Posts Tagged ‘transition’

Owning Where You Are: The Awkward, Clunky In-Between

Thursday, January 28th, 2010

awkward

Hi Pinkies, Joy here, going through yet another profound inner transformation. (Seriously, Joy? Again? I know, it’s one of about a jillion since this time last year). Not surprisingly, I’m not feeling like myself at the moment. That’s because I’m not – at least, not the self I knew last week.  I’m becoming something else, someone new, but I’m not there yet either. I’m in, if you will, personality purgatory.

A teacher likened such moments to a lobster going out into the world without a shell. That’s exactly how it feels. I’m raw, reeling, and gun-shy. I recoil at advances made, advice given, and concern expressed – no matter how well-intentioned or loving. My own capacity for patience, empathy, and love is at an all-time low.

“Handling” times like this

If this hadn’t already happened to me several times before – and if I hadn’t witnessed it in countless others – I’d be wondering what’s “wrong” with me right now. Wondering what “happened.” I’d be concerned about what this means for my relationships: why am I suddenly unable to stand so-and-so, when he’s never bothered me in the past? I’d be in full-on freak-out mode about my whole life having to change, and would be spinning my wheels trying to “plan” for the next phase even though I am completely without energy to affect anything.

Fortunately, I HAVE seen this happen before, and I’m finally able to recognize it for what it is: the in-between. The time following a discovery so emotional that it’s left me unable to do much but feel (in a way that has nothing to do with logic). I haven’t fleshed out a vision of the future me, but don’t quite fit into my old outfit. There is no reference point. Nothing to grab and hang onto. I’m in the void.

And it really is okay

Yes, to the outside world I may appear an exhausted, sluggish, bleary-eyed, useless, snippy nightmare. People might worry – ask themselves the questions I used to ask myself: “what happened?” “What’s wrong?”  But this time I know what’s up, and I’m doing a little jig inside my sallow skin because I know what’s on the way. For now, though, all I can do is sit in the yuck, be kind to myself, protect myself as best I can from the energetic onslaughts, sleep, eat, bathe every now and then(!), and make my way through my days as best I know how.

It won’t happen overnight

It could be that I wake up one of these days wearing my new skin like a flashy sequin jumpsuit, hop out of bed and back onto the stage of life to give my best performance yet.  Most likely, though, it will happen in stages. Like Bambi when he was first learning to walk, there will be a lot of rather dramatic listing, stumbling, and going kersplat, legs splayed in all directions. It will be awkward as hell. But with the support of my peeps (who I know will hang in no matter how “weird” I act – because they have every other time), I’ll be leaping and frolicking and wondering what the heck was so hard about that anyway.

Where Are YOU?

Anyway, Pinkies, I invite you to take stock of where you might be right now. Sometimes we find ourselves in the middle of transitions we didn’t even know were happening. But there are always signs to clue us in – feelings of intolerance, impatience, even a little despair. Know that it’s all fine, and that the only thing to do in these moments is own where you are. Take the day off. Stop what you’re doing and climb in the bath. Sit with your fears. Ask for what you need. And most importantly, don’t try to figure it out right now. No amount of motivation or goal-setting is going to speed you into a place of spiritual newness. Surrender, allow, and know that we’re all here for you. Thank you for being here for me.

Face plant,
Joy

OP jpeg

Mojo Monday- What Would You Do If You Were Brave?

Monday, January 25th, 2010

courage

Dear Pinkies, please welcome back the wisest woman in my life, my best friend and Pink Mommy, Trish Rankin. She’s here today with some thoughts on dreams, transitions, and the miracles that exist in each of us. Take it away, Mommy, and thank you! – Lissa

***

Recently I heard a song* in the car that has tweaked my soul. The lines that particularly touched me were:

What would I do, if I knew that I could not fail?
If I believed, would the wind always fill up my sail?
How far would I go?

All the way home, I found the question rolling around the car as if it were a loose bottle of water seeking a place to settle. What would I do if I were brave? Would I seek my dream? Do I have a dream formulated or have I been afraid to even create one?

