Awareness

Awareness

It’s usually not until something hits close to home for us do we become more aware.  Not just of the situation, issue, or diagnosis at hand, but we become more aware in general. The things that annoyed us, well know we don’t even notice them anymore. How we spend our time and who we spend it with becomes much more meaningful. We have no time for petty arguments, toxic situation or people, and certainly we are hyper focused on surrounding ourselves with hope and positivity. Slowing down becomes something you cherish since you are present in more moments than you were before. Connections become deeper and even in what could be a very stressful or painful time, your life purpose could start to emerge in an entire new way.  Life happens to us to bring us more awareness of not just each other, but ourselves, our connections, and what we bring to this world as well as what lessons we need to continue to learn and grow from. The more aware you become, no matter the circumstance, the more you understand your connection to the bigger picture and that will give you hope and steady you for what’s to come. Sometimes when life breaks you down, it’s to rebuild you even stronger than before.

This DP is dedicated to the Boggess Family.  

#SuperCooper #CooperStrong #EpilepsyAwareness

Pause

Pause
It's always good now and again to pause. We are usually on the go from the time our feet hit the floor in the morning until we pass out in our beds at night. In between can be such a blur as most of it we do without even a real thought to it whether it's cooking, getting our kids to the next game, school work, job duties, you name it and we just plow through our days. Before you allow this day to get away from you, take the time to pause. Reflect on where you were a year ago. What were you able to accomplish and how has your life changed in the process? Pausing and reflecting on our lives allows us to see the bigger picture. It also allows us to connect with the present and get a deeper understanding of how much we have grown. It also gives us the space to breath and that we all deserve. For today find several moments that you can pause, reflect, sit in gratitude and awe over this entire experience you are having. It's amazing how our focus and attitude can change once we give ourselves time to just stop ... and be...

Loss

Loss

When you lose someone, especially all of the sudden, the loss can be so great that it can be  paralyzing. Nothings seems real anymore. Your world has been turned upside and you no longer feel a sense of security that you felt before. Colors have changed, words no longer hold the same meaning, and time seems to stand still. As hard as you try you just can't rationalize the loss in any way because it just doesn't make sense ... and it never really will. It's in this time though that you can do the most growing and healing, if you allow yourself. Grieving breaks us wide open. It tears down our walls and makes us vulnerable. In that vulnerability is healing. It's the power of being able to let go of the past. It's the opportunity to see each other as souls having a human experience. It's about being able to let sh*t go that you should no longer be holding on to. It's the releasing of all that you've been carrying around for far too long. With loss comes the deeper understanding that love and connection are the only things we take with us in the end. 

Best

Best

It is easy to stoop to someone else's level. It's easy to clap back at another if they provoked you first. It's almost a knee jerk reaction to respond when someone baits you. But after you let those words fly out of your mouth did you really feel any better? Did that person all the sudden stop and say, "you know you're absolutely right. I was a jerk. I'm sorry" or did the exact opposite happen and they continued to come back at you?

We feel the need to defend ourselves, our point of view, our beliefs, our values, our everything all the time. It can be utterly exhausting because at the end of the day did we really change anyone's opinion or just feel beat up and tired. Well then just stop. You don't have to engage in every conversation you are invited to. You don't have to answer back especially if you know it will fall on deaf ears. You can be selective with your words and walk away from a situation with your head still held high. Be the best version of yourself always.

United

United

Sometimes it takes a tragedy in order to see each other as what we all are; souls having a human experience. We quickly see the commonality between us, not the differences. We still don't have to agree or have the same opinion but the mutual respect that we have finding common ground is enough to build that connection.

It doesn't take a lot in order to look at your neighbor, or the person across from you on the train, or the person you are sharing an armrest with on a long flight, or the new person at your job, or a person shopping in the same aisle as you in the grocery store, to connect. All it takes is for you to see that person as well, a person just trying to make it through another day just like you.

We all have our own stories, our own experiences and we all can feel love, hope, and connection if we allow ourselves to lead with that first. All of those lost on Sept. 11th could never feel their loved ones embrace or hear the words I love you again nor can any of the family members left to carry on. 18 years later, have we build a nation on that feeling of connection we had on September 12th or did we allow that to somehow erode? It's time to challenge ourselves to be better, to do better, to connect more with each other person to person. It's time we remember who we were on that day and who we ultimately are - united.

