{This is a Feel Good Post}
If you are connected with me on social media (mostly Instagram & Facebook) you know that I just recently welcomed a new baby… I mean… a furry companion.
I was definitely a little nervous picking Alice (our Portuguese Water Dog) up in Maine, feeling more like an inexperienced mother! My husband asked me, “what are you nervous about?”… My answer… “you know how when you have your first kid, you have no idea what you are doing, then you have the second and you are all like I got this and then you wait ten years and have another…
Well the ten years have passed since my Austin (my Rottweiller) died, and it wasn’t until two years ago that I felt ready to welcome a new dog.
After only a few days, this gorgeousness has wiggled her way in my heart. The other day I looked at her and said, “Alice, we have been waiting for you for a long time.”
My experience is not unlike most people’s. We love, we loose (sometimes by our choice and sometimes by the choice of another), and we have choice to recover.
Some of us go into blaming others, but we all know that is not a very empowering choice.
Losing loved ones, precious time, or valuable resources (monies included) can feel like such a defeat.
But what if the choice of taking full ownership of every darn thing that happens to us (or that doesn’t happen to us for that matter) is the path to liberation? What if we took 100% responsibility for the failure and success we experience? What if, there was NOBODY to blame?
Listen, I get it if there are moments when it is easier or it feels validating to point the finger elsewhere. Believe me! I spent my twenties in this state of Who is to blame? If you are in this state in your life, I want to spare you the pain and tell you… nobody, my sweet friend is to blame… you are the only one that gets to take credit for every ounce of who you are, what you accomplish, and what does not work.
This is not intended to encourage you to feel crappy about yourself, but to gently, and compassionately, INVITE you to start (or hopefully continue) to make choices that steer you in the direction of your True Self & the life you want.
There’s a balance here and perhaps more like a dance. A dance between 100% responsibility, co-creation with the Universe, and having clarity of the communities you want to be around.
Without clarity, it is tough to know the direction you are going.
Here’s a simple yet powerful practice to embody at every end of a year (or end of anything):
1. Acknowledge what worked. Make a list of all the things that DID work about the year or the relationship, or the job.
2. Allow yourself time and space to feel what you need to feel without creating drama. Just feel. Let it go.
3. Clarify what you truly desire moving forward. What do you INTEND.
4. Ask for help. Surround yourself with people who can help you get there.
5. Trust that everything in life is there to serve you, whether you see it or not.
6. Be GRATEFUL for every single person and circumstance you encounter.
It is my heart felt desire that these 6 steps served you today for something very specific that you are being nudged to confront. My hope is that more of us face life straight on, and that we do not lie to ourselves or others. Truth can feel harsh, but only if we are hiding from it. Give yourself the best gift ever… to take command of your beautiful life.