The Difficulty of Change

Since my husband died four years ago, I have tried to remake my way, but I am still far from who I think I can be. It would be easier to just go on as I am, remaining in the safety of the niche I’ve re-created. Change is hard and mine is no exception. David was my husband of 40 years as well as my best friend. We didn’t just co-exist – we shared life, and now I live alone. My purpose in life is now in question.

Venturing Out On My Own

In November I flew to Turkey alone, spent a week with our former foreign exchange student whom David and I were supposed to visit before he died. I was scared that something would go very wrong (and many of those fears were confirmed), but I did it. I then flew alone from Turkey to Greece, and connected with a small group from my church to go on a Mediterranean Cruise of four countries. I ended up in Greece alone an extra day due to a miscommunication and flew home alone.

I have never traveled abroad alone before and certainly not to a country where I couldn’t even speak the language, and where few I addressed could speak English. But I overcame my fears. I did it! I was brave, and I was proud!

So what would I ask if I could have anything? What is my dream?

My dream? It is to publish my recently completed book, and present 1-2 “Owning Joy after Loss” workshops a month, to help other women gracefully move through their grief journey. But that takes skill and persistence I’m not sure I possess. Doubt creeps in and steals my courage. My dream? To find love again, to fill my empty home with happiness through a committed loving relationship. But that takes risk, and I am striving each day to find the courage to confront that risk. I know I will.

Believe in the Miracle That Is You

Don’t be concerned about doing it alone. For there are miracles available within us – some large and some small. You don’t have to donate a kidney to become a miracle in someone else’s day or life.  A kind word, volunteering your time, a smile to an angry stranger, a changed heart – these are all small miracles that can change those around us and ultimately change who we are.

I have a sign in my dining room that says, “The poor woman is not one without a dime but one without a dream.”

So Pinkies-Dream big, knowing that the will of God never takes you where the Grace of God will not protect you.

What would YOUR dream look like, if you were not afraid? If you were brave? If you had courage to change anything you wished?

A MOJO MONDAY exercise:

1.  Give yourself a few minutes to close your eyes and fantasize. Where does your mind go if you give it permission to go anywhere exciting? What if you invited yourself to dream your biggest dreams, free of your inner critic and demons? What comes up? What would you do if you were BRAVE?  If you took fear out of the equation?

2.  Make a list of all of your wildest fantasies, your ginormous dreams- the life you might create if you took a Pleap (Pink leap of faith) and truly BELIEVED in yourself.

3. Now write a list of affirmations that will help you be brave. If your inner critic says, “You’re not smart enough,” your affirmation will be You are smart enough. If it says, “You don’t have enough money,” your affirmation is “Abundance is overflowing in my life.” Write as many affirmations as you can think of.

4. Now, try to still your mind in meditation for as long as you can manage (15-30 minutes is ideal. It opens up your mind to a place of receptivity).

5. After quiet meditation, start to dream your dream, in very specific detail. Visualize a day in your perfect life as if it was a movie. Don’t worry about the details of how and when. Just create the scene in your mind, believing it to be true. Imagine waking up in the morning. Feel what it feels like to be brave. What does your house look like? Your family? Your job? Your body? Your community? How do you FEEL in this brave life? How do things smell? How does life taste? Very as sensual and detailed as possible. Let your body live it.

6. There is a part of your brain that responds to this type of programming- (Lissa tells me it’s called the reticular activating system). When you stimulate it, it starts firing, and voila- before you know it- you begin to notice ways that your dreams might come true that you might not otherwise have noticed. Perhaps you need to find the perfect retail kitchen space so that you can open your dream restaurant. So there you are- at a cocktail party- and because your reticular activating system is now supercharged, your ears hear- from all the way across the room- some guy talking about how he has this kitchen for rent and needs to unload it really cheap. Had your brain not been fired up, you might never have noticed. So let’s do it, Pinkies. Let’s supercharge our reticular activating systems and be BRAVE!

6. After watching the movie reel in your head, open your eyes and read your list of affirmations out loud. Even better- read them into a tape recorder and play them with your eyes still closed. Believe them. LIVE them. KNOW them.