Boundaries

Boundaries
People will take advantage of your kindness if they can. If you don't know how to say no when you mean it then you are going to always be in a state of feeling pulled in many directions. Saying no doesn't mean you are a bad person. It doesn't mean you aren't kind. Saying no and setting boundaries means you understand deeply that you must protect your energy, your time, and ultimately your soul to have balance and peace in your own life. Here is your permission to say no to anything that doesn't feed your soul -

• No to helping move that friend - again!
• No to seeing that comedian - who you don't think is that funny anyway
• No to running errands for someone else when your list is a mile long
• No to taking a "working" lunch
• No to taking that trip someone else wants to take but doesn't want to go alone

If you are asked to do something and it doesn't feel right, it takes away your own time to take care of yourself, it collides with your self-care, then just don't do it anymore. Only say yes to things you really mean. Once you do that, watch just how peaceful and joyful your world truly becomes.

Stress

Stress
We've all been stressed. Some of us reading this right now feel overwhelmed and maybe even anxious. There is so much going on within us and around us that makes it so hard to feel at peace. We try our best but it seems that by the end of the day we are left with the feeling - what happened to today! We are concentrating so much on things beyond our control and worrying about things that could possibly happen in the future that we find ourselves too stressed to really enjoy the "right now".  We've stopped allowing ourselves to practice that in which brings us calmness because we feel either we no longer have the time or we are not worthy of our own attention.

Prolonged stress causes many things, including illness. There is not one more minute to waste on finding ways to release and let go of what you can. Your health and life depend on it. Take a look at what causes you the most anxiety. What can you do about it? Are there ways to lessen the burdens so that you can breath a little more? What are you trying to control that you can't? Somewhere you need to allow yourself to resign as master of the universe. You have far less control than you think and once you realize that, you allow your soul to start to relax.

Above all, our stress usually comes from keeping things within and not reaching out to others not just for help but maybe just a listening ear. Being able to express what's going on will release the pressure from inside. You are not in this life alone, you don't have to go it alone, nor do you have to figure it all out alone either. Take steps today to start to release your fears, burdens, and stress and know that it's okay to not only ask for help but to also stop and just be for awhile...

Free Yourself

Free Yourself
You will come across people in life that appear to have your back, to want the best for you, to be cheering you on and yet you will discover that these same people had a lot to say about you when you weren't in the room. They may have even tried to sabotage you personally or professionally. Some people do not understand that there is room for everyone; that someone else's success doesn't equal their failure. They haven't figured out they can be empowering others as well as themselves at the same time. Well guess what, you don't have to have them in your circle of trust while they figure this out! You only need to surround yourself with those who uplift you, those that revel in your success as if it were their own, and those who push you to keep being better and doing better. You also need to be that person in return ALWAYS. If you can't, you have no business being in their lives and if they can't be that person for you - well then it's time to cut the cord and say bye!

Silence

Silence
The most powerful tool you have is not your words but your silence. When you stop talking you can finally hear all that's swirling around you. You will be able to decipher truth from lies. You will get clarity on situations and relationships. Silence doesn't mean you lost your voice, it means you gained wisdom. Look at the situations in your life and see where you need to turn down the volume and get quiet. It's in the silence that you find your answers and your strength.

Regrets

Regrets
Every challenge you've gone through, every decision you've made, every relationship you've experienced has all lead you to being who you are. You've learned what you value. You've learned what you will tolerate. You've learned what's important to you. It has all lead up to this moment. Regrets should have no place in your story. Regrets mean that something shouldn't have been, that you would have made a different choice but would you be who you are right now if everything had gone smooth and according to your plan? Lessons can be disguised as regrets if we mask them as such. By thinking this way we deny learning from the lesson and my friends life is really just one giant lesson! So regret nothing. If you didn't like a choice you made well here's the key - make another one! That's the beauty of life - it's meant to be lived and we are meant to learn every step of the way.

Release

Release
Holding on to the past, to pain, to guilt, to frustration, to betrayals, to anything other than what gives you peace will suffocate you if you let it. It will consume your thoughts, it will cloud your decisions in the present, and it will keep you from growing. By releasing all of the baggage - ALL OF IT - you allow yourself permission to grow. You give room for miracles. You pave the way for a smoother journey. Releasing means freedom and don't you deserve to finally be free...

