Let them Pass Through

Thoughts and feeling are often strange visitors that can seem to speak in a foreign tongue. 😛 

What I have learned over the years is that for me, to stay in a preferable emotional state I need to invite them in, acknowledge, thank them for visiting and then let them be on there merry way.

They are visitors who bring information to be observed and acknowledged — sometimes the information is such that I want to get curious about it and some of it might be true and some maybe not so true. Whatever the case, if I don’t greet it, observe it and thank, it will usually hide away in a dark closet somewhere and will keep coming back until I let it through (“You cannot ignore me Dan” as so eloquently put by Glenn Close in Fatal Attraction 🐇)

Our 🧠 brains, bodies  and nervous systems are quite amazing really. 

I have learned (the hard way I might add, which is how I often learn😊)

Is that it is important to get still and listen 👂 to this miraculous GPS system we each have within us. To honor it and be kind, compassionate and caring. To love it without judgement and respect the wonder and awe that is within each of us.

We all are such remarkable creatures and are learning, unlearning and growing along the way. Consider honoring and inviting all the thoughts and feelings into your house and let them share their information and pass through.

With love ❤️ and light 💡 

Thank you for reading,

Small Steps, Big Things 

Let it Out 🗣

It has to go somewhere 

You can stuff your emotions down to the very bottom of your soul

However somewhere, somehow and usually when you are least expecting it, they will show themselves and not always in the best way 😕

I have been a master at stuffing my emotions, thoughts, feelings, you name it

All in the name of keeping the peace ☮️

How much peace is there really? How much peace do you actually feel?

I am certainly not suggesting letting it go, or out on someone with no filter.... 

I am suggesting finding ways to vent, release, explore and be heard in a way that will bridge, not tear down 🌁

If you don’t honor yourself you are doing a huge disservice to you and everyone around you 

Take time for yourself, be compassionate to yourself

Release write, draw, paint, run, create……..do something that allows you to express yourself 

When you can, if you choose to

Find a way to have a kind, compassionate, open conversation to bridge the gap, be heard, be seen and understood  👀🙉👀

If you do not see yourself, hear yourself or understand yourself first, it is going to be very hard for anyone else to.

Connect to your inner child and ask what they want, what they need (a hug? to be told they are loved? stand up for them?)

Let your emotions and feelings out and let them flow in a productive and positive way 

Be seen, be heard, be understood 🗣

👁 👀 U

Thoughts 💭❓

Doggslife.com

Smallstepsbigthings.com 

Who Are You Really Mad At❓

I have noticed lately that I am carrying around quite a bit of anger 😡

I of course, maybe like you, carry it inside.  

I don’t typically express my anger.  

It just sits below the surface, seething and looming and pops out in ways that don’t serve anyone.  

I try and repress it and or don’t even know it is there until I really sit and observe quietly.  

Usually my anger shows up in frustration, apathy, sadness or depression.  

When I am able to sit quietly without judgement for myself or others, I most often realize the person or thing I am angry at is MYSELF.

It is tough to be angry at yourself because the buck stops here :-0 

It is a self inflicted wound that could have been prevented (presumably)

I ultimately get angry at myself for allowing my boundaries that I so carefully have tried to construct (this of course took decades to do) 

get completely obliterated!

Saying yes to things I should say NO 🚫to 

Not speaking up or speaking out 🗣

Doing things for other peoples comfort or benefit and ignoring or minimizing the impact it will have on me or my loved ones 💕

Falling into old patterns

Falling out of new more healthy patterns😔

Failing to utilize all of the learning and lessons that have been taught to me the last couple of years 📚

The list goes on ✍️

Yes, angry at myself!!!

Now what ❓❓❓

Now, I need to forgive myself and find compassion for myself

Perhaps these are just continued layers of the journey of life 

to love myself just the way I am and know that there is always more to learn along the way and consistently work to get better

Be open, be curious, observe without judgment & with much compassion my thoughts, my patterns and my actions 

Acceptance and Forgiveness of myself, for myself so that I can show up in a better way for me and everyone around me 

That is my action step for today.

What is yours?  What are your thoughts 💭❓

Would love to read📖/hear👂 them 

Doggslife.com

Smallstepsbigthings.com 

Acceptance is a Gift 💝

Ahhhhh denial, it is a fun place to visit but not a great place to live.

