Moments of Contemplation....

Living in beautiful southern California - we get a bit spoiled by the everyday wonder and awe of this place we call home. As I come in from enjoying a sunny afternoon by the pool with the mountains and palm trees as a backdrop for my backyard playground. I ponder to myself how anything could really upset me.

YET  - I am not exactly happy. Not until I realize how blessed I am - and how far I have come in this journey called life. It really is what you put in your mind that creates your state of being! Someone very wise told me a story that I could relate to which brings this all into prospective. 

If you are hiking and only looking up to where you are trying to get to - the climb is strenuous, and forging your way to a peak that never seems to get any closer is exhausting - BUT if you stop and slow down to look around and enjoy the view from where you are you will see the beauty in the moment. Plus you can look down and back from where you have already climbed and see how far you have come!

Many of us never enjoy where we are now and have forgotten how far we really have come in this journey called life! It is easy to get complacent and loose site of that. We then get easily distracted by the need or desire to keep pushing forward in a never ending need to satisfy some desire, yearning or goal .....

Deep Breath - I return to this moment as a gift and let go of any frustration, or anxiety. I return to really what matters to me what I am passionate about and that is making a difference and anything other than being the best me I can be doesn't matter. It is so easy to get distracted but coming home to my center, my spirit, my quiet mind - I know who I am, why I am here and what really matters.

I am home - I let go and Let my light shine!

LET FREEDOM RING!

FREEDOM -noun

1.	the state of being free or at liberty rather than in confinement or under physical restraint.

2.	exemption from external control, interference, regulation, etc.

3.	the power to determine action without restraint.

4.	personal liberty, as opposed to bondage or slavery.

5.	exemption from the presence of anything specified (usually fol. by from): freedom from fear.

6.

the absence of or release from ties, obligations, etc That is the dictionary meaning - BUT what is FREEDOM to you? For me to be FREE has been a lifetime pursuit. I have always felt that someone, something or some situation always had control over my life. Upon further awareness in this thing called LIFE - I get that FREEDOM is really a state of mind and being.  If you are really the creator of your experience through your thoughts, decisions and actions then you can create being free.  How to you create being FREE ? you ask. Well it is a matter of choice in the moment. What are you choosing? How can you be at cause in the moment? You get the theme here - being present in the moment is one KEY! The other is your thoughts, judgements and feelings - which you have control over.   So CHOOSE - and in that is the FREEDOM! I create myself as the possibility of being free - in every moment, moment by moment, by moment!

RESPONSIBILITY - be the cause of your LIFE!

OK the theme for the last few days for me has revolved around responsibility - Having it not like being responsible as in blame or bad and wrong. BUT being cause of my LIFE!

But you could have fooled me!! All my life I was the "responsible one"- the one who did what NEEDED to be done, doing what HAD to be done. Always making sure everyone and everything was handled and taken care of.

What is wrong with that you ask? Well what about me? - how do I feel? - who is making sure everything is OK for me? - NO ONE not even me was looking out for me. 

The realization that responsibility is really be at cause of your life. What do I mean being cause of your life? - well looking at how you are causing things, people and situations that are in your life is being responsible. How you respond to how life is showing up is being responsible too!

Let me illustrate this point. I have always sacrificed and worked hard; like I mentioned above - putting my needs last or thinking if I work hard enough long enough and made sure everyone got what they needed and wanted -  everything would come together and happen for me BUT that never happened SURPRISE!

What was happening underneath was UGLY. I was doing things in order to get my way, to manipulate an outcome, to force things to happen, with expectations of what was to come to me. What I was missing is being honest with myself, honoring myself, knowing really what I want and putting my needs first.

You may think that sounds SELFISH at least that was my thinking BUT what has come to light for me is when I love and honor myself first - who I get to BE is someone who is genuinely LOVING, HAPPY, GIVING, SUPPORTIVE... the list goes on. 

It showed up like magic every time I felt myself upset, frustrated or angry - I stopped and looked at how am I causing this situation and how or where am I not honoring or loving myself. POW like magic others were showing up and teaching me by their actions.  I was not putting myself first. SO I responded by be RESPONSIBLE and in taking responsibility for the situation. I began to take actions to rearrange each situation by honoring what I really want, being honest with how I was doing things in order to, to manipulate an outcome, to force things to happen, with expectations of what was to come to me. No wonder I was upset, frustrated and angry - the people and situations in my life were only mirroring what I was putting out! Giving me more of what I didn't want. It was exactly what I really was putting out there.

Getting how I was causing my life is access to how I could cause something new and extraordinary by being responsible - REALLY!

I leave you with the simple truth below

Responsibility is the ability to respond by

BEing cause of the matter!