Two Steps Back or Perhaps Just Pruning for a New Season

This weekend I noticed quite a few mixed and conflicting feelings. I started to feel as though I had taken so many steps backward when I thought I was moving forward??? This felt distressing.

I decided to sit back, breath and observe the thoughts without judgement and let them pass through.  

Instead of fighting them as I normally might have done in the past.

Low and behold, although uncomfortable in the moment, I found myself up and moving much faster by this process and simply acknowledgement of how I felt.

Felt the feelings, let them pass through and then made a small step to get up and do some light tidying to clear my brain, which led to some writing and working out and I was well on my way :):):)

Today when I was doing my Yoga, I looked outside and thought about yesterday and the feeling of two steps back and realized maybe we are much like plants in a garden and just need to be pruned once in a while so we can be prepared to grow even fuller and more lush for the next season :)

Small Steps, Big Things 

Be patient and compassionate with yourself 

Xoxo

All In !!!

 

I am always talking about small steps and big things....well, I just took the big step!!! 

After years of taking small steps, working on infrastructure and branding and all the things in between :). I am thrilled and excited to have finally re launched my passion project Doggslife.com

It is funny how we work and work and pontificate along the way.  Sometimes it seems like we are taking steps forward and sometimes backwards. Often we question, what the heck are we doing anyway???

As I look upon this momentous day for me, it might seem like this was all done over a small time frame. As I look back to my vision, my plan, the learning/educating, collaborations and all the small steps along the way...that is the work that makes it happen.  There is the one thing today though that sets it apart ...that is the LEAP.... jumping all in and going for it!!!

I know there will be mistakes, more changes and evolution. Today I am going to bask in the excitement of making dreams reality.

If you would like to check out my dream go to Doggslife.com :):):)

What is your dream???

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 :):):)

Maybe Good Enough is Enough

How many times do we put things off until we can get it right, do it right, not make a mistake....and so on and so on.  We torture ourselves over the minutia and the procrastination, the overwhelm that can just lead to apathy and then nothing happens :(

What if good enough is enough??? What if just taking one step towards doing one thing on that project your putting off or that task that needs to be done or that email you need to write??? 

What if you take one tiny step? If might not be the perfect step but it is the one that puts you in motion... it is the one that starts the process of kinetic energy. I am not sure why or how I remember that a body in motion stays in motion and a body at rest stays at rest....trust me I am no physicist ... I don’t even know if that is a principle of physics :-) If there was only a device I could quickly look that up on...oh yes there is and it is ...wow, I did learn something in school;):);)

What I do know is that once you start moving, it makes it much easier to continue to move and next thing you know you look back and accomplish something and it FEELS GREAT! 

Take this quick blog post today .... it started with one word, one concept and kept going until now.  It is not perfect but it is something.

So I ask you .... what is one step you could take?  You don’t know....if you did know, what would it be?

Take the step, I dare you .... then let us know what it was and we can celebrate together!!!!

Xoxo

Happy First Day of Spring

Grief

Grief is like a wave on the beach 

It washes in and out

Up and over

Sometimes tiny

Sometimes ominous

It flows through you and over you

It can be gone one minute

Roaring back the next 

Grief is the most painful reminder that you are alive 

It will knock you down to the studs and make you question the why 

It levels you 

Renders you speechless, motionless often without a will 

It is the one shared emotion that can bring us back together again because of the raw nature, the humility and the inequity of its presence 

The only way to get beyond the waves to the serenity of the calm is to go through them 

You can stay on the sandy beach and watch the serene calm on the other side but 

To really feel it, immerse in it, bathe in its tranquility 

Is to muster up the extreme courage 

Take a step in 

Feel the wave ..... its coldness, it’s inhumane nature, slapping you, hitting you knocking you down and often leaving you feeling like you don’t want to get back up

Trudge forward, plant your feet in the ground 

Take small steps 

Turn to the side if you have to

Duck under for a bit and swim

Feel it, take it on

Do what is takes to get to the other side

So you can again rejoice in the calm, the tranquil, the knowing 

Will there be other waves??? 

Probably

Each one you conquer will give you the ability to go through the next

Life is not easy, life can be very hard 

Life is not for the weak or faint of heart

But oh is it worth it 

Baby steps my friend 

They can get you through 

So you can make it to the end

Taking one day, one hour, one moment at a time

Accepting what is 

Appreciation and Gratitude for the moment that is now

Look up, look around, question, be curious, be open, be you 

Grief is cruel and it is unkind

You can and will get through this 

One step at a time 

I am here for you, to hold your hand 

To walk side by side

Together we can

Take each wave

As it comes

We can sit in silence or talk it out

Whatever you need is what this is about 

It’s Not Too Late :-)

Well hello :-). I decided to take a small step today and write a post .... I came across this one that I never posted. In todays day of stay at home and lots of isolation and this what they call new normal which I prefer to think of as a temporary reality,  I thought this might be prudent to post in case anyone is feeling any of the below:


Whether you are burnt out/feeling like you are too far gone emotionally, physically, spiritually or a combination...........as long as you continue to be above ground, it’s not too late!

It all starts with a step.

That was my post.  What I will add in is what I was going to post which I think will be prudent.
Celebrate the little wins, that can be a small step to a better minute, hour, day...you know where I am going with this :-)

A little win is something as small as getting out of bed and moving to a different room, having a cup of coffee, answering that email that is plaguing you, write one thing you are grateful for,  starting your day with a two minute meditation, organizing a drawer.....ok...maybe that is a medium step..........take any step and I promise for at least a minute you will feel better and hopefully you can then take another and another and another and then maybe a nap........don’t get crazy on your first day :):);)

XOXO

With love 💕 and light 💡 

Small Steps, Big Things