I Love my daughter! She's freeakin' AWESOME!
If you are blessed with healthy, happy, relatively normal (?) children or especially if your child is unwell, acting up or a royal pain (we've all been there) take a minute to send them some Love. If they have a mobile phone send them a text, or post on their wall a little reminder of just how precious they are to you. Yes, there are days when you want to scream at the top of your lungs and it's only those episodes of CSI (they'd work out it was me) that you've watched that have stopped you from sending your child into the next world (every parent especially if you have teenagers has thought about it - don't lie!).
Being a parent is challenging (ask my cat!) but the rewards are immeasurable. Our children are our gift to the world and they are amazing! No matter how badly we screw up as care providers our children remain loyal and unwavering in their Love. It takes a LOT for a child to wash their hands of their parents. We really have to screw up BIG time for a child to denounce us. So let's give our most precious resource the Love, respect and ATTENTION they need and deserve.
We're living in challenging times. Money is on all our minds and parents in particular are carrying additional weights on their shoulders. But let's not lose focus. Let's not forget that whilst we have a responsibility to keep a roof over our heads, dinner on the table and clothes on our children's back, we are mums and dads FIRST and foremost and our children (and partners) need to know that they are the most important people in our lives. It is not enough to know that you Love your children. It is not enough for you to ASSUME that they know you Love them. It is our single duty as parents and care providers to reassure through daily demonstration just how important our children are to us and it starts with stopping what you are doing right NOW and taking a minute to think about your child/children and remember why you are doing what you are doing and where your Joy really lies.
Don't let the demands of world of illusion blind you to what matters most.
You are NOT too busy to hold in your mind a wonderful thought of a child you chose to bring into this world.
So do it. Do it now! Show them some Love and really feel in your heart the power of the gift life hasgenerously blessed you with.
If you are not a parent then think about the children young and older who bring Joy into your life and be thankful for their presence too.
Today, let's make a commitment to show our future generation what they mean to us right NOW>
Lots of Love. <3
xxx
Phone rings. It's one of my ex boyfriends. "Alright Girl! I'm in the city fancy lunch?" As tempting as wild mushroom polenta washed down with a Bellini or 2 is, I have another appointment so reluctantly decline. I haven't spoken to him since April and we've got loads to catch up on so we slip into a natural conversation about the current events of our lives. There are genuine and heart felt congratulations and commiserations between us. I really enjoy our conversation, he gives me advice and I give him advice and everything flows so naturally between us and I realise this is because we actually have a genuine friendship. I don't feel the pressure to be the all Loving, sexy, supportive girlfriend and he doesn't feel the need to be gentleman come all action super hero. There are no false barriers to hide behind. I see through him and he sees through me, we really are "Just good friends." And I absolutely adore him.
Serendipity brought us together one afternoon. I'd been single for a while and he'd just come out of a long relationship so really and truly we were never really destined at that moment in time to have more than an intense and passionate 6 months together which we did. Loads in common bringing out the best in and inspiring each other.It was great but we were romancing on borrowed time. I wanted a grown up relationship, he was just getting over one so when he rang me and said "Baby we need to talk." I had an idea of where we were heading and although it was sad when he sat in front of me and admitted that he was still in Love with his ex I felt nothing but compassion, no anger, no bewilderment and none of the torture that comes from having lots of questions and no answers. As he opened his heart and honestly told me respectfully and kindly to my face that he couldn't give me the commitment I wanted I realised that I didn't want this amazing man out of my life. He was right we didn't have a future as a couple we had a future as something even more amazing, we had a future as friends.
When we get romantically involved with people our perspectives can go out the window. In a fit of passion and excitement we get caught up in the romance of what we want and can overlook the often overlooked reason this person has come into our lives.
After having such a good open and honest chat with my ex I began to feel very thankful for his presence in my life. I appreciate him and I thank him for being the one who made the adult decision to end our relationship. But what makes me appreciate and Love him even more is the way he ended it. Instead of leaving me a "I'm sorry I can't do this." Post It note on the fridge or just ignoring me was kind enough to afford me the respect, compassion and kindness of ending our relationship with dignity. I respected him for this more than anything. I didn't walk away feeling used, confused or broken. I walked away with my dignity and it made a huge difference to what happened next between us.
We weren't meant to be a couple long not really, but we had built an incredible friendship and neither one of us wanted to end that and we didn't have to.
Today I've been reflecting on the saying that people come into our lives for a reason, a season and for life and I agree but I think if you scratch beneath the surface of that adage there is another layer of learning. Maybe one or two exceptional people come into our lives for a combination of reason and life, season and reason. This then poses a new challenge with regards to how we enter and exit the lives we touch.
A brave, simple, heartfelt conversation over a Cosmopolitan in a bar transformed 2 former Lovers into loyal, Loving, lifelong friends :-).
My belief in physical Love is that we are gifts to our partners and they are gifts to us.
Romantic Love is a sacred union of two souls who come together for a duration of time that is appropriate for them.
