Life discovering the wonder of itself

"It is only when we silent the blaring sounds of our daily existence that we can finally hear the whispers of truth that life reveals to us, as it stands knocking on the doorsteps of our hearts."

-- K.T. Jong

"People travel all over the world to wonder at the height of the mountains, at the huge waves of the seas, at the long course of the rivers, at the vast compass of the ocean, at the circular motion of the stars, and yet they pass by themselves without wondering."

-- St. Augustine

I had a chance to spend the better part of yesterday (and a beautiful day it was here in Houston) with a woman who glimpsed what it is to "silent the blaring sounds of her daily existence" and "discover the wonder of who she is," and it was truly beautiful and inspiring. I wish you the peacefulness and presence of mind to be able to re-generate that feeling any time you choose, T.A., until we're together again to continue our work. Thanks for the privilege of serving your life's discovery of itself.

Heaven and Hell

This little story speaks so powerfully for itself that it needs no further editorializing from me. What a brutally tough standard for any life coach or spiritual guide to aspire to - the perfect, selfless mirror.

Heaven and Hell

The old monk sat by the side of the road. With his eyes closed and his legs crossed and his hands folded in his lap, he sat. In deep meditation, he sat. Suddenly his zazen was interrupted by the harsh and demanding voice of a samurai warrior. "Old man! Teach me about Heaven and Hell!"

At first, as though he had not heard, there was no perceptible response from the monk. But gradually, he began to open his eyes, the faintest hint of a smile playing around the corners of his mouth as the samurai stood there waiting ... impatient ... growing more and more agitated with each passing second.

"You would know the secrets of Heaven and Hell?" replied the monk at last. "You who are so unkempt, so unworthy. You whose hands and feet are covered with dirt. You whose hair is uncombed, whose breath is foul, whose sword is all rusty and neglected. You who are ugly and whose mother dresses you funny. You would ask me of Heaven and Hell?"

The samurai uttered a vile curse. He drew his sword and raised it high above his head. His face turned to crimson, the veins on his neck stood out in bold relief as he prepared to sever the monk's head from its shoulders.

"That is Hell," said the old monk gently, just as the sword began its descent.

In that fraction of a second, the samurai was overcome with amazement, awe, compassion, and love for this gentle being who had dared to risk his very life to give him such a teaching. He stopped his sword in mid-flight and his eyes filled with grateful tears.

"And that," said the monk, "is Heaven."

--Father John W. Groff, Jr.

Enjoy your life!

"For a long time it had seemed to me that life was about to begin - real life, anyway. But there was always some obstacle in the way, something to be gotten through first, some unfinished business, time still to be served, a debt to be paid. Then life would begin. At last it dawned on me that these obstacles, and my work to overcome them, were my life."

-- Alfred D. Souza

Enjoy the struggle along with whatever the result. Savor the resistance that the world provides you in growing and learning. It's like a good workout or an exhausting game or sport you love to play. It's made better by its challenge and difficulty. Whoever said that life was designed to be easy? It's really designed to give you the full and rich experience of being alive. Enjoy every agonizing, boisterous, cathartic, delirious, ebullient, frenzied, giddy, hilarious, inspiring, joyful, kaleidoscopic, lascivious, mawkish, nonsensical, outrageous, parodoxical, quixotic, radiant, saucy, tantalizing, unbelievable, visceral, weird, xenophobic, yammering, zesty moment of it. There you have it, the ABC's of life. Sing it out loud just like you were singing it to your kids, and have a blast!

A good reminder

"I didn't say it was going to be easy. I said it would be worth it."

-- A.L. Williams

This is a great line for me to remember to use with people who sign me up as a Life Coach to help them get their life back, because the work of reclaiming one's life is excrutiatingly hard, and it's so easy to find excuses to put it off or ignore it. Fear of the responsibility that goes with conscious living is the number one excuse. Many people start the work and run out of gas, and then go away for awhile, to return later when the quality of their lives becomes incredibly important again. Sooner or later, we all come back to the only real work there is.

The purpose and work of partnership

"Part of working on ourselves, in order to be ready for a profound relationship, is learning how to support another person in being the best that they can be. Partners are meant to have a 'priestly' role in each other's lives. They are meant to help each other access the highest parts within themselves."

-- A Course in Miracles

I have had so many people ask me lately how to attract their life partner into their lives, or how to "survive" their existing partner in the tough times, and it seems the point shared above is often missed by the question. The point is not to focus on what we're not receiving from another person or what a new partner can bring into our lives, but what we can do to work on ourselves sufficiently such that we become this great gift for another human being. When we get out of a mindset of "needing" and into a mindset of "giving", amazing new possibilities emerge. So remember, whether you're looking for your partner to come around or to show up, the work is yours.