There is a place to go within.

for the roaming mind to rest
for the soul-seeking journey to begin

a shelter for life’s hardest of days
for you to be alone and still feel ok

where feeling gives way to healing
and answers arise through
words gracefully moving
across the minds eye

where we can string together
the song of our heart-
our life’s work, our art.

where we can watch as thought
manifests into form
opening portals, opening doors

where we become one with the muse
the source that resides inside
our spirit, our life force
the true Divine

and when it’s time
we fly, we soar
finding our flock while finding our core
like birds in the sky
gently awakening all that pass by

••• Hi, Spring. Hi, new life. Hi abundance that is always available at every second. Feeling these words from @dr_clarissa_pinkola_estes DEEP in the soul space. •••

We do not become healers.
We came as healers.


We are.


Some of us are still catching up to what we are.
We do not become storytellers.


We came as carriers of the stories 
we and our ancestors actually lived.


We are.


Some of us are still catching up to what we are.
We do not become artists.


We came as artists.


We are.


Some of us are still catching up to what we are.


We do not become writers…dancers…musicians…helpers…peacemakers.


We came as such.


We are.
Some of us are still catching up to what we are.


We do not learn to love in this sense.


We came as Love.


We are Love.


Some of us
 are still catching up
 to who 
we
 truly are.


-Clarissa Pinkola Estes, #womenwhorunwiththewolves

photo: @lexibadams

Got it?

Lovely.

Get to it then.

Don’t waste another second complaining about how crappy your life is. Life is too short for all that jazz. Instead, take control of your happiness and fall in love with your life right now.

1. Win over your inner voice. You know, that little voice always criticizing every aspect of your life. “You’re not good enough for him, those pants are too tight on you, you’re never going to be as fun as her, you aren’t smart enough to do that.” Yeah that voice…get rid of it. It’s overwhelming and self-sabotage. The less you listen to your inner voice, the less doubts and fears will creep into your life.

2. Take care of YOU first. Before you can love anyone, you have to love yourself first. This may seem absurd to some of you, especially those people-pleasers. But remember you cannot please everyone! Learn to take care of yourself so that you feel loved and in return you it will be easier to love others. Putting yourself first does mean being rude. You do not have to be inconsiderate, that is totally optional. You can still please yourself and remain considerate and thoughtful to others needs.

3. Take joy in things you love. What do you like to do? Do that! Who do you feel your best around? Spend more time with them! Who do you want to be? Be that. Whatever brings you real joy, share that. I am a firm believer in surrounding yourself with all your joys. Pictures of Paris, reading poetry, spending time with Stacey and our families, and being outside are all things that bring me real joy. Every little thing can influence our mood, even the clothes we put on. We feel differently when we wear sweat pants than we do when we wear a skirt. So wear the clothes that make you feel your best!

It would be wonderful if we could wake up in utter happiness every morning, would it not? What would the world be like if everyone was completely in love with their life? How about today we make the choice to be happy! And if we are happy there is no doubt that our happiness will carry through to people we come in contact with. Remember, a smile goes a long way. So let’s do our part to make the world a happier place, pass on happiness. Take simple steps to fall in love with your life and maybe others will follow suit.

“Your task is not to seek love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it.” ~Rumi

A comfort zone is the working, living and social environments you are used to. It is the place where you feel secure and well, comfortable. Your comfort zone determines the types of people you hang out with and the places you may go. I guess you can say that your comfort zone determines your lifestyle.

Is your comfort zone holding you back?

Our dreams and goals are tied directly to our comfort zone; therefore, in order to change or grow we must be brave enough to venture outside our comfort zone and experience new environments. We can not turn our daydreams into reality without taking that scary first step! For example, you may be stuck daydreaming (fantasizing) about living in New York while working for Vogue, because you are afraid of what might happen if you leave a community where you are well known or quit a well established job. But until you shake your fears loose, you will be stuck daydreaming.

Do you feel discontent with life right now? Maybe you need to do something that scares you…

Step Outside Your Comfort Zone

It all comes down to fear…

The thought of trying something new can cause our heart to race. At the threshold of every new experience looms the possibility of failure and rejection, leaving you wrestling with (or simply giving in to) a healthy dose of fear.

The simple truth– fear robs us of our happiness, causing us to settle for far less than we’re capable of.

Fear, the reason why so many of us stop believing in ourselves, stop pursuing our dreams and stop love from growing. And none of us are immune to it.

