• Making Progress

    • February 2, 2010 9:47 am

    Dearest Readers,

    A friend sent me this prayer, written by a former slave:

    Lord, we ain’t what we want to be,
    we ain’t what we ought to be,
    we ain’t what we gonna be,
    but thank God,
    we ain’t what we was.

    This makes me think of “progress not perfection.” In times of struggle, it can be difficult to recognize progress. I often get mired in what I’m not doing well instead of looking at how much better I am dealing with the situation than I did in the past.

    One of the keys to being a great self-coach or our own best friend is to remind ourselves how well we are doing. We can never do this too often.

    Maybe I’m not perfect yet but I’m on the healing path and I’m doing my best each and every day. Some days my best is better than other days. But that’s okay, too.

    Inspiring Message of the Day: I am doing really well today. My fear tells me I’m not, that I could be doing more. But I refuse to listen. No matter what, my best is good enough!

    Give Yourself a Break

    • February 1, 2010 9:03 am

    Dearest Readers,

    Awhile back, in a post called Run for Your Life I blogged about needing more cardio-vascular exercise. I made a commitment to myself that each Sunday I would run up a looooong outdoor staircase that we have here in our fair city.

    So far, so good. I think I’ve only missed one Sunday and on that day I ran to the corner store and back to make up for it. For the fun of it, I’ve also started running to meetings or appointments instead of walking. I don’t run all the way, just a block or two, but it gets my heart rate up and I get there faster, too.

    Yesterday was an outdoor stair-master day but I decided to mix it up a little. Some friends of mine are out of town and they’ve asked me to check on their house once a day in exchange for the use of their car. Normally I drive to their neighbourhood, which is about a 45-minute walk from where I live, but why not run there instead?

    Because I haven’t actually “run” in years and years, I decided to set the bar as low as possible. Rather than pushing myself to run all the way there without stopping I decided I would walk and run.

    This walk-and-run system is one I developed in Edmonton, where I once lived for four months. At the time, I had a “yoga” practice that one of my sisters called “Yoga Balboa”, named for Rocky Balboa, the character in the Sylvester Stallone films. She once did the routine with me and, expecting asanas, instead got low-impact aerobics and stretching, hence the nickname.

    Doing Yoga Balboa everyday will start the body craving for a more rigorous workout. So in order to satisfy the craving I started running. Again, I hadn’t run for years, so the walk-and-run system was born.

    It’s a simple formula: run until you feel like you’re going to puke and then walk until it passes. Repeat.

    So yesterday I set out to walk-and-run to my friends’ house. The weather was perfect. I ran until I was out of breath, walked until I caught it, and then ran some more.

    There were moments when I was running and I felt really good! I remembered what it was like to actually go for a jog and enjoy it. My energy and stamina were surprisingly high and it was extremely satisfying to use my body this way.

    I managed to make it there and back in less than an hour. Who says you have to jog the entire distance of a run? Taking breaks when we need them is just fine.

    Inspiring Message of the Day: I will take breaks when and where I need them. Going the distance doesn’t have to mean full-speed ahead!

    For the Tool Kit

    • January 30, 2010 8:16 am

    Dearest Readers,

    From September 1995 to November 1996 I lived in Ireland. I’ve got lots of stories about that time, enough to fill a book (or five). I was in my early twenties and it was a great time of learning for me. (Never mind the Guinness.)

    In the last 3 or 4 months of my time there I was living and working in Dublin. I managed to get hired at a Spanish restaurant in Temple Bar, which is now a tourist Mecca but in the mid-nineties was just becoming the new local hot spot. The restaurant was owned by a man who was as Irish as they come and yet all the staff, except me and the Kitchen Porter, were Spanish.

    I was amazed to learn that there is a huge Spanish-speaking population in Dublin. Many young Spaniards move there to learn English. Many stay. At the time, many of them worked at La Paloma.

    One of my co-workers was a man named Pedro. He was the only man among a bevy of big-breasted, small-hipped, full-lipped, gorgeous Spanish women. Pedro had a good sense of humour and I was always glad when we had a shift together. He used to make me laugh.

    Pedro’s English was pretty good, comparably (a lot of the gals only spoke a few words), and whenever Pedro would hear me say a word he didn’t understand he would ask me to explain it and I would. He would then say, “Everyday a new word,” and smile with gratitude.

    Over the years, I’ve taken to adapting Pedro’s mantra for myself. Whenever I learn something new, something I did not know before, I say, in a bad Spanish accent, “Every day a new word.” I really mean “lesson”, of course, but it just doesn’t sound as good.

    Yesterday, I had lunch with a friend and she shared two amazing new tools with me. They come at a perfect time in my life, when I am having to be extremely vigilant about time management.

    The first tool is this: Do the hardest thing first.

    My friend and I were talking about to-do lists and I shared how I will often do everything that doesn’t really need doing first and then not have time for the thing that actually needs doing.

