So Much Is To Be Found In The Preparations

We prepare for many different things in our lives. Everything from the arrival of a guest, moving to a new location, a favorite meal, a special event, or even the ending of relationship. Preparations help us be more fully present in our lives. They help us move through painful memories or to engage in positive ones.

As I prepare for the arrival of family for the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday, I am aware of the way preparations that feeds my soul. As I prepare the guest rooms for my returning family, I lovingly create a familiar haven for them to step into to feel embraced, welcomed and at home. As I prepare the menu for our family meals, I am sure to include favorites of my children to please their palates and tease their memories. As I give thought to the gifts for the following holiday season, I bring loving and appreciative energies into the gift choices, enjoying the anticipation of the recipients pleasure when they are gifted.

The preparations add to my delight, my connections and my intentions. My soul awakens with delight as I plan and create. My heart is full as I fix and fuss and enjoy the beauty about to unfold. My mind recalls memories of holidays past and is filled with appreciation and warm thoughts.

Preparations help us garner the energies for the moment. Sometimes those energies help us move through a difficult situation. Sometimes the energies help us to remember the important details. And then there are those times that the energies help us to connect to the needs of others and be sure that we tend to ours as well.

Preparations, an important part of living a full life. An important part of being present and open to the possibilities. When we are prepared, it is that much easier to embrace what the moment brings us. We feel complete, whole and empowered. We move with the flow and embrace the gifts in the moment. Even in times of loss or disappointment, we can be prepared enough to be present and in the discomfort, find our truth.

We never can really know all that we need to be prepared for, but if we move through our days seeking our truth, aligning our intentions, stepping forward in integrity and holding love in our heart...everything seems to flow as it should. Everything we need is to be found in the preparations.

Blessings, Lisa

Present and Mindful

Thich Nhat Hanh once stated, "When we are mindful, deeply in touch with the present moment, our understanding of what is going on deepens, and we begin to be filled with acceptance, joy, peace and love." When I read these words, my soul soars with understanding. I have come to a place in my life where I fully understand this. This is not to say that there are days when I find the challenge in the act of mindfulness. We all do.

But life changes when I live this way. The saying, "Don't sweat the small stuff" rings in my ears. There is no need to. Instead the focus is placed upon the moment I am in, not the one left behind or the one to come. In that moment, my focus sharpens and I begin to see life differently. Without projection I place all my energies into what I am doing now, who I am with now, what I am saying now, and who I am being now. When I do that the door of peace and grace swings open. Struggles do not seem so large. Solutions are easier to find. Beauty is obviously present and my heart sings.

The work of the soul is timeless. When I fully embrace this concept I recognize there is little to be gained in projecting my worries or having relentless regrets. My soul is able to  flow throughout the layers of my energies and my lifeline to blend the lessons and gifts and love designed for me. I simply need to be present and embrace. To open myself up to the potency and expansiveness that is found in the now.

Riding the surface in life is not an option for me. I want to dive deep, dig deep and breathe deep. I want to explore the layers and pull out the weeds, dig up the roots and uncover the treasures. I want my moments to be filled with joy, surrounded by peace, coated with acceptance and open to potential. The only way I have found to create this is to live mindfully and remain present.

Blessings, Lisa

Honor Your Body Temple

How do you honor your body? Do you treat it like the temple that it is? Do you appreciate its curves, its power, its softness, its flexibility or its vulnerabilty? Do you compare it and contrast it against other bodies? Do you cherish its uniqueness and how it serves you?

Bodies come in all shapes and sizes and yet we hold to a standard set by society that only a small percentage can fit within. What does that mean to the rest of the bodies? That they fall short, have less value, should not be loved, or appreciated? Hardly!

Each body is a temple! Your body longs to share its gifts with you. The better your relationship with your body, the better the conversation! Every day messages are shared by your body ... are you listening? It will tell you what it needs. It will celebrate with you. It will challenge you. It will offer encouragement. It will state when it needs rest, fuel, movement, or a change. The better you develop your listening skills with your body, the better you will be able to honor it for all it offers you.

In our busy lives we often put our bodies last. Work, commitments, children, partners, and more comes first. Yet, it is undeniable that the better we tend to our own needs the better we can serve others. An important fact not meant to be ignored.

Your body is a sacred gift to be honored and valued in this lifetime. The more you take it for granted, the more likely you will miss important messages. The more you abuse it, the more likely it will suffer. And the more you understand it, accept it, adore it, the more likely you will find it helps you feel powerful, shine brightly, serve others better and live healthier.

Oh, the conversation about loving our bodies has been shared around the world. But the biggest piece of this whole conversation is how to stop the madness that serves as the bookends around this discussion. This madness is created by industries that want you to feel you will never be good enough, thin enough, curvy enough, busty enough, blonde enough, young enough...because you won't by their standards! None of us will. It is time to remove these voices and images from our conversation and begin honoring our body temple. They are only there to make their money and to suck you into the black hole of dissatisfaction, dishonor and comparison of your body. Instead, let's discuss how we can share a conversation about how we can celebrate our bodies, see the beauty of each other, how to empower with our words, images and thoughts, how we can see the beauty in ALL bodies. Regardless of our shape, our size, our measurement, our number on the label or the scale...regardless of our cup size, our hair color, the shape of our eyes, the length of our nails....regardless of all this and more let's have the conversation that will exclude no one from recognizing that they are beautiful in every way that they are!

To take part in this conversation join Robin Rice and I as we challenge the standards, initiate these types of discussions, celebrate all bodies and honor the body temple at the Awesome Woman Hub in a year of Celebrating Women & The Body Beautiful.

Blessings, Lisa

Is There A Duty To Serve?

Often there is great pride to be found in doing our duty, in answering the call and bringing our best self to the duty for others. But sometimes people have a different response to being told it is their duty. For some it feels forced, not authentic or genuine. 

To be in service to others and to have it be a a beautiful and intention filled gift, one's heart needs to be in it. The energy behind our service or duty to others is the primary gift. The results will be far more impacting, inspiring, supportive and beautiful if this energy comes from a place of fullness and joy. For it to be a gift to others, the genuine intention held with desire and love needs to be present.  Anything less, the purpose is lost.

So how can we be sure that our service to others is a heart filled duty? Perhaps it comes down to giving ourselves permission to gracefully say no.  Putting ourselves first sometimes feels uncomfortable for some. But we must be sure to tend to our own needs with as much love and intention as what we bring to others. When our heart is full, our body is whole and our soul's messages are heard, we come from a place of fullness and are able to give without conditions. We respond with the most beautiful Yes.

Pearl S. Buck once said, "To serve is beautiful, but only if it is done with joy and a whole heart." Understanding that it is an act of self-love to look after our needs before we take on those of others is an important part of giving and being in service. It is not a selfish act.

Serving with intention and integrity will insure that the bringing of our devotion to our service will be delivered with love and positivity to all that receive it. Being in service to others needs to be fluid and gentle, filled with our passion and our grace and hold the best of our energies and insights.

Blessings, Lisa