Archive for ‘Daily Inspirations’

May 18th, 2012

Creative Space: Spring Tulips

I decided to change the name of my creative posts because 1) creativity doesn’t always come on a Friday 2) I love Oprah’s Breathing Space – a place where you can just be present and breathe. Don’t we all need more of that?

I think true joy comes in noticing the small things.

Take this, for example:

{photo by The Inspiring Bee}

It’s the inside of a beautiful tulip. See all those tiny strokes of red as if someone took a paintbrush and hand painted each individually?

It’s so awe-inspiring even on the outside.

It inspired my latest painting.
When you take time to observe the small things, you open yourself up to inspiration.

What have you noticed lately?

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May 14th, 2012

Where’s Your Courage?

{flickr photo by: dalechumbley}

I used to think courage was being able to sit through a horror flick without hiding under a jacket, asking a guy out, or giving a speech. All of which I failed miserably at. As a child, my mom used to buy me books and toys with a theme: A dog that said, “I’m lonely.” A mouse that said, “I’m shy.”

Okay I got it mom!

But as I got older, I realized that what I thought was courage, was far from what I thought it was. Yes, it took some guts and bravery to do the above. But real courage was strength.

The kind of courage I’m talking about is the one…

  • that pushes you to say how you truly feel.
  • that frees you to be yourself, not repressing your quirky parts out of fear from being rejected or your winning side so others won’t feel dim in your light.
  • that lets you sit in the unknown in peace and quells the anxious voice.
  • that gives you faith when nothing is going right and everything feels wrong.

Courage is sometimes the fierce lion, but often the determined mouse.

It’s not easy being courageous. But when we get to that mountaintop and feel the wind brushing our face, we will know that the only way to truly live is to be on the edge of comfort and walk toward our greatest fears with courage.

 Are you living your life with courage or in fear?

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May 9th, 2012

A Different Way of Perceiving Loss

{flickr photo by The Djudju Beast}

Loss is one of those inevitable experiences in life we have to cope with. Hopefully we don’t have to deal with it until we’re older and more able to handle the grief. But in any case, it’s hard. Its impact devastating.

It’s difficult to deal with whether we’re dealing with the loss of a relationship, a job or a loved one (furry kids included). And one of the reasons why it’s so hard is that it reminds us about how short life is. Every loss is like another dying leading us to our own inevitable death.

Sorry to be so grim. But we are talking about death.

While coping is never easy, I’ve recently found a ray of light to help me deal with loss in a new way.

I realized that the being, the job, the opportunity that we feel we lost has been a gift. And when it’s ripped away from us, we forget that. I think we take for granted that life is short. Waking up each day feels like an expectation not a reason for gratitude. And we expect the same from those around us. We think that life will always unfold the way it has been and are shaken up when it’s suddenly changed.

It’s normal to feel angry, sad, and filled with despair when we lose something we love. But when we’re past the point of initial grieving, I think we owe it to ourselves and the people and things we lost to find the gift in their presence. It’s not only the empty space they leave which makes up the legacy of their life, but their entire life.

Whenever I feel like I’m falling into despair, I refocus my perspective. I remember that the time we have with people and the experiences we love are less important than the remaining impact they left on our hearts. I’d rather remember the gift than the anger. I’d rather hold onto their love than the loss.

And I think it’s important to focus on their purpose of being here instead of why they left. We will never know why something we love has to end. Trying to find the answer to that question can only pull us down a road toward more struggle and suffering. Instead, I choose to find answers to why they were here in the first place.

It’s not easy to deal with the sound of silence after something we loved was taken away. But I know that if we can continue to remember the love, hope is right around the corner…

 

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April 24th, 2012

What Lies Are Holding You Back?

{photo by The Inspiring Bee}

For me, it was:

“You’re not creative.

You’re not talented enough.

No one’s going to really believe you’re a writer.

Writer’s don’t make $.

You’re nothing special.

There are millions of people more talented than you so why try?”

Deep in the dark, dusty corners of my mind was a slew of non-confronted falsities that were not only taking up some important real estate, but were insidiously controlling my life.

I realized to get beyond it, I would need to tackle each one. And not just with sprinkles of positivity, but gut-wrenching courage, anger, and a fiery attitude. If could not change completely get rid of the voice that brought me down, I sure as hell would not let it control my life.

Maybe you’re battling your own lifetime of lies. Well today is the day you decide to stop listening to them!

  • Do not spend any more time, energy or money on believing in something that is not your own truth.
  • Do not give away your power to “friends,” relatives, co-workers, acquaintances who wither in your light.
  • Do not focus on what you can’t do.
  • Stop believing that you need a guarantee to go forward with your dreams.

The only difference between you and your successful colleague is that they ventured out and tried.

