alive. We can't know great joy unless we've known great sadness. Illness makes us appreciate vibrant health. Stress and anger make us reach for inner peace. Experiencing and witnessing cruelty, abuse and nastiness causes us to be more kind. The presence of Spirit within us always seeks to bring us back to center. 

    On an even keel, for now,

        Leta