7. Repeat this exercise every day for a month- and see what happens.

What do you think, Pinkies. Are you in? I’m starting today…

Share your dreams, dear ones. What would you do if you were brave?

Getting braver ever day,

Trish

* “If I Were Brave” by Jana Stanfield

What would I do, if I knew that I could not fail?
If I believed, would the wind always fill up my sail?
How far would I go? What could I achieve,
trusting the hero in me?

If I were brave, I’d walk the razor’s edge,
where fools and dreamers dare to tread.
I’d never lose faith, even when losing my way.
What step would I take today, if I were brave?

What would I do today, if I were brave?
What would I do today, if I were brave?

What if we’re all meant to do what we secretly dream?
What would you ask, if you knew you could have anything?
Like the mighty oak sleeps, in the heart of a seed,
are there miracles in you and me?

If I were brave, I’d walk the razor’s edge,
where fools and dreamers dare to tread.
I’d never lose faith, even when losing my way.
What step would I take today, if I were brave?

What would I do today, if I were brave?
What would I do today, if I were brave?

If I refuse to listen to the voice of fear,
would the voice of courage whisper in my ear?

If I were brave, I’d walk the razor’s edge,
where fools and dreamers dare to tread.
I’d never lose faith, even when losing my way.
What step would I take today, if I were brave?

What would I do today, if I were brave?
What would I do today, if I were brave?

Healing, Releasing, and Owning Me: Joy’s Pink Intuitive Reading with Caroline

Thursday, October 22nd, 2009

7thchakraHey Pinkies. Joy here. Last week, I had my first Pink Intuitive Reading with the Pink Goddess of Intuition, Caroline Diana Bobart.

I am still in the throes of all of the energy that was moved by this reading (I’ll explain more about that in a bit). I’d had readings of this nature before, but I’d forgotten how healing it can be when another acknowledges what is going on in your space, causing you to become aware of it and begin the process of movement.

Caroline is talented on so many levels, but what came through most strongly for me was her ability to not only see with precise clarity what was happening in my space, but to put it into words. She explained that nothing she was saying made sense to her since it was my experience; however, the way she described what she was seeing formed strong, clear pictures in my mind, and evoked feelings of truth in my gut. It made it very easy to embrace the whole experience with openness, trust and eagerness.

The Wheres and Hows
First, the setup: Caroline lives in Wales (the one in the UK), so were connected over Skype. Her eyes were closed as she assumed a light trance that enabled her to view me as a spirit, which emerged in her sight after I said my name three times. I was on mute for most of the time to minimize background noise so that she could focus. Every few minutes she would check in with me to ask if what she was saying made sense, and ask if I had questions. While what she was saying was merely her interpretation of what I was showing her, and didn’t necessarily make sense to her, it was important to know whether what she was saying was resonating with me. (It was.)

The Overarching Theme
Caroline immediately identified something that is very front and center for me – the fact that I am going through a big shift in character. You see, I have always been very liked. That’s because I’ve always been likeable. That’s because I’ve always been agreeable and eager to please, very often sacrificing myself in the process (unconsciously, of course). The first thing I “showed” Caroline as a spirit was this energy – and the fact that it was changing. Caroline explained that when we as spirits show things during intuitive readings it often means it’s because we’re ready to move that energy and, as such, transform what’s happening in our lives. Caroline saw that I am walking the line between being validated by everyone else and being true to my own desires. It’s no wonder at all that it appeared first … it’s something that’s up for me everywhere in my life. Inherent in this is the need to establish boundaries so as to live safely within my world of knowing, and be less likely to play to the wishes of other people and energies, either real or perceived.

This theme continued to come up throughout the reading … she later saw an energy between my sixth chakra (perception) and my seventh chakra (having/owning) that is often infiltrated by the energies of others … so that even though there is much I know to be true, the information is interfered with which results in self-doubt.

