A year to be guided by loving kindness. ❣️

I know what this Soul wants.
To sit in the completeness of itself,
To move in the soft and unpredictable manner of a passing cloud;

A sky-clad dance continuously becoming something else, something other than what it thought it was,and then, nothing at all.

This Soul will find completion only
by letting go of what keeps her “safe”.

By leaning into the wind,
Breath carrying the wings of the eagle’s dream,
My voice, the voice of every wild beast
Reaching its own Soul outwards,
Searching for brethren and belonging.

A primal and innate sound that knows
The only clue we were given
Was to learn to trust.

I WILL DO MORE THAN JUST SURVIVE;
I WILL FIND THE “YES” IN MY BONES,
THE FIRE IN MY BELLY,
THE EARTH IN MY BLOOD.

Rebecca Card……

~By Thich Nhat Hanh, Chanting and Recitations from Plum Village

This body is not me.

I am not limited by this body.

I am life without boundaries.

I have never been born,

and I have never died.

Look at the ocean and the sky filled with stars, manifestations from my wondrous true mind.

Since before time, I have been free.

Birth and death are only doors through which we pass, sacred thresholds on our journey.

Birth and death are a game of hide- and seek.

So laugh with me,

hold my hand,

let us say good-bye,

say good-bye, to meet again soon.

We meet today.

We will meet again tomorrow.

We will meet at the source every moment.

We meet each other in all forms of life.

Stop showing up for people who have no interest in your presence. I know your instinct is to do everything to earn the appreciation of those around you, but it’s a boost that steals your time, energy, mental and physical health.

When you begin to fight for a life with joy, interest and commitment, not everyone will be ready to follow you in this place. This doesn’t mean you need to change what you are, it means you should let go of the people who aren’t ready to accompany you.

If you are excluded, insulted, forgotten or ignored by the people you give your time to, you don’t do yourself a favor by continuing to offer your energy and your life. The truth is that you are not for everyone and not everyone is for you.

That’s what makes it so special when you meet people who reciprocate love. You will know how precious you are.

The more time you spend trying to make yourself loved by someone who is unable to, the more time you waste depriving yourself of the possibility of this connection to someone else.

There are billions of people on this planet and many of them will meet with you at your level of interest and commitment.

The more you stay involved with people who use you as a pillow, a background option or a therapist for emotional healing, the longer you stay away from the community you want.

Maybe if you stop showing up, you won’t be wanted. Maybe if you stop trying, the relationship will end. Maybe if you stop texting your phone will stay dark for weeks. That doesn’t mean you ruined the relationship, it means the only thing holding it back was the energy that only you gave to keep it. This is not love, it’s attachment. It’s wanting to give a chance to those who don’t deserve it. You deserve so much, there are people who should not be in your life.

The most valuable thing you have in your life is your time and energy, and both are limited. When you give your time and energy, it will define your existence.

When you realize this, you begin to understand why you are so anxious when you spend time with people, in activities, places or situations that don’t suit you and shouldn’t be around you, your energy is stolen.

You will begin to realize that the most important thing you can do for yourself and for everyone around you is to protect your energy more fiercely than anything else. Make your life a safe haven, in which only ′′compatible′′ people are allowed.

You are not responsible for saving anyone. You are not responsible for convincing them to improve. It’s not your work to exist for people and give your life to them! If you feel bad, if you feel compelled, you will be the root of all your problems, fearing that they will not return the favours you have granted. It’s your only obligation to realize that you are the love of your destiny and accept the love you deserve.

Decide that you deserve true friendship, commitment, true and complete love with healthy and prosperous people. Then wait and see how much everything begins to change. Don’t waste time with people who are not worth it. Change will give you the love, the esteem, happiness and the protection you deserve.

“A human being experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as something separated from the rest, a kind of optical delusion of consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.”  – Albert Einstein

A man was asked to paint a boat. He brought his paint and brushes and began to paint the boat a bright red, as the owner asked him.

While painting, he noticed a small hole in the hull, and quietly repaired it.

When he finished painting, he received his money and left.

The next day, the owner of the boat came to the painter and presented him with a nice check, much higher than the payment for painting.

The painter was surprised and said “You’ve already paid me for painting the boat Sir!”

“But this is not for the paint job. It’s for repairing the hole in the boat.”

“Ah! But it was such a small service… certainly it’s not worth paying me such a high amount for something so insignificant.”

“My dear friend, you do not understand. Let me tell you what happened:

“When I asked you to paint the boat, I forgot to mention the hole.

“When the boat dried, my kids took the boat and went on a fishing trip.

“They did not know that there was a hole. I was not at home at that time.

“When I returned and noticed they had taken the boat, I was desperate because I remembered that the boat had a hole.

“Imagine my relief and joy when I saw them returning from fishing.

“Then, I examined the boat and found that you had repaired the hole!

“You see, now, what you did? You saved the life of my children! I do not have enough money to pay your ‘small’ good deed.”

So no matter who, when or how, continue to help, sustain, wipe tears, listen attentively, and carefully repair all the ‘leaks’ you find. You never know when one is in need of us, or when God holds a pleasant surprise for us to be helpful and important to someone.

Along the way, you may have repaired numerous ‘boat holes’ for several people without realizing how many lives you’ve save. 