    I’m familiar with “first things first” but “do the hardest thing first” gives it a whole new spin. And although doing the hardest thing first makes me feel slightly nauseous I know it’s the key to time management.

    The second thing my friend shared with me is this: Only Handle It Once. OHIO.

    For example, if you click on an email, answer it right away; if you take your laundry out of the dryer, fold it and put it away; if you open a piece of mail, answer it now.

    OHIO, too, brings up the nausea. But it’s because I know I need it and I know it will work.

    Despite my fear of change, I’m actually feeling very excited about being given these new tools. Both of them are not entirely new strategies in my world but to have them presented in such a succinct, new way feels revolutionary. I’ve already begun to practice both.

    Every day a new word! (Or two.)

    Inspiring Message of the Day: There is always something to learn. I can overcome my fear of change by practicing a new behaviour knowing it will build my confidence and improve my self-esteem.

    Get Up Stand Up

    • January 29, 2010 9:37 am

    Dearest Readers,

    The other evening I went to see Night, a play by a theatre company called Human Cargo. It was created in Pond Inlet, Nunavut, and deals with the challenges facing the Inuit people in contemporary culture.

    The star of the show, Abbie Ootova, was a great pleasure to watch. Not only is she a natural actor, she has that thing of which stars of made: pure charisma.

    At the end of the play, Abbie’s character, who has been through the ringer with the accidental death of her mother by her father’s alcoholism and the suicide of her best friend, rises up with fists and shouts, with tremendous emotion, “Stand up Inuit people! Stand up Inuit youth! We have to be strong!”

    Although I don’t think the words are exactly right I think I’ve got the gist of what she said. The effect was deeply powerful. Though I enjoyed watching the play I had been unmoved up until this moment in the end when Abbie exploded with the power of her speech and spurt the tears came a-streamin’.

    The call to stand up and be strong, though particularly important for those who have been downtrodden by dominant cultures, must be heeded by all of us in the face of our fear. We all must rise up and overcome that which holds us back. It is our Greatest Purpose.

    There is great healing to be done in all of us. Together we can overcome the collective wounds of our past histories. Let us stand up and be strong!

    Inspiring Message of the Day: I will rise up against my fear today. I will stand up and shout for my freedom from all that I am afraid of. I’m not alone!

    Good Timing!

    • January 28, 2010 12:13 pm

    Dearest Readers,

    In the middle of this past December, my parents sent me a gift package from their home in the US, which is about 2800 miles from where I live. A few days before the 25th, my mother asked if I’d received the parcel. I told her I hadn’t. Christmas came and went. No package. We passed through mid-January, a month since the posting, and I still had not received their gift.

    “Did you get a tracking number?” I asked my mother. She hadn’t.

    “Should I send you something else?” she asked me.

    “It’ll come,” I assured her.

    The day before yesterday I received a FINAL NOTICE slip for a parcel. (Don’t you love it when you receive a FINAL NOTICE and you haven’t ever received an initial one?) I sensed that this was the package from my parents.

    Yesterday I went to the post office to pick up the parcel. Sure enough, it was from my folks. On the customs sticker in my mother’s unique handwriting was written “one book”.

    When I got home I sliced open the box and unwrapped the silver Christmas paper. The book staring back at me? Wait for it: Decoding the Spiritual Messages of Everyday Life.

    Now if you did not read yesterday’s blog post, Eye See, please go and do so now. If you did, well, you might now be as amazed as I am.

    Think of all the things that had to happen for me to get this particular book on the very same day of that particular post. It’s absolutely fantastic!

    Inspiring Message of the Day: Trust the Flow. Everything is happening exactly as it should. If we can remember this in times of great struggle we can actually relax and let go of trying to plan everything ourselves. The Higher Plan is always at work!

    Eye See

    • January 27, 2010 10:17 am

    Dearest Readers,

    You know how clouds can sometimes take the shapes of earthly things? We’ve all seen the cloud that looks like an animal or an every day object. Yesterday I saw an eye.

    This eye was so big, it took up so much room in the sky and it was so real-looking, with the pupil and the upper lid clearly defined, the first thought that came to me was, “That’s the Eye of God.”

    It was about 8:45 a.m. and I was driving out of town to work at a colleague’s studio. The sun was just beginning to rise above the mountains. The nearest clouds were lit from behind with yellow light and a strip of hot gold ran across the length of the distant peaks, illumining their snow-covered edges. It was a staggering sight to behold.

    Then I noticed The Eye. It was dead straight ahead of me, the new morning light shining through its centre. I obviously had to watch the road but I couldn’t take my own eyes off it. I felt it looking at me.

    Have you seen Avatar? One of the lines that has stayed with me from the movie (paint-by-numbers story, stunning cinematic execution) is something the Na’vi, the big blue creatures who live as One with Nature, say to one another: “I see you.”

    This Eye in the Sky seemed to be saying just that. “I see you.”

    For me, believing in a benevolent, loving Force of the Universe is one thing. Believing that this Force knows me and supports me unconditionally is another. It’s the difference between faith and trust.