Stop Doubting
Oh yeah, self doubt. Another vastly enormous theme in my life. In fact, I have a slogan taped to my wall that says, “Kill the motherfucking self doubt” – so tired am I of letting my insecurities get in the way of my fullness.  Caroline confirmed that there are blockages to me “stepping into my own power.” In fact, I had heard it put that way several times, and it always resonates as profoundly true. She spoke of a kind of veil of black energy draped over the top edge of my aura which is not allowing me to be seen for who I genuinely am. The veil also dims my own communication with my highest self. The veil, she said, has to do with family energy – about keeping myself unseen, under wraps, lest the exposure of my whole self and all that I am disrupt the family dynamic. I therefore only show the good, acceptable bits to keep everyone calm and not rock the boat. Of course, none of this was or is conscious – which is why a reading like this is so HELPFUL in dislodging some of the energy that might be holding one back.

Communication About My Communication
Something else that has been hugely present for me has been the awkward stumbling into speaking my truth … or speaking at all … particularly within my relationship. Before we got started, Caroline had invited me to ask any questions I wanted information on from the reading. Though this communication issue is something that’s very much up, I wasn’t sure where or what the question was, so I let it go and trusted that if it needed to come up, it would. Sure enough, not even halfway into the reading, Caroline saw a dark fuscia-colored energy oozing out the back of my aura begging to be looked at before she moved on. It was a communication energy that had to do with – what else – my relationship. (At this point I was sitting there, shaking my head in awe and giggling silently. Of course!) The energy spoke of a desire to somehow express the profound changes I was going through – a real need to say what that change is. However, such a thing was impossible because the change is still in the process of happening. Therefore, my truth in this moment would look more like, “A change is happening. It’s big, and I don’t know how I’m going to be at the end of it. For now, I just need you to know this and stick with me through it.” I breathed a HUGE sigh of relief at this awareness. It felt so much less confusing and cumbersome … it’s simply and precisely what is. I don’t have to force it, define it further, or DO anything about it. Phew. Another deep breath; another validation of things happening exactly as they should be.

My Past Life
Caroline then moved on to look at my “spiritual information,” or the connection with my spiritual self. She noted that I was very well connected to my truth/purpose by threads of gold energy. However, there is an issue of me feeling as though I don’t deserve to have the information. I wasn’t sure why, but this felt really right on. Caroline perceived that it had to do with a past life, so she took a look. She saw me about 200 years ago, as a woman in Portugal. The woman had gray hair, was hunched and was carrying a stick. She was a bit crazed. Caroline explained that the woman had always been very psychic, but in that time and place there was no way for her to communicate the information, or be taken seriously. There was no way for her to reconcile her perceptions with the reality around her, and she was unable to communicate who she was and what she had to offer without being judged or ridiculed. When Caroline paused to ask me if any of this was making sense, I was laughing again. I’ve always understood that many who are deemed “crazy” or “mentally unstable” (Caroline was very gently trying to convey, without worrying me, that this was what this woman was) actually have access to a reality that most of us don’t. It’s not always the case that they are sick, it’s just that most of us can’t understand what they understand, and it scares us, so we label them, we medicate them, we institutionalize them. Anyway, not only was I not put off by this description of my past life, but I was actually loving it … whacky as it sounds, I’ve always felt as though I’m not crazy enough, and that my true self has a bit more of an edge – an understanding of a truth that detaches me slightly from my conformity to social norms. I don’t expect anyone to understand this, but was mightily relieved and amused to receive this information, and realize that it’s quite okay to shed this unconscious fear of being laughed at and remaining unheard – a fear to which I’ve been clinging for all these lifetimes.

Yes, You’re In Transition
The question I did pose to Caroline before the reading began was that she look at the direction of my coaching practice. I am nearing the end of my training and, though it is a long-held dream of mine to work as a coach, I’m actually not sure exactly what it will look like. I received validation and comfort all over the place on this front as well. She saw the space as a dark emerald green, which at the moment is opaque. In this case, the opaqueness represents how much of my  seeing/knowing ability (which has yet to be owned by me) I’m going to use within the coaching practice. The reason the space isn’t clear is because I’m not yet clear on that decision, or even on the ability itself. This was actually wonderful to hear. Readings are NOT about predictions of one’s future – no matter how talented the psychic, we are the only ones with that information. But it felt good to hear that the transition of which I am so aware is actually happening on an energetic level.  Kind of like getting a medical diagnosis for vertigo. Not the greatest news, but at least you know you weren’t just imagining those dizzy spells.