We serve as mirrors to each other bringing to the Light of our consciousness that which needs healing from our past, issues such as anger, jealousy and self worth.
All of our fears are safely brought to the altar of Truth in a truly sacred union and we are given a chance to see them. With our partner's Love, encouragement and support we are given an opportunity to review, assess and safely challenge our own beliefs. Here we can correct our perception of ourselves. If your partner reflects the beauty of who you are back at you, it is a gift. It is your choice however, to accept it and use it to transform into the highest form of your own being.
Conversely, the wonderful aspects that already reside in you are nurtured like the roots of a tree to deepen and expand within the limitless capacity of a relationship that is nourished by
unconditional Love, compassion, tolerance, understanding and above all else acceptance.
The lessons of a relationship are not always easy but this is often due to our resistance as we adapt to learning something new. There are always challenges. We compromise but we ourselves should not be compromised.
Love is our natural state. It responds to itself and deep down inside you already know whether or not the relationship you are in is a true union of the soul. If it is not then the challenge becomes one of courage. We are set the task of not following the impulse of our exceptionally clever ego. Our super smart ego/personaltiy/thought patterns are entrenched and know us so well that it can over ride moments of clarity where we know our partner isn't the right person for us to be with.
The ego acting our of fear, loneliness or desperation (guilty as charged) employs the most seductive and sophisticated of techniques of denial into conning us into believing whole heartedly (now there's irony) that the illusion of "Love" we have found is meant to be and is eternal.
It is not because it is not Love.
"May you find in you what you seek in another."
Lots of Love
xxx
Today I feel physically knackered (I'll reprogramme that thought later :-) but for now I have reverted to my 3 year old self - irritated, tired, hungry and throwing my toys out of my pram! I don't like being tired especially when coherent sentence formation in conversation goes out the window, haha! And as unbecoming as it may be rubbing my eyes, slouching and flailing my arms because everything is such an effort and everyone is deliberately irritating me because I'm always perfect so why are they making my life hard! I do secretly find my (extra) childish behaviour amusing I know I'm driving myself nuts and that after lunch and a nap I'll be fine but there's something liberating in indulging my inner brat and having a good laugh at myself that I thoroughly enjoy! A guilt free, guilty pleasure - heehee! It's so easy to lose touch with the fun, free, eternally youthful side of our natures. The essence of who we are. We worry so much about Life that it often gets in the way of Living.
Children have amazing free spirits that really don't give a damn. Their needs are always met. Their needs are simple - feed me, make me laugh! They don't worry about deadlines, bills, relationships or fibre intake! They don't care if they're dirty and/or (often) smelly. Split ends, weight loss and cashflow mean nothing when you've just pulled a booger out your nose that's green and sticky! I know it's gross but see if a 3 year old cares as they proudly wave their finger at you. We're talking about little people who eat crap off the floor and pick up worms to show you how they wriggle and then do that wiggle dance that only the under 5's master just to emphasise the point. They'll slap a cat, deny they did it (not cool), walk away defiantly, demand what they want NOW and tell you "NO" if a request displeases them. They embody curiosity, with their never ending questions and unbroken spirits and being the closest creatures to God on this earth are my personal inspiration!
I can remember taking my daughter to playgroup as a toddler and she'd never want to leave. Adamant that what she was doing (usually involving sand in her hair) was far more important than me needing to get to the bank or go to the supermarket. Being happy was all that mattered, being happy came first! Looking back she was right! I laugh at the things she did that annoyed me so much at the time especially the day she refused to eat her mashed veggies and knocked the spoon out of my hand so I retaliated by turning the bowl upside down onto her head! The look of shock on her face was priceless!!! LOL! Good times :-)
What happens to us as adults? At what point did life get so complicated? At what point did it stop being FUN??? Why are we no longer playful? Where did we lose our Joy? Being responsible doesn't detract from being a Human Being, emphasis on the "Being". If Life is a balancing act (I disagree) but if it is then surely allowing room to indulge your own precocious needs is part of the equation? The world won't stop turning just because you decide to read a book or go to a movie on your own, or practice handstands in your garden or my personal favourite - do absolutely nothing! Whatever self indulgence you want to partake of, however ridiculous or sublime, I suggest you GO FOR IT! Go on. Indulge yourself. You don't need anyone else's permission!!!
You were never created to bear the weight of the world on your shoulders or carry such troubles in your heart. You can not give the best of yourself to others in your life if you do not first give the best of yourself to yourself by honouring your own feelings and taking care of your own needs, even if it's just for an hour. You are the foundation of your life upon which everything else is built - Construct with CARE!
Live a little, Live A LOT and LOVE LOVE LOVE every minute of your day, even when it's driving you nuts! But above all Laugh! Nothing brings and radiates Light in a darkened world more than the sound of laughter and nothing is more contagious!
Hmmm, I'd love to spend the afternoon in one of those indoor soft playhouses up to my neck in colourful plastic balls!!! LOL! I need a kid! Damn! Oh well pie and mash it is! Pass the Play Doh!
:-)
