Letting go of the safety net

 

Our lives are always under construction,

but sometimes it may feel like a demolition crew...

has entered your safe little sanctuary...

and torn down your foundation...

without your permission.

Life is like that sometimes.

It can shake you to your core.

It can cause fear and confusion.

But trust the wisdom of these experiences.

Remember to be kind and gentle with yourself.

Be patient with the process of rebuilding.

 

*****

 

Sitting in the emptiness

 

It's been awhile since I have posted so I have some catching up to do. First of all, I am in process of selling my place and buying a new one. Seven years ago I sold my home and joined condo living. What a freeing and peaceful experience that's been. But now I'm ready to move into a home again.

 

It was an adjustment at first, learning to live in a condo. I eventually did and I grew to love it. Now I will have to adjust to having more space and more responsibility that comes with a home.

 

What I want to share are things I am learning through this process of change. Part of the change has been sorting through and letting go of STUFF I don't want to take with me.. (photos, my books, artwork, craft supplies...). The rest of my possessions have been in storage for over a month so my condo is pretty empty except for basic things (bed, couch, clothing...). Surprisingly, I like the feeling of less...the emptiness.

 

Life has a way of bringing about change when it's time for us to release and let go. It obviously been my time for releasing people in my life because the Universe did a major sweep through my world, leaving me with what feels like a half-empty life. Several meaningful friendships have fallen apart this over the past year. I have spent a lot of time in shock, denial, and hurt before I could even faintly begin to find any acceptance or peace about what occurred.

 

 So here I sit in my half-empty house with what feels like my half-empty life... It's not a comfortable place, but my intuition tells me to trust it is GOOD. The emptiness is gifting me with a TRUTH which is this: it is in the emptiness that I am beginning to get glimpses of something that I have always wanted...connection, simplicity, honesty, and authenticity. I feel the aloneness but not loneliness. All the things I have spent my life chasing, trying to fill the hole in me, isn't an option anymore. It hasn't worked and it never will. In the emptiness, I get a sense of what is real and meaningful.

 

FYI- I wrote this a few months ago. I'm settled in my new home and love it. Still sitting in the emptiness...trusting the process...

Having courage

‎

"What does it mean if I'm afraid?

Does it mean something bad is going to happen?

 No, it doesn't mean something bad is going to happen.

It just means that you have the chance to be brave.” 

 

― C. JoyBell C

 

******

 

Moving forward

“Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes.

Don't resist them; that only creates sorrow.

Let reality be reality.

Let things flow naturally forward in whatever way they like.”  

― Laozi

 

******

 

Courage

You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience

in which you really stop to look fear in the face.
You must do the thing which you think you cannot do.

~ Eleanor Roosevelt ~

 

******

 

Courage and honesty

 

Being real is no easy task.

 

It takes great courage to put aside...

 

 what others may think of you,

 

 to stand in your authenticity.

 

*****



Courage

“Whatever you do, you need courage.

Whatever course you decide upon,

there is always someone to tell you that you are wrong.

There are always difficulties arising

that tempt you to believe your critics are right.

To map out a course of action and follow it to an end

requires some of the same courage that a soldier needs.

Peace has its victories,

but it takes brave men and women to win them.”  

 

― Ralph Waldo Emerson

 

*****



Picture yourself...

Picture yourself as a woman

who is as fierce as she is humble.

Through perseverance,

she achieves great things

with a gentle heart.

*****

Your authentic self

“Sincerity is the fulfillment
of our own nature,
and to arrive at it we need
only follow our own true Self.”  

 

― Tzu-ssu

 

******



Having courage

 

“I learned that courage was not the absence of fear,

but the triumph over it.

The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid,

but he who conquers that fear.”  

― Nelson Mandela

 

*****



Being an explorer

 New photos taken at the women's garden club in Sarasota

 

*****

Be adventurous!

Try new things!

Adopt a new belief, 

explore foods you’ve never tasted before,

make a new friend. 

Get out of your comfort zone. 

Expand your world.

****

“Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage.” 

― Anais Nin

******

 

A special message to you from the Universe-

Claim your right to freedom by being your authentic self.