Hope

Hope

There are times where you feel like life is coming at you sideways. Before one challenge ends, another one pops up ... or maybe even three more. You feel beyond stressed and just want to say enough already. It's during these times that it's so hard to concentrate on what's positive. It's hard to be grateful when everything seems to be coming down on you. That's when you hold tightly on to hope because even in the most difficult of situations, you know deep down that this too shall pass. You ultimately know that when challenges occur, that's life setting you up for something better to  come along. If you can hold on and find your calm in amongst these storms, that itself is a  lesson. Remember, pressure produces diamonds and heck, at this rate you will come out the most beautiful gem the world has ever known. Don't forget how resilient and strong you are. You got this!

Crutch

Crutch

Sometimes we are there too much for people. Sometimes we are there so much that we put ourselves last. Sometimes we allow others to walk all over us as we support them, not seeing all along that they were just using us as a mechanism to get ahead. It it time we take the blinders off for good. It's time to take an inventory of the people we give our energy too. 

Take a long hard look and see which relationships are more of a give than a take. Who is supporting you as well or who is just taking advantage of your kindness, your empathy, and your giving heart? Keep those who have the best intentions for you and vice versa. Anyone else, well it's time to go!  It's time to cut the cord for good to anyone not in your life for the right reasons. 

Afloat

Afloat
This thing called life can weigh you down if you are not careful. As you navigate through, you will be faced with challenges and stressful situations. If you allow it to permeate your soul, you can find yourself drowning and barely staying afloat. That's because you have allowed these choppy seas to get inside your vessel. You didn't understand at the time that you could choose another way. You could choose not to take on other people's opinions or problems. You could choose to stand in your truth. You could choose to not engage in the drama. You could choose to remain strong and peaceful despite the storms around you. Don't ever allow these situations to sink you. Grab all of the lessons you learned and wear them as a life jacket and guide yourself to calmer seas.

Reflect

Reflect

We judge people all of the time. We point fingers or espouse “words of wisdom” trying to help other people be better, do better, or even act better … all the while we are not correcting our own behavior. We tell people what they should eat in order to be healthy and yet we stopped at DD to get a glazed chocolate donut for breakfast. We tell people to control their kids meanwhile ours are off being the ring leader of bad behavior. We tell our friend to dump the loser they are dating and yet our own partner has left us in tears - again. We tell others to leave the job they despise, meanwhile another year has gone by of us hating our own career path. We run around with opinions about everything, except our own actions. Here’s a secret, no one is going to listen to you if your own house is messy. No one is going to take anything you say seriously unless you are walking the walk and talking the talk.

 

Before you point the finger of judgement, do yourself a favor and point it right back at yourself. Get honest. Ask yourself if you are taking your own advice. Then do just that. Take your OWN advice. Stop being the town crier for what everyone else needs to fix and start cleaning up your own backyard.

Remember

Remember
If you are not careful, somewhere along the way you can lose yourself.  The person looking back at you in the mirror has become a stranger. How did that happen? It's easy - life happened and you weren't a priority on your to-do-list.

• You stopped voicing your opinion
• You lost your sense of security
• You did everything for everyone else leaving you with nothing left to give yourself
• You doubted your abilities .... at work, as a mother, as a spouse, etc.
• You held yourself up to other people who seemed to "have it all" and "do it all"
• You let your values be chipped away
• You stopped doing the things that fed your soul

Whatever the reason (or reasons) you lost yourself along the way but that stops NOW.  That stops TODAY. You are unique and have a great purpose to fulfill in this lifetime and that requires you to show up as you. Look at the person in that mirror and this time don't stop starring until you see the person you know looking back. When you do, smile at them and said good to see you old friend... and start living your life for that person.  The one that's always been there. The one that never left. The one that has been patiently waiting to welcome you back with open arms. That's the person whose voice should mean the most to you.  Never allow yourself to abandon them again!

Failure

Failure
We all fail. Sometimes several times in one day. It can start to wear us down and make us feel defeated at times. Failure makes us question ourselves, our beliefs, and what we know so really failure (in all of its glory) is just our teacher. We try, we fail, and the we try again based on what we keep learning. We keep doing this until we succeed. Just like learning how to ride a bike - none of us jumped on a bike for the first time and rode it perfectly down the street. No, we stumbled, panicked, maybe we even fell over a few times before we took everything we learned from all of those failed attempts and finally  "got it".  What happened when we were successful? Well we were physically able to soar!  Well maybe it took us just down the block but the feeling was pure freedom. That's what all of our failures are - moments that teach us how to continuously rise. Embrace the fail every time so that you can fully embrace the win.

