Our time on this planet is finite. Don’t waste it living someone else’s version of your life, or someone else’s life. Don’t get caught up in the beliefs of dogma, which were crafted to control you. As Joseph Campbell said, “Follow your bliss.” Your own heart, your own desires. Listen to your intuition, which is the whisper of your soul. She/he always has your back.

If you are striving to live a balanced and blessed life, patience and timing are key components. Anna Quindlen once said, “You can have it all. Just not at the same time.” Of course we all want it NOW. That’s how the cultural thought thinks, but it’s not going to happen that way. You must develop patience. You must do the work to organize your life so you have the free time to pursue your dreams and desires.

Take your journal: What would you like to be free of this week? Stand outside yourself and examine your life. Choose just one thing you can let go of. One thing that will let you feel lighter. The fear of not being good enough. The fear of dying. The fear of losing your job. Tell yourself you’re taking the week off. Feel the energy around you grow lighter when you’ve released this fear. Allow your Higher Self to tell you, “You’re taking a week off. You need this week to rest.”

They are the sons and daughters of life’s longing for itself.

They come through you but not from you.

And though they are with you, yet they belong not to you.

You may house their bodies, but not souls.

You may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them like you.

You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent  forth.

The Archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite, and He bends you with His might that His arrows may go swift and far.

Let you bending in the archer’s hand be for gladness; for even as He loves the arrow that flies, so He loves also the bow that is stable.” Khalil Gibran

Today our grandson turns 5. It seems just like yesterday he was born. No, it seems like yesterday our children were little. It time is a dream, then I am living this glorious dream in vivid color. Watching Charlie grow and become a person in his own right is a gift. It’s his day. And for dinner we are having tacos and rolls–because that is what is favorite food is!

Is your life in order? If you slipped away in the middle of the night at the hands of an angel, would your loved ones know where everything is and what you want accomplished? If you look at each day as a life, then it makes sense to place your affairs in order each day, no matter what your age. Earlier we eliminated clutter in our lives. Today is a good day to place order in your life. Walk into each room in your house. Is it clean, neat, and orderly?  Are there items you can eliminate, or perhaps put away for another season? It’s part of the human experience to have clutter pile up, but what I’ve discovered that when my physical surroundings are chaotic and cluttered, it’s a sign that my inner life is out of balance. Getting organized has been one of my top priorities. My mind is clearer. I am more focused, and I get more accomplished. As a teacher, I learned to live by a lesson plan, which I transferred over to my personal life.

I have arrived at a place where my surroundings are neat, organized, and balanced. Even at work. Today is our annual “tag sale”. As I told our employees, no price is too low. This stuff needs to go. It’s amazing how much stuff piles up in the course of a year.

Becoming organized is a wonderful accomplishment. Create order in your life, then you won’t spend your life searching for your keys!

When I taught college English, I always told my students the responsibility of learning is on the learner. Sometimes you have gifted teachers, sometimes you have ordinary teachers, but it is your responsibility to learn. Don’t blame someone else. I can’t tell you how many times students and people have told me they got through high school without ever reading a book. First, I don’t believe you, and second, why would you do that to yourself? Confucius once said a wise man knows he knows nothing. There is so much to learn out in this vast universe we will never tap even a small portion.

For me, my lifelong love of learning began with reading. I grew up in a time when there were only three TV channels, in black and white, that went off air at eleven. Thus, we all became avid readers, a gift we gave to our children, who are passing it forward to their own children. You have to be motivated to stretch your mind and develop a curiosity toward learning. Your worldview will expand and you will derive countless hours of pleasure.

Take your journal. Write what interests you. What do you want to learn how to do? What books have you always wanted to read but never made the time? Reading tastes vary from person to person. The trick is to find a book you like, not a book someone else likes. Visit the library. Peruse the shelves. Visit the bookstore. I always told my students to read the first few pages to see if the narrative grabs you and the text is not over your reading level. There are three reading levels. Independent, where you are reading for pleasure. The words flow. You don’t have to look up meanings. Instructional: Where you are learning a task, skill, or a concept. Oftentimes, a teacher is instructing. Frustrational: A book that is way over your head and it is not fun to read. For me that would be Calculus.

We are born with a  finite amount of energy.  We lose this vital life force through the aging process, and by the time most of us are in our forties and fifties we have depleted our reserves.  Life, people, and stress rob our reserves.  There is no room for negative energy. Do not invest your energy in negativity. When you hear people talk negatively, smile and walk away, surrounding yourself with white light to repel the darkness. In a prior post I explained toe tapping as a way to increase your daily energy. Exercise increases energy–exercise that gets your heart rate elevated.

What better time of year to work on increasing your energy! The days are lengthening, the weather is warmer, and most of us feel better. You can gather your energy with exercise, focused movements, (toe tapping), and breath exercises. Here is a simple exercise to ground yourself to Mother Earth.

Sit crossed legged in a quite place. Close your eyes.

Take a few deep breaths to the belly. In and out. Feel yourself relax.

Feel your body’s connection to the earth below.

Visualize a strand of energy leaving your body and anchoring deep into the ground.

Feel the earth’s connection with you. Take four big deep breaths and open your eyes. You are now grounded.

Do this exercise twice daily.

Health Tip: Our bodies are mostly water; however, many people do not drink enough water. When people think their hungry, they are actually thirsty. Room temperature water is the best for you. Work towards drinking 64 ounces a day and watch your energy increase.

