The willingness to surrender

 

 

It may surprise you to know that most of your suffering has been caused by your thoughts and reactions. Strange as it may sound, it's true. Most people have been conditioned to be afraid, to not listen their intuition, to buy into the story that the world is not a loving, safe place that will support you, so if you want something, you have to take control and make it happen. 

 

You may feel that you always have to be on guard to protect yourself, which equates to closing your heart off. Because you are afraid and have not yet accepted that Life is wiser than you, you attempt to control your circumstances through struggle, force, and manipulation, all which will sabotage the very thing you desire.

 

As much as you may pride yourself on being smart, your intellect is not a replacement for wisdom. This is how ego tricks you into a another bad decision...thinking you know the right answer. 

 

Hopefully, suffering will wake you up from your futile attempts.
 

It is our nature to surrender when the pain gets great enough. Surrender means "I don't know the answers, I'm tired of trying to do it my way, and I am willing to give all the responsibility to a Power great than myself".

 

******

In the quiet

It is only when we silent the blaring sounds of our daily existence

that we can finally hear the whispers of truth that life reveals to us,

as it stands knocking on the doorsteps of our hearts.

 

 ~K.T. Jong

*****

Accepting life as it is

 

“Be content with what you have;
rejoice in the way things are.
When you realize there is nothing lacking,
the whole world belongs to you.”
― Laozi

 

*****

Nothing happens by chance

 

“Everything that happens to you

is a reflection of what you believe about yourself. 

We cannot outperform our level of self-esteem. 

We cannot draw to ourselves more

than we think we are worth.”  

― Iyanla Vanzant

 

*****

 

A bit of wisdom

 

Sorrow prepares you for joy.
It violently sweeps everything out of your house,
so that new joy can find space to enter.
It shakes the yellow leaves from the bough of your heart,
so that fresh, green leaves can grow in their place.
It pulls up the rotten roots,
so that new roots hidden beneath have room to grow.
Whatever sorrow shakes from your heart,
far better things will take their place.”
― Rumi

 

 

“You wander from room to room
Hunting for the diamond necklace
That is already around your neck!”
― Rumi

*****

 

Ruling your kingdom

 

A queen is a woman...
 

 who grows more beautiful with age...
 

who rules her kingdom with her heart...
 

who refuses to compromise her values...
 

who creates a life of passion and adventure... 
 

who finds the good in everything..
 

who knows herself deeply...
 

who claims her right to be loved.

******

 

Softening the heart

 

“an extremely sensitive area of the heart for a woman, and has plenty of opportunity to be easily bruised. When that does occur, she will put up a protective barrier to try and avoid any such pain occurring again. If this barrier isn’t dismantled fairly soon, a woman’s heart becomes accustomed to its protective barrier, and the heart shielded inside gradually becomes hardened. As women, we may be able to function like this for awhile. But there will come a time in your life where God will begin to peel away those hard layers surrounding your heart, and you probably won’t like that sensation. But you have to fight your natural instinct to run away...

 

*****

Feeling connected

Picture yourself as woman

 

who's life may look unremarkable from the outside,

 

but inside, is a treasure to behold.

 

*****

You will learn a lot about yourself if you stretch in the direction of goodness, of bigness, of kindness,
of forgiveness, of emotional bravery...  
 ― Cheryl Strayed

Heart lessons

I've learned that no matter what happens, or how bad it seems today, life does go on, and it will be better tomorrow. I've learned that you can tell a lot about a person by the way he/she handles these three things: a rainy day, lost luggage, and tangled Christmas tree lights. I've learned that regardless of your relationship with your parents, you'll miss them when they're gone from your life. I've learned that making a "living" is not the same thing as making a "life." I've learned that life sometimes gives you a second chance...  I've learned that whenever I decide something with an open heart, I usually make the right decision. I've learned that even when I have pains, I don't have to be one. I've learned that every day you should reach out and touch someone. People love a warm hug, or just a friendly pat on the back. I've learned that I still have a lot to learn. I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” - Maya Angelou

*****

I can feel the suffering of millions and yet,

 if look up to the heavens...

Anne Frank

*****

See every situation with a peaceful heart for peace is truly a treasure.

She felt a connection

She awakened to a deep sense

 

of belonging.

 

The world felt like home.

 

She became more mindful

 

how she cared for it.

 

*****

 

 

 

“Promise Yourself"

To be so strong that nothing
can disturb your peace of mind...

To make all your friends feel
that there is something in them...

To be just as enthusiastic about the success of others
as you are about your own.

To forget the mistakes of the past
and press on to the greater achievements of the future...

To give so much time to the improvement of yourself
that you have no time to criticize others...

To think well of yourself and to proclaim this fact to the world,
not in loud words but great deeds...

― Christian D. Larson

 

*****

 

 

Message from the Universe - Take risks. Don't choose the easy way; choose the right way. Remember that life is meant to be adventurous. We won't succeed by playing it safe.



She trusted her intuition

 

photos from my walk yesterday

*****

She listened to the wisdom

 

of her “knowing”

and followed the guidance

 

it offered her.

 

******* 

I would rather trust a woman's instinct
than a man's reason. 

~Stanley Baldwin
 

 

"I trust myself"



In the quiet

In the silence,
we find climatic moments where...
 we are connected to a deep inner place called "our soul". 
From this sacred richness,

there is a strong sense of belonging...

 that links us to the sweet essence of who we are.

In the stillness, we are home.
 

*****

"I am only one, but still I am one.
I cannot do everything, but still I can do something;
And because I cannot do everything
I will not refuse to do the something that I can do."

~ Helen Keller ~

******

"I am connected to my surroundings"

 

Woven with love

Her new tapestry...

 was lovingly woven...

with things that were meaningful.

And though she was social by nature,

she came to appreciate her solitude...

even more.

****

pics of my new nephew Nicolas -
taken by Jessa B. photography

***

“There are only two ways to live your life.
One is as though nothing is a miracle.
The other is as though everything is a miracle.”
― Albert Einstein

*****

"I fill my life with meaning"