️

Make a difference….be the best you…

Have a blessed day

In June, Summer Solstice will take place on 21 June allowing us to connect with the divine rhythm of the Earth. On that Monday, the Sun will travel the longest path through the sky giving us the longest period of daylight in the year (Britannica). When it happens in the Northern Hemisphere, the Earth’s axial tilt towards the Sun will align with the Sun’s declination from the celestial equator both being 23.44°. (Wikipedia)The middle day between planting and harvest (midsummer), summer solstice is a turning point where the fire of the summer eases into nourishment. This is the time when Nature grows crops that used to be essential to our surviving the autumn and winter months. Midsummer is or at least used to be celebrated in many cultures and beyond linking it to a fertile season, it was also the celebration of the nourishing aspect of the light. From a spiritual point of view, this day is also a reminder of the nurturing and divine aspect of the light of the Sun and how it is essential we find this light and nourishment in ourselves. Connecting with this higher aspect of ourself (our consciousness) and with the nature of the Divine is vital to an embodied and meaningful life experience.

As I began to love myself
I found that anguish and emotional suffering
are only warning signs that I was living
against my own truth.
Today, I know, this is Authenticity.

As I began to love myself
I understood how much it can offend somebody
if I try to force my desires on this person,
even though I knew the time was not right
and the person was not ready for it,
and even though this person was me.
Today I call this Respect.

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As I began to love myself
I stopped craving for a different life,
and I could see that everything
that surrounded me
was inviting me to grow.
Today I call this Maturity.

As I began to love myself
I understood that at any circumstance,
I am in the right place at the right time,
and everything happens at the exactly right moment.
So I could be calm.
Today I call this Self-Confidence.

As I began to love myself
I quit stealing my own time,
and I stopped designing huge projects
for the future.
Today, I only do what brings me joy and happiness,
things I love to do and that make my heart cheer,
and I do them in my own way
and in my own rhythm.
Today I call this Simplicity.

As I began to love myself
I freed myself of anything
that is no good for my health –
food, people, things, situations,
and everything that drew me down
and away from myself.
At first I called this attitude a healthy egoism.
Today I know it is Love of Oneself.

As I began to love myself
I quit trying to always be right,
and ever since
I was wrong less of the time.
Today I discovered that is Modesty.

As I began to love myself
I refused to go on living in the past
and worrying about the future.
Now, I only live for the moment,
where everything is happening.
Today I live each day,
day by day,
and I call it Fulfillment.

As I began to love myself
I recognized
that my mind can disturb me
and it can make me sick.
But as I connected it to my heart,
my mind became a valuable ally.
Today I call this connection Wisdom of the Heart.

We no longer need to fear arguments,
confrontations or any kind of problems
with ourselves or others.
Even stars collide,
and out of their crashing, new worlds are born.
Today I know: This is Life!

Did you know that your shadow gets elongated during winter due to the frigid and harsh lighting? In Spring this tends to soften, and it paves the way for balance and symmetry. That can be used to inspire your springtime routine. With a sense of awakening and the coming to an end of the restriction we can find our way slowly towards greater freedom. Take it slow so you feel more grounded and stable. Your body opens to everything that is new around.

Our body tends to mirror nature’s journey by taking a step toward nurturing its physical bloom. In Spring, we emerge from the cold winter and step toward a new budding life yet again. With the days becoming longer than usual, our body and mind get the opportunity to rejuvenate both physically and energetically. To attain this, it is important to keep our minds immersed in the vulnerability of the blossoming process. Practicing yoga and Pilates with additional care lends ample spaciousness to your inner experience.

Practice with open window and doors to get a new perspective on the process. See the vibrant imagery painted by nature all around you, the bright flora, sprouts of greenery and sunshine, all come together to renew the energy in your practice. You can successfully tap into the alchemy of your body during this period of growth and transition. It helps you witness and capture the renewal all around you and most importantly, within you.

I adore the sense of aliveness and vitality that comes with spring. Everything feels endlessly full of hope.

Mary Oliver also said these words which reminds us of nature which is forever changing.

“to live in this world.

you must be able.

to do three things

to love what is mortal.

to hold it

against your bones knowing

your own life depends on it.

and, when the time comes to let it go,

to let it go”

Mary Oliver poetry The Peace of Wild Things, will make you want to fall in love with your life.

“You do not have to be good.

You do not have to walk on your knees.

for a hundred miles through the desert, repenting.

You only have to let the soft animal of your body

love what it loves.

Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.

Meanwhile the world goes on.

Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain

are moving across the landscapes,

over the prairies and the deep trees,

the mountains and the rivers.

Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,

are heading home again.

Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,

the world offers itself to your imagination,

calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting –

over and over announcing your place

in the family of things.” 

I often wonder can one person make a difference, what can one person do?
And sometimes my fear warms its hands by the fire.

Like a solitary tree growing on the empty open landscape.
Battered by the wind and the rain, perhaps feeling threatened by lightening, invisible in the darkness.
So far away from everything and everyone, connected but also disconnected.

And then I really see the tree, and its place in the landscape.
How it is nourished by all the different kinds of weather – it continues to grow, it moves with the weather.

This tree stands alone but strong and solid in a vast open space, like a lighthouse, with unseen light penetrating everything in its reach.

Nourishing, and protecting, a living, beating compass to navigate the storms and rocks in life.
I see into the tree, the roots interconnected with all life and like the tree I realise again we are all connected, held together by a string of invisible light.

We can be a lighthouse for others helping them safely reach the shore.
And like the roots of the tree our hearts have a deep intricate network of vessels – unseen heartstrings, our invisible roots that connect and nourish us. Holding us all together.

Perhaps we cannot feel or see them, but we only have to know they are there, and know how to sit with them.

I can see them more nowadays as my heart softens and opens and I smile to the lighthouse.

©️Peter Moore 9th June 2020