Advice

Advice
You know all that sound advice you give to other people and all the pearls of wisdom you have provided over the years? It's been pretty spot on. So the question is then, why haven't you taken your own advice? It's easy for us to tell someone else how to leave a bad relationship, how to handle their money, how to proceed through a divorce, or what to do about this situation and that situation.  We are all experts when it comes to telling other people how to navigate their life. The problem is though, we very rarely take our own advice!  We end up in situations where we are spinning our wheels, pulling out our hair, and sometimes we are even brought to our knees being crippled by what life has thrown in front of our paths. But if we listened to ourselves though, really listened, we always had the answer - we just didn't always want to hear it. Well not anymore. It's time to take own advice, you know the one you have been avoiding listening to. You know the steps you need to take to change your life for the better. You know what you need to do and you know what you would tell someone else in your situation. It's time to stop helping everyone else and this time help the one person who matters most - YOU!

Change

Change
Life is all about change. You should be always evolving, growing, learning, and changing.  You were never meant to stay the same person your entire life. The more knowledge and experience you gain, the more people you meet, the more situations you've gone through have all continued to cultivate who you are. Change is positive. It means your life is in motion. If it's not changing or hasn't in a very long time then it's time to reflect on why. Some of us fear change, we see it as an upheaval to our stability but it doesn't have to be that way. Opportunities come when you allow change to happen. Miracles occur when you allow your life to stay in an upward motion. It's time to welcome in those changes with open arms. Watch how your life expands when you allow yourself to constantly grow.

Explore

Explore
You are meant to be constantly exploring, seeking, and experiencing life. You can't do that if you stay in your comfort zone all of the time. Whether it's exploring new places or going on a self-discovery, there are so many layers of life to behold. There is always more to see, more learn, more to do, more to try, more to ask, more to experience, and more to love. The more you learn about life and about yourself, the more you will find peace and your purpose but you can't do that by staying in the same space or continuing to do what you've always done. Go find the hidden treasurers that are both outside and inside of yourself.

Epic

Epic
You know your potential. You know if there is more for you to do and accomplish in this world. There is no denying what your life purpose is. That can be stifled if you surround yourself with people who don't "get it", who discourage your dreams, or even worse - those who would keep you small because they are threatened by you. You don't need people like that around you. There is a difference between true friends who help guide you along your path and those that insist on being a roadblock to your success.  Remember, you can't shine your light when someone is constantly trying to snuff out your flame. That's not friendship. That's competition. That person has yet to learn that there is enough to go around for everyone. Always lead with love and abundance and be choosy on who your tribe is to help you get there.

Boomerang

Boomerang
The energy you put out in the world is the energy that will come bounding back at you. If you spend your time in a state of constant negativity and scarcity, your life will reflect that. If you spend your time in a state of gratitude and love, your life will reflect that. With every thought and action you create your life. Does this mean there won't be challenges and hardships along the way? Quite the contrary. They will show up to see if you learned the lesson of letting go, being in a state of gratitude, and exuding unconditional love no matter what the situation is. When you stop trying to control other people, when you let go of the pain and hurt, when you decide to only take the lesson with you, only then will your life truly emulate the peace you desire. Don't be concerned with what others put out in the world, first check yourself to make sure that you are leading with love.

Perspective

Perspective

Life is all about perspective. Two people can look at the same situation and see completely different things. Sometimes all it takes is for a change of perspective to see something differently and can open up an entire new world to you. Changing your perspective can feel uncomfortable. It requires you to do things a different way. 

Cross your arms. Go ahead, sit back and cross your arms. Now uncross them. This time cross your arms but reverse of what you just did.

Not easy, right? It took thought and a few seconds of being uncomfortable but you were able to accomplish the goal.

Allowing yourself to use another perspective will facilitate growth. It will give us ways to work through challenges that we couldn't see before. It gives us the space to move, to learn, to not keep doing the same thing over and over again that are just not working for us any longer. 

You were meant to evolve. You were meant to change. You were never made to be stifled. It's all about perspective!