It all comes down to the Comfort Zone. It all comes down to Fear.

Find your strength. Step outside your comfort zone. Take a risk.

Note: It does not have to be a HUGE step, for instance, overcoming your fear of heights by bungee jumping. Baby steps can get your heart racing. Go ahead, tell your crush you like him before it’s too. late.

#believe #comfortzone #dreamsandgoals #fear

Find Your Phrase

Everyone has one…just not everyone has found it yet.

Your Phrase: (n.) A small group of words that you identify with.

This could be through symbolism or events in your past.

It could be spiritual or lyrical. Or both. Or neither.

It could be surface-ish and fun or deep (and still fun).

It can take some explaining or be quite obvious.

It might inspire you or it might remind you.

The one rule is to keep it short! No mission statements or mottos allowed. This is simply a phrase.

The second part to that one rule is BE ORIGINAL. There is a place for “Live Laugh Love” etc. but not in your phrase.

What’s my phrase you ask? It is: Desert Bread and Vineyard Wine.

My reasoning: Hosea 2:14-15 “So I am going to attract her; I will lead her into the desert and speak tenderly to her. There I will give her back her vineyards, and I will make  the Valley of trouble a door of hope.” There is just something about the image of being lead out to a place  that seems so deserted and painful only to be given vineyards and hope that connects so deep in my heart and helps me trust when all I see is blowing sand and geckos.

(Other reasons include: Manna in the desert, water to wine,  the temptation of Jesus, He is the Bread of Life, He is the vine, and we are the branches, The Lord’s supper,  wine is used as a healing balm in the story of the good Samaritan,  I personally like bread and wine, and I also have a thing for deserts and vineyards.)

Phrases may take time, or they may come to you all of the sudden. Good Luck!

(Phrases are not to be glorified in themselves, they are to remind us of that which we want to embody.)

“To be nobody but yourself
in a world that’s doing its
best to make you somebody
else, is to fight the hardest

Follow God and be your own person. Life is too short to be anyone else. Play with your individuality.

Stand for what you believe in. Even if it’s having dessert after every single meal. 🙂

Never conform to other’s standards or compromise your beliefs. For all you people who find it easy to follow the leader, don’t! Stay true to you and don’t change for just anyone.

Never stop fighting. Find your strength and hold tight to your morals and values.

#conform #standforwhatyoubelieve #beingyou #individuality #eecummings

Do You Ever Feel Lost?

I have. And it might just be the worst feeling in the world, right beside heart-ache. You get to experience a bad combination of emotions- depression, confusion, hopelessness, anxiousness, disconnection, but mostly FRUSTRATION.

I think college is overflowing with “lost people.” And that makes it worse! Because you are just swimming along with a bunch of lost fish. [Beware: if you are a so called “follower” it is easy to be lead astray.] Whether it is deciding what to study, facing our soul-sucking jobs, debating where you should live, wondering where your happiness went, figuring out relationships, or even struggling to find a reason to get out of bed in the mornings…we all have dragons to fight.

Feeling lost can be healthy!

What?! How is not knowing what I’m doing with my life healthy? Because it wakes you up that’s why. There is no map telling you which way to turn. And that’s the beauty of it. YOU have to reach deep down in your soul and search for the answer. You have to ask yourself- What do I want out of life?

I finally realized feeling lost is normal and started living by this philosophy when I turned 21. Now, I view feeling lost as an opportunity to grow and learn more about myself. Feeling uneasy and unhappy forces me to evaluate and change what I don’t like about my life. Why do I feel lost? Where do I want to be? What do I need to change?

Wearing Masks, a warning

I wear masks. It’s true. I have a closet full of them ranging from Artistic Hippie to Classy Business Lady to Earth Friendly Hiker to Glamorous Model. Think about it- you probably have different masks that you wear from time to time. Another example, I know my roommate can be a super preppy girl today and extreme soccer player tomorrow.

There is nothing wrong with experimenting with different styles and personalities. That’s how you create yourself! By taking pieces you like from each.

The trick with masks is that sometimes we get lost in them. We become so wrapped up in trying to be an all star or glamour model or whatever it is that we lose our true identity, which causes us to experince that lost feeling. Find Yourself, Lose Yourself & Repeat Forever.

Bottom Line: Be your own person.

#findingyourself #identity #losingyourself #masks