Caroline also gave me some wonderful information on grounding the energetic space of my coaching practice outside of my own aura. Right now I’m keeping it very close to me – actually inside my own space – which isn’t allowing it to be its own creation. Part of the reason I’m doing this (with the coaching and with other things) is that I want to protect it from others who want to influence it, and who might be afraid of what will happen to their relationship with me as I move into this new space. However, the more grounded it is, she told me, not only will it be stronger and less susceptible to intrusion, it will also be more “visible” to the world.

Making an Impact
Two energies lit up for Caroline that represented the trouble I have with “the extent to which I can impact people.” This also hit a truth button for me. I’m hesitant to leave my imprint on people – to really “go in,” as a teacher of mine once put it. Responsible for this are two energies … one is a round, cream-colored energy in my seventh chakra, where some beings appeared to be hanging out. They looked to Caroline like paper cutouts – white and very angular – and she suspected that they were not human, but have attached themselves there to learn lessons of certainty and self-doubt in humans. This too was contributing to my difficulty in owning my perceived information, and all I needed to do was ask them to leave – I don’t need to agree to them being there.

There was also a purple triangle at the top of my second chakra, which had to do with my ability to own my body as a woman. As Caroline put it, it was muting my “inner tigress,” resulting in an inability to express my “feminine wiles.” Yup, bingo. Absolutely. Understood. As with the other unwanted energies, Caroline assured me that it was not my responsibility to keep and carry this inheritance. And so I intend not to anymore.

Say What You Need To Say
She also saw a dark green energy in my fifth chakra constricting my vocal chords and voice box. This made a ton of sense as a big frustration of mine lately has been my literal inability to SAY what is on my mind (this is partly why I’m such a good writer – the things that won’t come out of my mouth often flow through my hands). I’m very tired of not being able to speak, and at the same time am very aware of what seems a physical inability to do so. I was grateful then to remember that the energies that light up to be seen are also ones that we as spirits are getting ready to move. This voice box constriction energy is on the way out.

Caroline wrapped up the reading with a “next step” for me. It appeared as a bright fuscia pink, and had to do with becoming aware of my entitlement to speak according to what I see and perceive. Doing this, she reminded me, isn’t to the benefit or detriment of anyone else but myself (I think part of my hesitation to speak my truth involved hurting or alienating others). Energetically, people and beings do attempt to make me doubt what I feel by interfering with that space between my sixth and seventh chakras. By being bringing this forth into my consciousness and becoming more in touch with my communication energies, that all will start to move.

And Now …
Caroline advised me to take some time to process all of the information I’d received before diving back into my day. I did sit for a few minutes to ponder, gently re-entering the tasks at hand, but the Universe had other plans for me. Turned out the processing took ALL day. I felt like I was floating through each activity … unable to really land on any one endeavor or “achieve” anything. It felt like an aimless wandering, but one that was actually quite peaceful.  I knew from past experiences that readings not only give you information, they also facilitate a MASSIVE energy dump that happens when so much is looked at. I gratefully experienced the dump, slept peacefully and, as Caroline also warned me may happen, have experienced a week of highs and lows – introspection, brooding, awkward moments, and crossed wires. Again, none of this is bad – it’s like taking the engine of a car apart to rebuild it. There’s going to be a lot of loud clattering and clanging, parts that need to be sawed off or hammered in, frustration and puzzlement as the pieces are fit back together, ultimately resulting in an engine that purrs.

As I write this, I can feel things smoothing out. The upheaval is just a growth spurt – albeit a rather enormous spurt brought about by the wisdom, patience, and clear communication from Caroline, to whom I will be forever grateful as I navigate this next giant step forward in my life.

In Conclusion …
This is one of the best things I’ve done for myself in a long time, Pinksters. It was like a massage – helping me work out the places where energy had gotten stuck; allowing me to release what I had to. Caroline is the best – and I’m not just saying that because she’s a Mojo Mentor. The woman is truly, truly gifted and goddess-like. You can find out more about Pink Intuitive Readings with Caroline here. You can also read about Lissa’s experience here.