Prisoner

Prisoner
Holding on to the past does one thing - it keeps you locked in that space and time. No matter how much you try to move forward, you keep moving it along right with you because your grip is too tight. You tell yourself that you don't know how to move on. That you no longer remember what it's like not to have this constant pain or hurt walking beside you. So you continue to hold it close and get more angry and confused when your life isn't changing for the better. But life can't change when you refuse to let the old go allow the new in. Both cannot take up the same space and as long as you are holding on to the past, your future will stay on the sideline patiently waiting for you to finally drop the burden of what you've been carrying all these years and welcome it in with both arms. It's that simple and yet the hardest work you will ever do but it is so worth it. You are worth it. Take the lesson, keep the love, drop the pain, and start moving forward.

Curiosity

Curiosity

We are naturally curious. That's who we are but that might have been stifled as you got older due to fear. Curiosity continues to propel us in a forward motion though. To be curious about our passions, interests, where we spend our time, all continues to lead us along our path to our life purpose. Never let your curiosity be replaced by fear, that's' when you stop learning and growing and feeling disconnected from who you are. Be inquisitive about all aspects of your life. Read more. Take classes. Learn a new skill. Make a hobby into a passion. Be curios about everything around you, including you! That's how you tap into your endless potential.

Fear

Fear

What would you do if you weren't afraid? This is a loaded question but can break you open at your core. Fear stops most of us from taking risks, from reaching greater heights, and from taking those chances on ourselves that could lead to a life that we could only dream of... but what if it doesn't have to be a dream? What if the only thing stopping you from reaching your full potential was this underlying fear of failure, rejection, not being worthy enough, or maybe even feeling not smart enough? So you keep yourself small even though there is this constant knowing that you are meant to do more. It's time to start silencing the voice in your head that is telling you to lead with fear and start listening to that inner knowing that you were meant to give more, be more, and do more in this lifetime. Lead with love and watch how your life unfolds in miraculous ways.

Reflection

Reflection
Your life is a reflection of your choices, what you spend your time on, and who you spend your time with. If your life is not reflecting who you truly are, it's time to change the scenery. Why waste one more minute lending your time and attention to anything that doesn't feed your soul? Why give your energy into anything that depletes you, makes your feel tired and unsettled? Why allow yourself to be used, taken advantage of, or compromised in any way? Your life is a reflection of who you are. Make sure you love what you see looking back at you.

Forgive

Forgive
The most powerful tool you can give yourself is the act of forgiveness. Forgiving doesn't mean condoning the behavior, it means you will no longer allow that anger and upset to live inside of you. It also means letting go that the situation could have been different.  The most important person to forgive though is the hardest and that person is yourself. You were only doing the best you could at that time. Now that you know differently, you can choose differently the next time. Forgive yourself for missing that opportunity, for not leaving the relationship earlier, for not speaking your mind, for not walking away from any harmful situation, for staying at that job too long, for everything you berate yourself about - it's time to forgive. 

Stop Waiting

Stop Waiting

So much of our lives are wasted away on waiting. We wait for the right moment for everything. We think that happiness is something we can only experience come the weekend, or if we are on vacation, or if we have the "right" job, or if we are healthy enough, or even better - if we are with the right person...and so on. As we wait to live life, we completely miss the incredible moments and opportunities that greet us every single day.

So stop it.  Stop waiting for tomorrow. Stop waiting for the right moment. That moment is NOW. Embrace the fact that should be living for today. Laugh more, love hard, eat that piece of cake, go give that shelter pup a home, clean that closet, purchase that shoe, enroll in that class, apply for that job, go on that date, say hi to that neighbor, read that book, and take every moment in ... for that's when you stop waiting and really start living.

Detox

Detox

Your body needs time to decompress from everything that you've put it through over the past year or more.  It can only take so much and so can your spirit. As the flowers are starting to bloom through the soil, it's time for you to detox your life. Whether it's a physical or emotional detox, you can't afford to delay it any longer. It's time to get yourself centered, peaceful, and whole again. It's time to shed the pounds that have been weighing you down. It's time to let go of people who are not uplifting to your life or soul. It's time to look for career changes if you are no longer happy with the work that you do. Nothing is holding you back from making these life altering shifts but you. Detoxing is hard, it's painful, it's uncomfortable, but so is staying exactly where you are now. As you lighten your load you also lesson your burdens and stress. Here is your loving nudge to begin.

Hang On

Hang On
Life will throw you curveballs where you might feel like you are hanging on by a thread. You might be doing everything within your power and grasp just to stay steady and to not let go. That's ok. That makes you human. Life can come at us at full speed and sometimes it's just so hard ... but hang on because you got this! You are stronger than anything thrown at you and ultimately, you will find your balance again. It may take some time and you might be hanging on for a awhile but life will steady itself and so will you.