Nature teaches us patience. She also illustrates, if we listen and watch, that we are not in control. The only thing we have control over in our lives is our inner life, which is where meditation helps. We must learn to let go. We must learn patience, and we must learn that in order to live a blessed life we must be in balance. To live in balance, we need to live in harmony and live with the rhythms of the seasons. We must respect Nature’s laws and learn to take the seasons and weather as they come. I often find it interesting that people spend a large chunk of their energy complaining about the weather–as if we can control the weather! Even the weatherman can’t get it right.

Your goal needs to be living in balance. Spring is an easier time to be in balance. The days are warmer and longer. The air is filled with the scent of flowers. Here is a simple breathing meditation to help you make the most of this glorious day.

Place your hands over your lower abdomen between the pubic bone and below the navel. Breathe into your lower abdomen, allowing it to fill with air with the inhalation and deflate with the exhalation. Moving energy into one’s body requires attention and awareness. When thoughts float through your mind, gently let them float away without attaching meaning to them. Focus on your hand placement for attention and your breath for awareness. Do this meditation for two to three minutes five times a day.

“A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than you love yourself.” Josh Billings

Five years ago my beloved beagle, Jack, died suddenly. He suffered some seizures. We raced him to the vet, but it was too late. I grieved for months. Jack was only six–way too young to pass. He was quite the character at work. He was in our commercials, people called for him on the phone, and when they’d come they’d ask to see Jack. It was hard, and after a year of grieving, we got Lulu.

Yesterday I went up to his grave, wiped the pine needles off the sign, and prayed. I imagine when I get to Heaven, Jack will be there to greet me with his howl, because that’s what beagles do: howl and sniff.  Many times his nose got him into trouble. Dogs teach us mere mortals many lessons. Unconditional love, even when we are most unlovable. Compassion when we don’t want to feel it. Patience because they are always waiting for us with a wagging tail. I am a better person because of the fours dogs we have had over the course of our marriage. Daily, we walk Lulu. She diverts the focus off myself and the worries of the day. She teaches me to live in the moment, use my nose, and roll around in the dirt because life is dirty and messy.

God Bless You, Jack. And don’t get into too much mischief in Heaven.

Today is Mother’s Day, a day set aside to honor mothers everywhere. If you are a mother, I hope you enjoy this blessed day with your children. Motherhood is one of the toughest jobs I ever had, but it is the job that has brought me the most satisfaction. To quote Maslow, our jobs is to raise self-actualized humans, and I have. (along with hubby’s help) My children and I have different relationships now. No longer am I after them to clean their rooms, finish their homework, and take out the garbage. They are grown adults and they have to take out their own garbage. Now they give me advice, which I have learned to listen and adhere to. One of the blessings of not killing them when they were teenagers, is the gift of grandchildren, which are the icing on the cake of life. I’m a different Nana then I was a Mother. The only rule I have is not to hurt yourself. If you want gummy bears for breakfast, I’m okay with that. Cake, why not?                                                                                              

Take your journal. Sit in a quiet place. What did your mother teach you? Parents are our first teachers, and we usually spend more times with our mothers than our fathers. My mother taught me the love of reading, piling all four of us into the back of the station wagon and driving us to the library where we took out stacks of books. I must have read every Nancy Drew book by the time I was nine. My mother is very creative and taught me how to keep an organized house filled with color and beauty. She also instilled the love of learning. College was a requirement, and two of us went on to graduate school. She also taught me tenacity, having the strength to pull herself through this last illness. Happy Mother’s Day, Mom!

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

What one thing could make my life more joyful this beautiful spring day? What can you experience this day to realize that you only have this moment? What can you do that will make your spirit dance for joy? Sit in meditation. Breathe deeply and ask your higher self these questions. Wait and listen. The answers always come when the mind (ego) is quiet. Meditation will help you quiet your mind. Another thing is exercise that gets your heart rate up. You should strive for this three times a week. What are activities that elevate your heart rate? Jogging, cycling, aerobic exercise of any type, hiking, and power walking. These activities will increase your stamina to tackle life’s challenges and you will feel much better. (Make sure you get your doctor’s approval first. And if you haven’t done anything in awhile, start slow.)

And for me on this beautiful spring day? Why, I’m going to enjoy some ice cream outdoors? That will make me jump for joy.

“Are you going to lead or are you going to follow,” the spinning instructor’s voice asks as I push the pedals to the beat. Glancing outside the window, I watch a herd of deer make their way down the mountain, following the lead deer. As they traversed the mountain, one deer stopped, almost defiantly as if to say, “I’m not going this way just because you say so. There’s a better way. Plus, over there is a large crop of delectable bushes and I’m hungry.”

Watching the deer, I smiled. Oftentimes people cause themselves undue stress because they follow, instead of lead. Take your journal. Are there times in your life where you should lead instead of following like the mule deer? Our spirits know what we came here to do. It is imperative that we listen to our own voices and not the voices of others.

Health Tip: Spring brings warmer weather and the opportunity to eat more fruits and vegetables. Scientists have confirmed eating 2-3 apples per day results in decreased cholesterol levels. The pectin in this magical fruit helps prevent colon cancer. Why not cut up an apple, spread several tablespoons of non fat yogurt on top, sprinkle with wheat germ and flax seeds and enjoy?