During the summer time we usually think about relaxing with family and/or friends, slowing down, and taking time to enjoy life.  Children are out of school, the weather is warmer and our systems tend to slow down.

This may be a wonderful opportunity to reflect on what is truly important in our lives.  It doesn’t really matter where we choose to take our vacations or whether it is simply weekend outings we share.  What really matters is that we spend quality time with those in our lives that we love.

Plan a summer picnic with friends and family or a day at the beach.  How about a hike in the woods or a camping trip?  There are so many opportunities to share time with others.  We all have the beauty of nature as our play ground and it does not require money to enjoy it.  The only requirement is a little planning and our time.

We all have wonderful memories of summers from our past that we cherish.  We are now the authors of the memories we will create for our future and that of our children.  Let us not miss the opportunities we have now.  We are not so busy that we can’t create at least a day in the sun.

Let’s leave our worries and problems alone for a day or two.  I promise that they will be there when we return.  We may even have a chance to gain a new perspective on how to resolve them.  It is amazing how differently we view things when our minds have had a chance to relax for awhile.

Let us enjoy the true blessings of life, which are the times that we share with each other.  These are the memories we treasure.  Nothing else will take the place of these wonderful moments together.

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” ~ Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

We seem to be living in a time of such division.  People from all sides are trying to gain a larger following to justify their points of view.  I so love this statement from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  We cannot drive out the hate by more hate and name calling, “only love can do that”.

It is difficult to rise above all of the rhetoric and comments being made but let’s make a genuine effort to do this.  Perhaps we could begin by seeing and listening through the eyes and ears of our hearts.  How would our hearts respond to this?    If someone makes a “seemingly inappropriate comment”, for example, from where did this comment come?

Before we judge any comments that have been made, let us take a moment to walk in their shoes.   What in this person’s experience led to those thoughts and/or feelings?  Let us get a broader perspective on any issue we are facing.  We have all walked through our own life’s journey having many different experiences and beliefs, which have shaped our specific points of view.

We are all unique.  It is really amazing that we can agree on anything, let alone everything, which seems to be expected now.  Our diversity is one of the most beautiful things about us.  Would you enjoy looking at a scenic view if everything looked exactly the same?  Would you enjoy listening to a concert with the musicians all playing the same note?

We thrive on seeing nature in the rapture of its glorious colors.  We love listening to a concert with the incredible harmony of sounds made by a full orchestra.  What would our world be like if we viewed each other as unique and beautiful pieces of a colorful tapestry called life?  What if we experienced each other as if we were all making wonderful contributions  to the depth, creativity, and wonder of our world.

Let’s follow Dr. Martin Luther King by letting our lights shine forth in the darkness and our love pour out into the space of all hatred.   Let us all follow his guidance and choose love.

The disciple walked up to the master and asked,  “How can I free myself from what binds me to the past?”
The master got up, went to a tree stump, and clutched onto it, moaning,  “What can I do so that this tree lets go of me?” -  Zen wisdom

How often do we live through our past experiences, especially the painful ones?  Do we carry these memories of regrets, mistakes, or wrongs that others may have done forward into our present thoughts and/or feelings?

As the Zen master stated above, “What can I do so that this tree lets go of me?”  The past is gone forever.  We are choosing to hang on to these memories, it is totally in our control to let them go.  The tree does not bind us to it, nor does the past.

One of the pathways to letting go of our negative past memories is through the process of forgiveness.  This process allows our hearts to open and become more fully self expressed as we experience our humanity.  This is forgiveness of ourselves as well as others.   This journey may seem long but the process is simple and the more forgiveness we are able to express the more love and compassion we are able to feel.

Let’s release all of our negative past memories into the gentleness of forgiveness.   We can begin this new moment in the appreciation of who we are and the many gifts we have to offer others.  Bask in the glow of being alive and able to love and be loved, to value and be valued and to know that we can make a difference in our world.

Celebrate this moment and use it to create a new beginning thus leading to a new future for ourselves and those around us.   Experience the feelings of gratitude for all that we have and all that we are.  This moment belongs to us.   How will we choose to use it?

“Some people go through life trying to find out what the world holds for them only to find out too late that it’s what they bring to the world that really counts.”- Lucy Maud Montgomery

Summer is a quieter time for most of us as we slow down our pace and look forward to spending time with our families and friends.  Some of us get away for vacations or find more time for rest and relaxation.

