Mindless Behavior

As the busy-ness of the holiday season sets in, many find themselves moving through the day with mindless behavior. Holiday parties present edibles and beverages that we mindlessly indulge in without much thought, other than, what the heck…it is the holidays! For others mindless purchases are made because of the temptation of a sale that is just too good to pass up. Neither of these are horrible things that need anything more than some intentional awareness as we make these choices. It is important to allow the occasional splurge in our life, to celebrate without remorse and to have a few delights as long as we keep our balance. But what of the other mindless behavior that can occur. Often these holiday parties and gatherings bring opportunities for idle gossip and story sharing. This is when intention is most important. Words have very specific energies and we need to realize that what we say and what we share has repercussions whether we witness them or not. And there is that old saying your mother promoted of if you have nothing good to say about someone…say nothing at all! I have had to remove myself from conversations or speak up to end the negative talk that is happening. I figure if I would be uncomfortable standing next to the person about whom the gossip is being shared about then it is a done deal! Easy as that!

Other mindless behavior that often occurs at the time of the year is negative self-talk and comparison. We allow those old broken records of undesirable comments about what we are or are not to play through our thoughts. We give them power to control our actions and our energies. We allow them to weigh us down.

What other mindless behavior creeps into your days during the holidays? How can you create good boundaries and set limits? What new perspective can you bring to the holiday season this year and set a new practice into motion? Create positive change for yourself and watch it ripple out into the festivities for the end of this year the start of the new! What a beautiful gift to bring to your day!

Blessings ~ Lisa

©COPYRIGHT 2012 Lisa Meade

Not Just A Dream

Do you dare to dream a big dream for yourself? Are you willing to live large, to take risks, to shine brightly? The only way you can truly get what you want in life is to do these things. Sitting idly by and talking about what you want, but not doing anything to move forward to reach it…well, we all know how that unfolds, don’t we? When I look back on my life and think of all the times I said I wanted this or that to be in my life, the times that these “things” manifested is when I brought myself fully into the equation of creating, when I was fully present, when I was intention filled and willing to explore ALL the possibilities!

We have the capacity to be so, so much more of our most brilliant self on our best day more often than we think we can! In fact we can be in that capacity most of the time. It means tending to our needs though and creating space for this in our life. Tending to our needs? If we do not honor our bodies and our health…what good can we be if we need endurance, strength, and sharp focus. If we do not provide care for our souls…what happens to our pain and our feelings of loss? We bring it to our day’s unfolding energies and we drain the resources we need trying to stay afloat. If we do not nourish our connection to source and live by the principles we believe in…we send our hearts mixed messages of inauthenticity and we doubt ourselves. If we do not live in the present…we miss the gifts and the abundance that the Universe holds out to us, we miss our opportunities to grow or to share and we miss the wonders that fuel us and keep us committed to our desires and our longings.

Dare yourself to BE! Dare yourself to live the life that is intended for you. To be a part of the unfolding of peace, healing, joy, and beauty of this lifetime you need to show up! When you make this change in your life, everything else will begin to change. You will begin to create the life you want. It won’t just be a dream!

Blessings ~ Lisa

©COPYRIGHT 2012 Lisa Meade

Global Friendships

"Just like a sunbeam can't separate itself from the sun, 
and a wave can't separate itself from the ocean, 
we can't separate ourselves from one another. 
We are all part of a vast sea of love, 
one indivisible divine mind."

―Marianne Williamson

I read the above quote from the inspirational Marianne Williamson and I love how it moves me. Our society has many new ways of connecting us; from social media, cell phones, email, meet-ups and more! Regardless of the method we use, the connection is what matters most. While face-to-face, eye-to-eye brings perhaps a more human connection, there is most definitely a heart-to-heart connection that can be bridged with today’s newer available methods of communication.

I have been introduced to and developed many wonderful relationships with people I now call friends that I have never met face-to-face. Yet daily we share laughter, support, heartache and knowledge. We celebrate each other. We hold each other’s hearts tenderly when we suffer.

I believe that the evolution of humankind can embrace this technology building bond and create from it connections that extend beyond our fingertips. We truly are global citizens now. While I fully appreciate simple living and the treasure to be had when we gather together physically, perhaps around the fire, over a glass of wine, or on a hike in the woods, I equally enjoy the delightful banter of a lively chat session, the heart felt intention of an unexpected email or the surprise and laughter shared on Skype.

My chosen family has grown in the past several years and for that I am blessed. I would have it no other way. My life experience is fuller for it. My opportunities and possibilities have multiplied beyond the count. And my heart is full and rich with the friendships and partnerships that are accessed via the computer screen.

Blessings ~ Lisa

©COPYRIGHT 2012 Lisa Meade

One Ordinary Day

I had to run errands today. Just an ordinary day. My busy schedule included grocery shopping, holiday shopping and more. The faces are what I was drawn to. So many different faces holding so many different emotions. Smiling faces made me smile back. It felt contagious. Twinkling eyes met mine and we smiled, nodded even gave the right of way to one another with grocery carts or at entrances. Holiday cheer was radiating from many faces as the hustle and bustle was carried with joy and delight. For them I allowed my soul to dance with. Our energies celebrated each other and we enjoyed our kindness and pleasure of humankind together as we faced the ordinary tasks at hand with a lightness and grace that flowed through and around.

Irritation and annoyance was also present in many knitted eyebrows and downturned mouths. Mere utterances from clerks as they checked me out, barely meeting my eyes when they handed me the receipt with an almost inaudible “thank-you” spoken in terse tones. I would imagine this is a taxing time to be a cashier, but so much of their attitude is setting the momentum of their day. For them I felt compassion as I have often had to pull myself out of a bad moment or a bad day and try to salvage it, try to rise above and make something good come from it. If anyone had offered me a small dose of compassion on those days, it would have carried me so far. And so I dosed it out today, like Mary Poppins and her spoonful of sugar.

Then there were those who simple were not engaged in any way at all. They looked like walking zombies, their minds and hearts elsewhere, vacant stares, plodding along down aisles with a step that lacked any intention. For them I felt the most love of all. Where had they lost themselves? What could be so heavy that their burden was obvious and palpable? My silent prayer of hope for lightness to rest within their spirit was made and I offered as much kindness as they would allow, if any.

One ordinary day spent among so many strangers, some more familiar than others. One ordinary day where I crossed the spectrum within my heart errand by errand, face by face, chance by chance allowing the ebb and flow of my spirit gracefully weave its way through the hearts of the community.

Blessings ~ Lisa

©COPYRIGHT 2012 Lisa Meade