Rise

Rise
Getting back up after being knocked down by life can be the hardest thing you will ever have do and it seems as though you have to do it time and time again. 

Rising up means you forgive yourself and you release yourself from old hurt and pain.
Rising up means you are willing to learn from your past & try again but this time a different way.
Rising up means you refuse to let anything that is a challenge to stop you from your purpose.
Rising up means you embrace life as messy and glorious as it can be and keep going.
Rising up means you allow others to help you along the way.
Rising up means you realize you have so much more to give.
Rising up means you open yourself up to love again.
Rising up means you change your situation in order to change your life for the better.

You become stronger by allowing yourself to rise back up ... so dust yourself off and go!

Destiny

Destiny
Each one of us has a life purpose. We were put here to do extraordinary things but more often than not we get swept in the belief that we aren't good enough, we don't have the resources, or we experience situations that seem to derail us from our path. What if all of the challenges were not to throw you off but to teach you, to bring you closer to your purpose, and maybe even to help others on their personal journey? What if everything that has happened has been a book full of lessons for you to master and then share with others? Know that everything in your life, both good and bad, was put there to guide you to your fullest potential. Pay attention to you life, believe in your abilities and strengths, and let that fuel you to actualizing your destiny!

Release

Release
We carry around our past hurt and burdens like a blanket just because we can't remember what it is like not to have them around. We get so used to them being with us that we stop recognizing the harm it's truly causing to our souls. We may have even convinced ourselves that as long as we carry them around, we can't be hurt again. Well we have told ourselves a lie! 

When we carry around our pain we don't have any arms left to carry around the joy. We have blocked ourselves from feeling any emotion since the space is taken up by pain. Two things cannot occupy the same space and it's the same way for our emotions. Pain is a feeling and it can't live on top of joy. It just does't work that way. We must finally release the hurt in order to live the life we were meant to live. It's time to give yourself permission to feel again, to be present again, to love again, to laugh again, and above all to fully live again.

Spring

Spring
Today is the day where life starts to awaken. The past few months were a time of reflection, cleaning, and resting. Now is the time for new beginnings. Now is the time to watch everything you have put your time and attention to bloom in leaps and bounds. Now is the time where life ushers in "the new".
     New relationships
     New opportunities
     New growth
     New awareness
     New ideas
This is the time in our lives where we can grow tremendously, if we let ourselves. It's time to shed everything that has not served our higher self and leave room for the "new" to blossom. Spring is a time for awakenings...so stretch, yawn, open your eyes and bloom where you are planted!

Resilience

Resilience
Life will happen to us. Things will go wrong. Not every day will go smooth. That's when we find our resilience. It's that deeper understanding that you might not able to control a situation but you can control your attitude about it. 
     You are not an illness.
          You are not an injury.
               You are not a failure.
                    You are not broken.
When life happens to you, don't let it define who you are. Find your way to come back even stronger.

Perspective

Perspective

How you view the world is through your own personal lens. That lens has been layered by your experiences. As you look at people and situations, you tend to only see it through that one particular lens leading to misunderstanding and miscommunication. It's time to see things through a different perspective. Take the time to look at a situation from many angles, not just the story you are playing in your head. No situation is alike just like no person is like another. The more you try and put your own expectations and experience on someone else, the more you will find that narrows the picture. Take the time to widen your lens, to look at situations from multiple perspectives or here's an even crazier idea - look at something with no preconceived notions at all. The story you built in your head never usually matches the actual situation. Remember, if you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change (Wayne Dyer).

Fly

Fly

You were born to fly. It's as simple and as profound as that. You are here for a reason. You matter to this world. There are lessons to be learned, wounds left to heal, and most importantly you have untapped potential left to discover. The abilities you were born with are your life purpose. That is your calling. The strengths you already possess are the keys you have been searching endlessly for but yet you have been looking at the deficits for the answer this whole time. If you quiet your soul, you already know what your life purpose entails. You may not know the pathway to get there (none of us do) but that's the journey we are all on together. It's time for you to finally embrace who you are, all the talent that lies at your fingertips, and spread your wings and finally allow yourself to fly.

Walls

Walls

We have been taught that in order to keep ourselves safe, barriers are needed.  We need fences around our houses, gates to enter our communities, and now a wall around our borders. 