Maybe we could spend some of these moments in reflection of our own gifts and talents.  What do we do well and/or what do we love to do?  What makes our hearts sing?  What activities makes us eager to learn more and become even better at doing them?

Each one of us is born with a life’s purpose.  We were given specific gifts and talents to accomplish this purpose.  The beauty of this is that when we are doing what we were meant to do, our lives have meaning, and we feel alive and joyful.  We wake up each morning ready to tackle anything and are often able to see our challenges as opportunities to exercise our gifts and talents.

Have you ever asked the question, “What does the world hold for me”?  Many of us feel that if we just keep looking we will find that perfect place to work, live, etc.  We just need to keep looking and/or waiting.   It will come along “one of these days” if we are patient.

In truth, the perfect place we seek comes from within ourselves.  The journey that we must take is one of self-discovery.  Who are we and what can we offer the world?  What are our unique gifts and talents for which the world is waiting?  The specific job that awaits us may not even exist yet but one that we were meant to create.

Let’s spend some time reflecting on our gifts and talents.  Make a list of these and add what activities we can do with each one.  The longer we remain in reflection the longer our lists will become.  The more time we spend doing these activities, the more our creative ideas flow and the more options appear.  This is the magic of who we really are as we share our gifts with the world.

It truly is “what we bring to the world that really counts”.   “We are the ones we have been waiting for.”

“Live your life from your heart.   Share from your heart.   And your story will touch and heal people’s souls.”
~ Melody Beattie

When I look all around us today, I often see a world caught up in turmoil and indecision.  We can’t move one way or the other.  This group is going in the wrong direction while the other one seemingly has all of the answers.  Where are we really going?  Does anybody really know?

We all come from very different places, coming from different beliefs and experiences, so it would be virtually impossible for us to have the exact same point of view at any given time.  There is, however, one place where we can all come together as one human family and that is when we come from our hearts.  In this space, there is actually room for all points of view.

Our hearts hold an infinite capacity to love, an ability to feel compassion, and respect for each other.  When we come from our hearts we live in our integrity and can experience our courage to face life.  We can also spread a positive and loving energy to others that becomes instantly contagious.

What an amazing world we could create if we would all “live life from our hearts”.  If we could listen from our hearts to whatever some else was saying, no matter how different their point of view, and truly take in how they are experiencing their world, we could actually expand our own points of view.  We would broaden our awareness of what truly exits in our world.

We are all here together.  We now have a choice of how we will experience each other.  Will we choose to “Live our lives from our hearts,   and share from our hearts.?”   Will our stories touch and heal people’s souls?”

Let’s each one of us choose to live life from our hearts, let’s choose love.

“The world would have you agree with its dismal dream of limitations.  But the light would have you soar like the eagle of your sacred visions.” - Alan Cohen

We are receiving news daily about our lack and limitations from the reports of our economy, unemployment, etc. etc.   We seem to be boxed into these tight descriptions of who we are or, more accurately, who we are not.

We are often being pulled into an either/or position as well.  We are either on this side or the other.  Our views seem to be even more polarized than ever.  What is missing is knowing who we really are and finding out if we are living our own dreams.  Where are we in this picture?

Let’s release this limited view of who we are and reach into our hearts to discover our true potential.  What are our dreams?   What makes our hearts sing?  As we begin to uncover these dreams, we can look outside the box to find the ways to make these dreams our reality.

When we begin this process, our spirits are also awakened and we become alive.  As we begin to expand our view of who we are, we also awaken our enthusiasm and passion for life.  The journey itself becomes joyful as we look forward to each new day.

Let’s keep our intention and focus on these “sacred visions” with an open mind and an open heart.  Let our lights shine on the unlimited potential that truly exists and  re-experience the wonder and magic of life as “we soar like the eagle of our sacred visions”.

I took a long walk today in nature.  It is almost miraculous how the energy of nature can provide such a calming and healing sense of well being.  This beauty can be found almost anywhere and is available whenever we decide to experience this serenity.   Being in nature cost either nothing or very little.

Many of us are living in stressful times or facing many problems.   Knowing that spending time in nature is always such a healing experience, we wonder what stops us from taking advantage of what the earth has provided so abundantly.  Are we so absorbed in our lives, that we think we don’t have the time?

