Encourage

What’s next?

Posted on by Shari Swanson

next.jpg

Are you overwhelmed? Sometimes our To Do lists are so long, the tasks too complex or difficult, the road ahead too winding, that we get paralyzed. We freeze not sure which way to turn or what to do. Sometimes that leads us to choose doing nothing at all.

Try this instead: ask yourself “What’s next?” and then sit quietly. Breathe deeply. Listen. Be patient.

We don’t have to see the whole path. We don’t have to know the answers to all life’s questions. We may never be able to see more than one dimly lit footstep ahead.

But sometimes when we are harried, we can see the next step, and then the next, one at a time leading us forward out of being stuck and onto the next thing. One foot in front of another, forward. Try to let the uncertain or overwhelming future move to the fringe of your imagination and focus on just that one step.

Right here. Right now. That one step.

And then again.

Touch eternity.

Posted on by Shari Swanson

eternity

Have you ever stepped out of time? Have you ever looked about and literally seen connections between things– the trees, the grass, the wind, the birds– like a giant web of life, with you right there among it all?

Perhaps you’ve lost yourself in conversation and looked up to realize hours had passed. Perhaps you’ve been enjoying a sunset to blink and realize the night stars were twinkling. Perhaps you’ve been creating or building and felt a life force thrum inside you that felt somehow bigger and more powerful than just your own body and thoughts churning away. Perhaps a baby has curled his tiny hand around your finger.

Perhaps you’ve experienced eternity.

William Blake wrote,

To see a world in a grain of sand

And a heaven in a wild flower,

Hold infinity in the palm of your hand,

and eternity in an hour.

How? How do we do it? How do we step out of the present moment and feel a part of something greater, something infinite? How do we hold infinity in the palm of our hands?

The trick is to let go of the past and future and to focus on the present. The right here and now. Who or what is in front of you right now? Attend to that. Focus there. In the now lies everything.

 

Fess up

Posted on by Shari Swanson

truthrare

Why do we lie? Why is the truth so difficult?

Maybe we are worried we are not enough. We arm ourselves with masks and layers to project a more successful, more perfect self. Meanwhile, the real self inside feels chagrinned. “Why is it necessary to puff. Am I not enough?” it whispers.

Maybe we are afraid. We don’t know so much–the future, the complexities of life, the secrets of our fellow journeyers. So maybe it makes us feel safer to pretend we know all the answers.

Maybe we don’t really want to tackle the problem at hand. We ignore it; we pretend it isn’t there; we sugarcoat it. If we don’t acknowledge it, maybe it doesn’t exist.  (But we keep stumbling against it, don’t we?)

Think what power there is in the truth. It provides a foundation that is stable enough to approach any problem head-on.  It testifies that each of us is enough, and, not only enough, but that the very weakness we are trying to hide is the vulnerability that gives our voices authenticity and value, that draws others to us as a source of comfort and strength.

No one really expects perfection from you. If they say they do, it’s because they are not fully grounded in the truth themselves. There isn’t perfection. It doesn’t exist. There is just all different versions and varieties of real.  That is your truth. Your real. Own it.

Have courage.

Posted on by Shari Swanson

couragemuscle

What frightens you? Is it holding you back from trying new things, meeting new people, going new places? Fear is a crippler. Your mind is extremely good at playing worst case scenarios for you in the wee hours. Habit seems safe, so we stick to the same things, day in and day out.

But at what cost?

What is out there waiting to be discovered? Who is a friend you have yet to meet?

Sometimes we have to push against our fear, take the first step, even if it is just a baby step. And then keep walking. Keep exploring. Keep learning. Keep opening up to new people and new possibilities. The world is full of opportunities waiting to be experienced. You are capable of growing and blossoming and stretching.

Take that step.

Splurge a little.

Posted on by Shari Swanson

chocolate

Wouldn’t it be great if there were a pause button for life? Just a little breather from the salacious headlines or the demands of the day. It is so easy to get wound up. For many of us, it takes conscious effort to unwind. And, even when you desperately need it, when can you pencil in unwind time in an already hectic day?

Today, give yourself permission for a little time to yourself, a time to reflect and renew, a time away from the hustle and bustle. A time, perhaps, for a bit of chocolate.

Savor it.

Read.

Posted on by Shari Swanson

read

Read a good book lately? In this day and age of sound bites and click-baiting, alternative facts and sketchy news sources, how many of us take the time to read? Really read–sink ourselves into a novel and lose ourselves in another world, look through a different person’s eyes, experience through the pages a life and world different from our own? Studies show that reading increases our empathy. It makes us more tolerant, open, and loving people. It expands our horizons. For a great list of suggestions, go here.