Somewhere we have translated this to be true for our hearts as well.  We have learned to guard them fiercely due to past pain and hurt. We have convinced ourselves that by having these barriers up, we will never get hurt again. 

What are you so afraid of though? Someone hurting you? Not being good enough? Not living up to your potential? Well guess what, people will hurt you and people will disappoint you because we are all human! Everyone is walking around with open wounds and 10 foot barriers and colliding into each other all of the time. When you allow your true self to shine through though, you will attract those people into your life that have also let their walls down. You have given your life the space it needs to expand and grow in the right direction. By taking down your walls you have broadened your world, your life, and ultimately your ability to love.

Recognize that the walls you built are only doing one thing - keeping you in. Don't confine yourself any longer.  Release the walls, release the past, and start living for today.

Rest

Rest
We spend so much time in motion. We run from one chore to another and the next thing we know the day is almost done. We look back and say what happened today? What did I accomplish? Sometimes we may even feel a slight bit guilty if we stop being in motion. We feel that we don't have the right to just stop for a moment as long as there are dishes in the sink, laundry to be done, cleaning to accomplish, projects to finish, papers to write, etc. We continue to stay in motion only stopping to collapse or just fall asleep on the couch to wake up a few hours later and do it all over again. 

But for what? Why can't we just let ourselves off the hook from time to time and just...
-have that cup of coffee while watching the Golden Girls
-play with your kid(s) and make more of a mess than they would
-give your dog more than a 1 minute belly rub
-read that book that's been sitting next to your bed for the past few months
-hold hands with your loved one while you chat about the day instead of holding your phone

There is not time like the present to allow yourself to unwind from a long week and just give your body and mind the time it needs to rest and recharge. You don't have to apologize for doing that; quite the contrary. Be the role model on what it looks like to rest and take care of yourself so that you can tackle part of your list another day.

Timing

Timing

Timing is everything.  The universe always answers us back about our desires and dreams but most of the time it’s not in the timing we were looking for or packaged how we envisioned.  It’s usually at the most inopportune time, or so we think. We throw our hands up and say “really … right now! What happened to 6 months ago or in 2 years!” But as we throw our hands up – keep them up and then turn your palms up to the sky. Realize that in this moment you were given a gift, be open to it, embrace it as much as you can, and understand you are given exactly what you need at exactly the right time even if you don’t see it through that lens right now. Whatever happens know that life has your back and be open to it creating miracles along the way.

Laughter

Laughter

When was the last time you laughed? Like really laughed? If it wasn't yesterday than it's time to find the humor in life because it is nothing short of humorous. In most situations there is humor but we must allow ourselves to not take our situations or even ourselves so seriously that we forget to find the funny. Even in the most trying moments of life, there is reasons to smile and to laugh. Never apologize for finding the reasons to smile, for laughing so hard it hurts, and for embracing life in all of it's gloriously ridiculous moments. Your homework is simple, go find the funny in today and see how much you not only feel lighter but by the end of the day you can rest your head with a smile.

Angry

Angry
So many people are walking around angry. They are angry at their jobs, their life, their spouses, people they don't even know and well, just everything. We see it every day through the TV, computers and our phones. Every story or video seems to lead with arguments and fights. It can almost seem that the entire world has become bitter and nobody knows how to have a conversation or play nice in the sandbox anymore.

Well, it's time to change our view. Turn off the TV, put down the phone, walk away from the computer and realize that you are surrounded by amazing things every single day. The acts of kindness around you or that you are apart of may never make the news but they will be imprinted on your soul. They tell the bigger story, the one that is not being told; that people are still loving and good. Find those stories. Post those on your social media pages. More importantly, be conscious of the energy you put out there in this world. If you lead with patience, love and empathy, your world will open up. If you lead with anger and hostility, you keep you world small. Be responsible for what you say and how you treat people, for that will be how your story is told in the end.

Reaction

Reaction
Situations happen in life which cause us to be on the defensive right away. We get angry and frustrated but what we are really upset about is that we feel a lack of control. So we react ... and if it's not a thoughtful reaction, well we then have given the situation more power than it deserves. Situations are lessons, all of life really is, and our reaction shows us just how far we've come or how much further we need to go. There is only one thing we ever have any real control over and that's ourselves. What a freeing thing to finally realize you don't have to control everything - because you really can't anyway! 