She colored outside the lines

The pages of her life

 

were filled with the vibrant colors

 

of a fearless woman.

 

She no longer played it safe,

 

but took joyful leaps

 

of determination.

****

 I couldn't resist taking these photos...

 "Let yourself be silently drawn by the stronger pull
of what you really love"

Rumi



Courage

I wish I'd known from the beginning that I was born a strong woman.

What a difference it would have made!

I wish I'd known that I was born a courageous woman;

I've spent so much of my life cowering.

How many conversations would I not only started...

but finished if I'd known I possessed a warrior's heart?

I wish I'd known that I'd been born to take on the world;

I wouldn't have run from it for so long,

but run to it with open arms."

 

Sarah Ban Breathnach

****

“When I get lonely these days, I think: So BE lonely, Liz.
Learn your way around loneliness.
Make a map of it.
Sit with it, for once in your life.
Welcome to the human experience.

― Elizabeth Gilbert

*****

"As hard as some days may be, I will trust every lesson that comes to me"

Having great courage

Courage, it would seem, is nothing less than the power to overcome danger, misfortune, fear, injustice, while continuing to affirm inwardly that life with all its sorrows is good; that everything is meaningful even if in a sense beyond our understanding; and that there is always tomorrow.

 

-- Dorothy Thompson

****

Courage has many different faces.

 

Courage is getting back up when life knocks you down.

 

Being afraid and doing it anyways.

Not letting fear of failure hold you back.

 

Making changes...letting go...trying new things.

Looking at yourself and your life honestly.

Risking your heart to love again and again.

Being vulnerable and authentic.

*****

Courage doesn't always roar.

Sometimes courage is the little voice...

 at the end of the day...

 that says I'll try again tomorrow.

-- Mary Anne Radmacher

*****

"I remember to face my fears instead of denying or turning away from them"

A warrior's heart

I wish I'd known from the beginning that I was born a strong woman.

What a difference it would have made!

I wish I'd known that I was born a courageous woman;

I've spent so much of my life cowering.

How many conversations would I not only started...

  but finished if I'd known I possessed a warrior's heart?

I wish I'd known that I'd been born to take on the world;

I wouldn't have run from it for so long,

but run to it with open arms."

 

Sarah Ban Breathnach

****

 

“When I get lonely these days, I think: So BE lonely, Liz.
Learn your way around loneliness.
Make a map of it.
 Sit with it, for once in your life.
Welcome to the human experience.
But never again use another person's body or emotions...
 as a scratching post for your own unfulfilled yearnings.”

― Elizabeth Gilbert

*****

"My arms are open wide"

Taking a stand

 

 

Useless complaining will only make us a victim.

 

 Speaking up will empower us.

 

We all have a choice as to how we handle things.

 

It might not be comfortable being direct,

 

but we need to either to take an action...

 

 or peacefully accept the circumstances.

 

If not, we become the victim/complainer.

  

If you need to speak up,

 

remember there's a warrior in you,

 

so be an expression of your truest self.

 

*****

 

 

You may encounter many defeats,
but you must not be defeated.
In fact, it may be necessary to encounter the defeats,
so you can know who you are,
what you can rise from,
how you can still come out of it.

~ Maya Angelou ~
 

*****
 

"I am free to express myself"



Are you a seeker?

 

 

Are you a seeker? Or do you believe that this all there is to life? Do you motivate yourself to move forward or do you fill your life with busyness so you don't have to feel how empty it really is?

Are you being tightfisted when it comes to change? Are you carrying around old baggage because you're too afraid to look at it? Do you feel hopeful about the future or bleak? What is your truth? My last question... Would you have the willingness to change if you knew that life is so much more than what you've settled for?

 

Discovering more is a commitment...a lot of effort and work. Not everyone is successful. Some give give up too soon...before the miracles happens. It takes courage, strength, perseverance, faith, commitment, repairing what's broken, looking deeply into your soul...

 

There is no measure for the rewards of doing this kind of personal work...no words that can describe the feeling. See for yourself. I promise you, you'll be happy you did...

 

****

 

A faith is a necessity to a man.

Woe to him who believes in nothing.

Victor Hugo

****

"I will always reach for the highest branch"