    The more I have practiced trusting the more I have been shown that I have reason to trust. It’s that simple.

    You might say, “It’s just a cloud,” but when one’s prayer is, “Show me your Presence,” it’s fun to believe that a big giant eye shining in the sky is the answer.

    Inspiring Message of the Day: When we keep our eyes and our ears open to the spiritual messages, an everyday object can become a Power symbol, which can then serve as a reminder of Higher Guidance.

    Brevity is the Soul of Wit

    • January 26, 2010 8:37 am

    Someday, when this blog becomes a book called Inspiring Works: 365 Days a Year, you, Dearest Readers, will get to this page and say, “They let her get away with that??”

    Inspiring Message of the Day: Sometimes, when we are so busy that it seems like there are not enough hours in the day to get things done, we need to create little shortcuts to get through it!

    You Just Might Get It

    • January 25, 2010 7:17 am

    Dearest Readers,

    “Be careful what you pray for.”

    Surely you’ve heard this expression. It means you might just get what you ask for and, in some cases, that can mean you will be challenged.

    A few years ago, I read a great article about Jim Carrey in the New Yorker. He is a pretty spiritual guy, which some people may find surprising, and he was talking about prayer and meditation. He said, “When you pray for wisdom you get your butt kicked.”

    Why is that? Because the only way we become wise is by learning from our mistakes. Experience is the greatest teacher of all.

    As many of you know, I pray for courage. A lot. And do you know what I get? Opportunities to practice walking through my fear. AKA some pretty serious butt-kicking.

    How else can I become fearless? I always say the healing path does not work by magic. It works by work.

    We have to do the work if we desire the reward. I have to walk through my fear if I desire courage. It’s that simple.

    One of my fears is the fear of disappointing people. Believe me, the last thing I want to do is create a situation whereby I have to conquer this fear. But guess what, folks? I am currently living out the aforementioned situation. Did I create it? Certainly not on purpose.

    Be careful what you pray for.

    The good news is that I am riding it out. This is where the tool of spiritual perception comes in. If I see it from a spiritual angle, namely that because I am committed to fearlessness my fears will manifest in order to be conquered, then I can handle anything that comes down the pipe. It’s all for a Higher Purpose.

    Not easy. Scary. Uncomfortable. But worth it. So worth it!

    Inspiring Message of the Day: I am willing to see the challenges in my life from a spiritual angle. Challenges arise to teach me exactly what it is I’ve set out to learn. When I recognize this Truth, I can overcome anything.

    How it Works

    • January 23, 2010 8:56 am

    Dearest Readers,

    This is how the Higher Power [or Cosmic Consciousness or the Life Force Energy or the Universe or God or whatever word(s) you’re comfortable with] works:

    The sh&% hits the fan and terror strikes.

    I pray: Help me, show me, guide me.

    I go to the Grace Cards. I shuffle and cut the deck.

    The card on the top of the cut pile reads, “Patience: Trust in Divine timing. Your future holds something far greater than your past.”

    I look at the card on the top of the pile proper and it reads, “Affection: Love yourself. You are the ultimate act of creation, fashioned by the hands of a Divine Artist.”

    The card now on top of the cut pile reads, “Relax: Breathe. Everything is happening exactly as it should be.”

    I go out. I meet some friends. One of them reads from a book of daily meditations to start a discussion.

    The reading says, “As always, we have a choice in how we will approach life’s challenges. We can dread and avoid them as threats to our serenity, or we can gratefully accept them as opportunities for growth.”

    I come home. I bawl my eyes out, shedding the fear, getting it out of my body. I rise up, willing to move forward, ready to walk fearlessly into the unknown.

    After a good night’s sleep I awaken, alive and well, with the gift of another day ahead of me.

    This life, friends, this journey, is a process of learning. We don’t do it perfectly and some days are better than others. So glad you are there! Thank you.

    Inspiring Message of the Day: I trust that there is a Higher Purpose to my life and if I ask, I will receive the Guidance I need to continue moving forward in its fulfillment. I will practice gratitude no matter what happens.

    Say it Today

    • January 22, 2010 9:50 am

    Dearest Readers,

    Someone I’m working with on the Big O Project told me he loved me yesterday. This is not a person I know very well, we’ve only had he opportunity to work together a few times but as he and his group was leaving he shouted, “I love you, Celia!”

    Though surprised to hear him say it, I shouted back without hesitation, “I love you, too!”

    Driving home I felt so darn happy I can’t even tell you. I’d had a day of overwhelm and at one point during the afternoon I was feeling so numb you could have poked me with a stick and I wouldn’t have felt it.

    After making an outreach call for life support I felt better and headed into the evening session with the group to which this person belongs. We had a challenging but fruitful session and I was in pretty good shape. But this person’s “I love you” filled me with profound joy and opened my heart back up.

    When a person says, “I love you,” it’s like water in the desert.

    Inspiring Message of the Day: I love you!