Let’s re-examine our priorities and get back in touch with who we really are.  Being in nature provides us with a glimpse of our inner souls, our creativity, a quieting of our minds, and our ability to resolve whatever problems lay ahead of us.  Thus, spending time in nature actually makes us more productive and adds the balance that allows us to experience the joys in our lives.

This week let us take a moment to go out into nature wherever we may be.  Change the pace of our busy lives, just breathe in the serenity, and take in the beauty that surrounds us everywhere.  Being in nature reminds us that we are all one and experiencing this life together.

“Life is a song – sing it.  Life is a game – play it.  Life is a challenge – meet it.  Life is a dream – realize it.  Life is a sacrifice – offer it.  Life is love – enjoy it.”     ~ Sai Baba

How are we living our lives?  Are we going from one day to the next in a survival mode?  Are we focusing our energies on the fear of what lies ahead?  Or, are we living our lives in the wonder of each moment with gratitude in our hearts for all that we have?

Life, for all of us, is filled with moments of love, joy, and celebrations, as well as, challenges, and sorrow.  To live life is to experience all of these things and more.  Would we give up all of our moments of love and joy to not have to face the challenges or the sorrow?   When we are in the throws of our grief, we might say “yes”, but when the distance of time is added, most of us would say “never”.

Life is a journey and we were meant to experience “all” of it.  Would we even be able to know what joy is, if we had not had moments of sorrow?  Would we be as thrilled and happy when we finally found the answer to a difficult problem, if we were not challenged to meet it?  We could not even feel grief, if there had not first been love.

Life truly is a song that we could be singing,  a game that we could be playing, with dreams we could be pursuing.  Life is truly love.  When we freely share the gifts of our hearts with each other, there is an unending supply of love to be given.  Let us celebrate the wonder of life and the beauty of who we really are;  a light that shines forth in the darkness, our humanity.

Have you ever thought when dialoging with people, how often we speak but don’t listen with the same enthusiasm?  If we are excited about something and anxious to share this information with others, we often expect that they will also become excited.  When they don’t, we might become disappointed and even shut down our listening.

This occurs because we all have our own unique points of view, which consists of all of our experiences and beliefs.  No two points of view can ever be the same so different reactions to the same information are more than likely to occur.   Even when we share similar beliefs, if we stay together long enough we will find the differences.

One way of approaching our lives in to hang on to our points of view with the determination of convincing others that we are “right”.  Our point of view is the only one that matters since we hold the truth.  This need to be “right” has a crippling effect on relationships and often blocks effective communication with others.

What if we assume that our points of view are based on our own unique experiences and know that all others are different?  Would we listen more openly?  Would we respond differently?

The beauty of knowing we are each unique and special is that when we share our points of view, we can more readily listen to the points of view of others.  We gain insight into who they are.  We can take in this new information and sometimes expand our own points of view to hold these new thoughts and beliefs.  Just knowing that they exist expands our awareness of life.

The paradox and magic of relating in this way is that when we really take in each others differences, we finally reach the point where we are all the same.  This experience comes from our expressions of respect, compassion, gratitude, and love found within our hearts.  The one force that unites us all.

Everything in life occurs in relationships.  Our relationship to the elements of the earth, to the plants, to other animals, and most importantly to each other, determines the meaning and purpose of our lives.

All of our relationships are contained within a vast web of interrelationships of which we are often unaware.  Our relationship with one person can affect the relationships that person has with others; thus creating a ripple effect.

Having the ability to form and sustain positive relationships with others is one of the most critical needs of our time.  It is the basis of our personal lives as well as that of our communities, our nation and our world.

It all begins with the personal relationships that we now have in our lives.  When we focus on our hearts and share our gifts with each other, we cannot help but create a positive bonding with others.

Our hearts provide the compassion, respect, and gratitude we need for real communication.  We can listen to others with a deeper level of understanding.

In our current relationships, let us take the time to observe how we are communicating with those around us.  Are we speaking and listening from our hearts?  If not, let’s realign our thinking and participate from a new place.  Luckily, we are always at choice.

This positive energy will surround us in the light of love and begin to transform our world to a place of peaceful co-existence.