Free yourself from the lies that you’ve been told about what’s possible for your life.

Embrace who you are wholeheartedly and dare to risk that every thing you’ve been told about how ___ (fat, dumb, ugly, stupid, untalented, etc.) you are, is untrue.

Create your own reality.

Define your own life.

Then join us reformed souls on the other side.

{If you want to learn how I found an extraordinary moment while in traffic, check out my latest article for Beliefnet Health, “Finding the Extraordinary in the Ordinary.”}

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April 16th, 2012

Surpassing the Status Quo

{flickr photo by ArtJonak}

In an effort to be accepted, even loved, we often dumb down ourselves so others don’t feel intimidated or less than in our presence. Over time this builds as inner resentment, anger and a lifetime of being “good enough.” It’s sad that we feel the need to be ordinary to feel liked. It’s even sadder that we’re willing to give up our own power for the power of others.

But we do that every time we choose to hold back, take opportunities below our skill level or to accept a life that just doesn’t feel right.

Recently, I too was shaken up. I realized that my own past struggles came from a very deep place of self-doubt and fear of success. If you’ve been spending more time on the computer, on your cell phone or doing anything that distracts you from your true purpose, we’re in the same boat.

Sometimes we settle because we’re afraid of what’s next. Sometimes we stop trying because we’re tired or burnt out. In the end, we will be responsible for the life we lived. Will we reflect back on the moments wasted watching mindless television and living an ordinary life-never really ruffling any feathers but at the same time never quite reaching our dreams? Or will we finally wake up to the life that we’ve been born to live?

Listening to this 9 minute Sounds True audio from Michael Bernard Beckwith inspired me to get off my couch and get back to work on my work-in-progress. Hope it will inspire you to begin the process of working on your life. It’s not an easy nor a glamorous task, but the only one necessary to live the life of your dreams.

 

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April 9th, 2012

What to Do If You’re Feeling Burnt Out

I’ve been feeling burnt out lately. Actually, I didn’t even know that’s what it was until I read Fried: Why You Burn Out and How to Revive by Joan Borysenko. All I know was that it was getting hard and harder to blog lately. And I was also losing my creative drive. Hence, the lack of Creative Friday posts lately.

After digging into that book, I learned that being burnt out affects each of us in different ways. We become emotionally exhaustive, disengaged, cynical, feel diminished, isolate and lose sight of why we’re doing what we’re doing in the first place.

While I hadn’t experienced the full total experience of burning out, I definitely was creeping up to the edge. This Easter weekend, I vowed things had to change and fast!

In Julia Cameron’s infamous book, The Artist’s Way, Cameron says:

“Our artist child can best be enticed to work by treating work as play.”

Insert light bulb here. All work and no play was draining my creative fountain and I needed a break ASAP. Oh boy did I wish I had taken my own advice sooner. But better late than never right?

This weekend on an impulse, my husband and I took a much needed one day trip to Monterey.

Inspiring sunset

It was an important reminder that in order to meld meaning into our ordinary day-to-day lives we need to take a break, play and open our eyes to the possibility and magic taking place all around us each and every day.

Spring blossoms

{photos by The Inspiring Bee}

What’s inspiring you lately?

It’s hard not to feel grateful when you see a mommy seal with her new pup.

*The labels people give us can define who we are, if we’re not aware of it. Find out how what others tell you can have a negative impact on your life over on my new Beliefnet Health blog, Happy Haven.

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March 27th, 2012

What If I’m Not There Yet?

{taken with my iPhone during a mindful moment while walking}

Some of you may be just like me. Working hard, living hard, trying to do everything you can to fit meaning and purpose in your every day. If you’re like me, then you know the anxiety that sometimes comes when you feel like no matter how much you do it’s just not enough.

You may be sitting in the void right now. Waiting for hope to come like rain after a long waited drought.

Whether it’s a job, a home, or someone you want to spend the rest of your life with, I understand that pain of not knowing what to do next. I empathize with the fear that comes from worrying that you’ll never get what it is you really want.

There have been many times in my life when I was unemployed or alone and ample times when I was confused and filled with self-doubt. I’ve been on the road of envy, anger, and jealousy.  Looking back, it’s those times that have taught me the most about having faith. It’s also the moment that prepared me for what was next.

I would never be able to go straight into writing, had I not gotten a degree in Counseling first. And had I not spend a few months unemployed, I wouldn’t have the courage and the motivation to finally go to graduate school.

The pauses in our lives feel like failure. They feel like it because we’ve gotten so used to the constant barrage of activity-our iPhones, iPads, texting, etc. We’ve forgotten that life unfolds in its own time.

Sometimes I need to be reminded of this too and only need to spend time in nature, observing how the season changes, the way birds tease the wind and how the clouds move, to know that our time will come too.

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