Feeling lightened, enlightened, and ever so grateful,

Joy

Mojo Monday Exercise: Write a Letter to October

Monday, October 5th, 2009

autumnCheerio Pinkies, and happy Mojo Monday.

Joy here. Today’s Mojo Monday exercise was inspired by the extraordinarily talented Pink Posse member Christa, who wrote this exquisite letter on the Posse blog. Naturally, we at OP were instantly inspired and started typing up our own hymns to this often overlooked but most precious month. HUGE thanks to Christa for all she has stirred up with her words. Here’s what poured out of me (but before you read it, please check out Christa’s … it is gorgeous, poetic, and the reason for this powerful Mojo Monday exercise).

Dear October,

When on earth did you get here? And when did you get to be so STUNNING? Your arrival with all its crystal crispness has drawn me outside at every possible moment, to work, to walk, to wish. San Francisco summer is one persnickety sister, and September’s like her younger sibling. But you, October, you steal in without a scene or fanfare, taking us all by surprise, blinding us with your light, awakening us to the change all around us, calling us to live appreciatively in it rather than be rocked or jostled by the inevitable turning of the seasons of life.

Back in my fear and loathing stage, when I was in a very different place (physically and in every other way), you were to be both feared and loathed by me … despite your benign beginnings, the tail-end cold of you would shoot straight through clothing to bone, diminishing the delight of fall colors. I never bothered to emotionally alight on anything that would be so fleeting and impermanent. You were a harbinger of the long cold winter to come. I dreaded the long darkness you represented. Maybe now that I’m here, in a place where seasons mean a change in day length more than one in temperature – but also here, in a place of slowing down and SEEING that there’s kindness and there’s beauty and there’s love – I am able to breathe you in for the marvelous gifts you bestow.

For me you are the impending birth of my first-ever niece; the anniversary of my parents; the death of my father (and the celebration of his life). You are when we moved into our magical house on the hill; you are the tinge of holiday nervousness; you are a descent into a quiet contemplation that I am determined this year to recognize as simply another season of life.

Now that you mention it, October, I do feel the slowing. Things aren’t as crowded and frenetic. There’s more spaciousness and less stress. Ostensibly nothing has changed, aside from you being here, wide open, and inviting me to take a deep breath and settle in. Every day wasn’t meant to be summer. Life has its winters too, and you walk gently beside me as I take steps toward this understanding. Beginnings are wonderful. Endings are treasures. Everything in between is just fine as well. And on it goes.

Thank you October for opening my eyes to the unmistakable exquisiteness in all the things of life – even the cold, and the dark, and the stillness, and the death.

You are so beautiful,
Joy

Little does Christa know the layers of discovery she provoked by starting this. For me, this exercise ended up being much more about Owning right where I am right now; the present moment; and all there is.  It pulled me back into the now, and opened my eyes to new dimensions of acceptance and surrender. It reminded me of a passage I recently read from Chyogyam Trungpa’s Shambala: Sacred Path of the Warrior:

You begin to see that there are seasons in your life in the same way as there are seasons in nature. There are times to cultivate and create, when you nurture your world and give birth to new ideas and ventures. There are times of flourishing and abundance, when life feels in full bloom, energized and expanding. And there are times of fruition, when things come to an end. They have reached their climax and must be harvested before they begin to fade. And finally, of course, there are times that are cold and cutting and empty, times when the spring of new beginnings seems like a distant dream. Those rhythms in life are natural events. They weave into one another as day follows night, bringing, not messages of hope and fear, but messages of how things are.

So Pinkies, start with a letter to October on this beautifully autumnal Mojo Monday. See what comes up. What are you ready to own, accept, release? What are your feelings in general about the start of fall, and what is coming up for you that’s unique to this particular October? Maybe it will feel better to whittle your words down to just today, or this very second. Or perhaps an ode to this Whole Year feels more appropriate. Whatever it is, Own it all. And please, of course, share your letters with us in the comments section.