Acceptance is certainly by no means an easy destination to travel to 🚙

First of all, there is usually not a clear roadmap 🧭 and defiantly no app with GPS that will easily guide us there, letting us know the best route, where the traffic is and perhaps where to stop and take breaks along the way…… I am sure that this app is in the works and maybe it is here and I do not know it. If it is, please let me know 😌

Acceptance is one of those road trips where you have to let go, sometimes meander, pay attention to the signs 🪧 and your surroundings and let the destination find you at the right time. It cannot be forced or pre planned.

It is a journey that will not be in a comfy first class airline seat ✈️ or high end luxury vehicle 🏎 and you cannot source it out to a Lyft or Uber to take you there. 

This journey is one that needs to be done step by step 🪜 one day or one minute at a time. You don’t get to pack, so you will need to muster up all the resilience, adaptability, and support you can along the way. It will be very uncomfortable, you often won’t recognize the beautiful spots along the way. At points this journey may be disheartening and darn right tortuous.

I do assure you though, once you arrive and you WILL ARRIVE, your SUFFERING will end and PEACE ☮️ will be restored. You will look back and see the journey in a whole new light 💡 It will be one of knowing, clarity and wisdom that will change your soul and your life forever. If I could tell you the who, what, why, where, when and the how I would as It crushes me to see people suffer………actually, I would not tell you. This journey is yours to be taken and in the end will be your gift 💝 …..your gift to yourself.I know, I know, you think I am being sadistic. The gift will be the metamorphic change that you will experience and your gift to others if you choose to share it. Share what you have learned and help those along the way find a little comfort knowing that they too can and will get to the other side and reach their destination .

Small steps 🐾 my friends, let people help along the way, use your resources, have faith in yourself, others and if you believe in a higher power have faith in your higher power. Be open and adaptable, have compassion for yourself and the situation/person and buckle up……..you will get to BIG THINGS.

I send you so much 💕 and 💡 

Would love to hear your stories of acceptance, thoughts or how you do acceptance :-). This is just my personal roadmap I thought I would share 

If looking for a quick pick me up check us out on Instagram @ Doggslife 

You Won!

You won!  Those two magic words.... or are they???

What if I was never at war with you?  Who really wins anyway and what is winning?

What if we both could win and be on the same team?

Winning is such an arbitrary and subjective word.

Wouldn’t it be better if we could all just take a step back, breathe and figure out what we are all looking for and find a way where we can meet in the middle and all get our needs met?

If we are being honest, aren’t we all just looking to be heard, understood and loved and valued for who we are?

The truth is, it is probably easier to have knee jerk reactions, stand by and defend our long held beliefs and convictions then to take the time to listen, absorb, educate, look at all points of view and then formulate a reaction, plan or stance.

Those things all take time, patience, an open mind and willingness to maybe even be and admit being wrong.........wait whaaattttttt???? Yup, I said it ....there is a possibility that you are wrong! 

Would you be surprised to know that when you are wrong you can actually be right? 

If you are willing to be wrong, you might just find there is a better way, a new idea, belief, thought process that is better than what you previously thought.

All that being said, a first step the next time you find yourself wanting to “win” a disagreement is:

Stop (imagine the person as their child self ...it is hard to be mad at a child)

Don’t React 

Listen

And see if there are more similarities than differences, or maybe what someone is saying actually makes sense. You may just find you are on the same side and fighting for the same things ...they are just wrapped in difference packages:)

I dare you :)

Take the first step, you might find yourself pleasantly surprised and that everyone ‘Wins”

XOXO

Things Will Happen - Control is an Illusion

No matter how hard you try and be the architect of your life, things will happen.  That is life....nothing new there.  As hopefully most of you are acutely aware, we cannot control everything ..... whatttttt?????

By the way Kudos to you if you have figured it out already ... it took me many decades on this planet to learn that.

Yup, hard as we try, we are not in the drivers seat of this wonderful journey we call life.  We cannot control others thoughts, emotions, choices, beliefs, ideas, etcetera...... we cannot even control many of the things that happen in our own life despite our many attempts at trying.

What we can control is how we respond, react and choose to show up.  Those things are under our control.

When life throws you a curve ball, you can resist, wonder why, wonder how and so on, generally that does not help the issue at hand.  Time and time again I have learned the sooner I give in re evaluate and readjust the sooner that gnawing, burning, frustrating feeling in my gut disappears and peace reappears. 

The older I get the more I value peace as my resting state.

I admit, some days are easier than others to give in ....... those are the days when my choices are more wise :-). PS. Giving in does not mean giving up by any stretch.  It means maybe it is time to stop fighting reality and find a better way and figure out what is truly important and how to best honor that.

As usual it is the small steps in shifting your mindset that will lead to bigger things :):):)