One Breath Away...

It's easy to become overwhelmed with the voices of the many. A person can devote a lifetime to seeking an answer that comes from anywhere but within. Granted, it is an acknowledgement that resonates when we hear without what we recognize within, yet in seeking that mirror to reflect back what has been clouded out by our own disengagement from self, we seek workshops, therapy, lectures, books, classes, blogs, and the opinions of experts, to provide us with that which is quietly known all along. We are all just one breath away from turning the mirror inward to a terrifyingly solitary, yet clarifyingly liberating, place where we can sit calmly in nature, aligned with what we already know, being that if we simply embrace all there is, as it is, in this very moment, that there is nothing more to learn, no more running around to do, no other opinions to seek, and no validation necessary that will see us in the way we just need to see ourselves. We have already arrived if we will just allow ourselves to be here, now. Even for a moment. And that is all there is. This moment.

Although change so often feels like death itself to those of us who resist it, we need not relinquish everything we've been up until now in becoming some new, as-of-yet, not-fully-realized version of ourselves. Rather, who we've been will lay the foundation on which our renewed selves can build and thrive. Faith is the space between what was, what is, and what will be. Even if it all exists simultaneously, it is only where we place our attention and how we choose to breathe that will allow us to let go and truly relax into the now that we always are.

How might we feel if we just slowed down in this very moment, right now? What would happen if, for ten minutes, we just let go of thinking that we had to do anything more than just relax into our own being? Let's close our eyes as we breathe in and out through our nose. Let's simply drop our shoulders, relax our jaw, relax our hands and our toes. Let's soften our eyes. Let's just turn the mirror inward and calmly see what we see. In this lifetime of our existence let's dedicate these next ten minutes to just being still.

Who Are We?

We must always question what we believe so as to become more than who we think we are. This is not a comfortable proposition. We live in a culture where we are taught that we must know who we are if we are to be strong. The question becomes: How do we define who we are? We all have many feelings, thoughts, and emotions. We identify who we think we are mostly by how we feel. Our emotions are so strong that we create not only firm opinions about ourselves, the world, and our place in it, but we then create a personality and identity around those feelings based on beliefs we invest in which we defend at all costs. Our very personhood feels threatened when our beliefs are challenged, and we'll often panic rather than breath into the possibility that what we believe is a choice rather than a fact. More than feelings, thoughts, emotions, and even beliefs, it is worth considering that what defines us the most is actually the actions we take. We can learn a lot about ourselves when we witness how we go about making the decision to take action and, ultimately, it is the action itself that can reveal to us what we believe rather than what we think we believe, or what we'd like to think we believe. What would happen if we removed judgement from both the process and the outcome? Who are we when we are not being who we think we should be based on who we think we've been.

Let's take a moment now and just breathe as we let go of trying to figure out what we should do based on who we think we are. We will end up making whatever choices we eventually make, so the best choice we can make is to be here right now and just breathe into this very moment. That is the key that will unlock the door to ourselves.

Let's close our eyes and sit up comfortably. Breathing in and out through your nose, feel your belly expand and release. Let your jaw relax. Soften your eyes. Relax your scalp. Drop your shoulders. Relax your hands. For five minutes just breath and love yourself enough to be right here, right now. Everything else will take care of itself later if we take care of ourselves now.