Yours right now (and now) (oh! and even now),

Joy

****Hiya, Pinkies! Lissa here. I was so inspired by Christa’s and Joy’s letters that I just wrote one of my own:

Dear October,

Welcome, old friend! You have long been my favorite season, perhaps because I spent years growing up in Florida, where October heralded a respite from the oppressive heat and daunting summer rains. October emerged with a crispness and the occasional sweater day. Fashions of fall- orange, brown, purple, crimson, colors I love.  After the garishness of summer neon, fall invites a sense of grounding, a return to the earth, as the trees shed their festive sugar maple leaves and flowers fade.

There is an impending hibernation in the air, the knowing of cold days, maybe snow, bald trees, short days. But with it comes an exhilarating hope, as you arrive, splendid in your autumn dress, to celebrate the season’s turn.

But these are merely the superficialities, October. Deeper in lies a quieting of the soul that I crave in my chaotic, frenzied life. There’s a sense of turning inward, of drawing into the heart, and building a cocoon around me. I have this deep sense of knowing that things are about to change, that next October will not offer me this luxury, as I will be swirling in the madness of a book tour, of media attention I fear, of being separated from my family as I spread the Pink message of love, light, wholeness and acceptance. This is coming- I know it. So now is the time to turn in, October, to prepare myself, to strengthen my ties to myself and my family, to heal old wounds, to clarify my vision, to nurture my body, to commune with the Divine, to be still and listen.

This will be the long part of this lengthy gestation. The next six months will be the third trimester, the long waiting before the storm of change. You October, are that turning point, with the conception and development of this phase of my life near completion. You will prepare me to become the butterfly I must.

You are a reminder that all things come, and then all things pass. That life is impermanent, that there’s no point attaching to the spring flower that must fade or to the summer days that linger endlessly. Change is inevitable. We can expend all of our energy resisting it, or we can simply let go.

So this is my mission. I surrender to you, October. I bless you for all that you are and all that you challenge me to be. I love you.

Yours without season,

Lissa

Your Life’s Purpose: Are You Ready to Follow the Bird?

Sunday, May 17th, 2009

pinkbirdThis week, Dr. Rachel Naomi Remen turned me on to this amazing poem The Appointment, by Mark Nepo.

What if, on the first sunny day,
On your way to work, a colorful bird
Sweeps in front of you down a
Street you’ve never heard of.

You might pause and smile.
A sweet beginning to your day.

Or you might step into that street
And realize there are many ways to work.

You might sense the bird knows
Something you do not and wander after.

You might hesitate when the bird
Turns down an alley. For now
There is a tension: Is what the
Bird knows worth being late?

You might go another block or two,
Thinking you can have it both ways.
But soon you arrive at the edge
Of all your plans.

The bird circles back for you
And you must decide
Which appointment you were born to keep.

That’s me right now- at the edge of all my plans, knowing I must follow the bird (the bird is you, Pinkies). But to get to that place, where I have absolute certainty that I must follow the bird, I had to roll around in the muck of this oh-so-painful transition, the fear, the doubt, the financial uncertainty, the risk. To get to this place, I had to endure so many transitions and make so many difficult decisions.  And each transition was like a little death, with loss and grieving following. But in the face of those little deaths comes the opportunity for rebirth, and I am just now seeing the flowering of those seeds I planted.

It begs the question. Which appointment in this life were you born to keep? Will you follow the bird?  Have you figured out your life’s work yet?  What purpose (or purposes) you’re meant to fulfill during this time here on Earth? Have you asked the question? I’m just beginning to know my answer now. What about you? 

Here goes nothing- WHHHEEEEEE!!!!

xo
Lissa

PS. Curious about the transitions I’ve gone through? If you feel like reading my blah blah about my life, check back in the archives under the category Lissa’s Personal Yada Yada.  This one is on Owning Change. 

PPS. One Pinkie who read this said, “Are you the bird? Are we supposed to follow you?” NO, PINKIES! Don’t follow me.  Follow your OWN bird. Find your OWN North Star.  Dream your  OWN dream… Discover YOUR life purpose.