Stillness

Stillness
When we stop being motion, when we silence the voice that is constantly going in our heads, when we allow ourselves to just stop and be in complete silence, that's were we can finally hear from our soul. Stillness allows you to connect back to yourself, it reveals the truth you already know, but above all it reminds you of the greatest gift - that you have had the power all along. Most people run from stillness because they are too afraid what they might hear. They don't understand that they are only running from themselves. Choose today to not run. Choose today to find a few minutes of silence to hear your soul. Choose this moment to allow yourself to connect back to you. The answers you seek, the happiness you've been chasing, and the love you deserve are all within the space of silence. It's time to greet it like an old friend and this time, keep the connection going.

Comparing

Comparing
Do you ever find yourself feeling like your life is just one giant mess and everyone else around you has their sh*t together? Their houses are always so neat, their kids look like they could be on a commercial, they can seamlessly be the best parent, the best worker, and be everywhere that they are invited to, all while making a home cooked meal daily!  If they can do that, why can't you at least find a clean wrinkle free shirt in your closet? Guess what - it's not the whole truth that you are seeing. We only get glimpses into people's lives and mostly it's what they want us to see and what do we do in turn? Well we compare ourselves, our kids, our spouses, our cars, our homes, basically our entire lives against their highlight reel. It's time to start getting real about the "reels" we display for others. Being your authentic self is what people will connect to. We relate to others based on their story and if you aren't telling your story in an authentic way, your connections will not be authentic either. Everyone just wants to be seen and feel accepted for who they truly are but that's how you must show up in life then. Stop comparing your life to others. No one is perfect and there is always more going on then what you are allowed to see. Embrace the messy, the imperfections, heck - be as bold to even show that to the world because that is real and that will allow others to get real too.

Waiting

Waiting
So much of our life is spent waiting for the unknown to happen. It's almost like we have taken a deep breath in and are continuing to hold it waiting for the other shoe to drop on us. Somewhere along the way we believed the lie that if we allow ourselves to be fully happy then something bad will surely happen. We have numbed ourselves to emotion and in turn have robbed ourselves of really living.

Here's the secret though ... life won't always be perfect. Life can be really messy, it can seem unfair and sometimes it's just overwhelming.  At the same time though, life can be so incredible, it can be so loving, so joyous, and even miraculous too. 

It's time to finally exhale and stop being afraid to be a part of your own story. Enjoy the best moments of your life to the fullest and embrace the challenges when they come as opportunities to grow because that's what they truly are. You weren't meant to live a perfect life. You were meant to LIVE and experience it all. So here is your permission to embrace every moment, to be present in every second, to laugh when things are funny, to cry and when life is messy, and to pick yourself up knowing that by allowing yourself to feel every emotion and be present, you are finally allowing yourself to really live. 

Attention

Attention
What you give your attention to is reflected in your life. If you surround yourself with drama, your life will be filled with it. If you don't take care of your body, it will break down on you. If you don't set goals, you won't achieve what is possible. 

Most of the time our attention goes towards other people, their needs, their plans, their goals, and their desires. Somewhere along the way you stopped focusing on, well YOU. It's a selfless act to care for oneself and it's about time you start putting you first. So don't delay, make that doctor's appointment, run that bubble bath, say no to what doesn't serve your highest self and then watch how your life starts to become a real reflection of who you are.

Actions

Actions
We spend so much time listening to words. We tend to believe what is said rather than what we actually see. As the old saying goes 'actions speak louder than words' and this couldn't be more true. If you want to know how someone really feels, watch their actions. People put their energy towards that which they care about, are motivated about, and find meaning in. It's as simple as that. So when someone tells you they love you, make sure their actions match their words. You are worthy of someone's time and attention just as someone is worthy of yours. 

Choose You

Choose You
Too often we put ourselves last. We help everyone around us at the expense of our own time, energy and sometimes even money. Just when we finished assisting with one situation, ten more seem to pop up. We find ourselves feeling drained and too tired to accomplish what's on our own list of things to do and that list is never ending but we keep running until we either get sick or hit a wall. Once we feel better, we do it all over again.

Not anymore. Today is a new day. Today you concentrate on your list. Today you say no to others and yes to yourself. Today you start putting up boundaries to help protect your life and your energy. Today you only say yes because you want to, not out of obligation. Today you stop apologizing for things outside of your control. Today you begin to not just exist but you begin to really live. Today is the day you will choose you and every day thereafter too. Today you will be your authentic self and what better way to start a new year - by being who you really are without regrets or apologies!