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Hello everyone! A warm welcome to all new subscribers! How is your summer going? It's been a nice balance of work, productivity and enjoyment for me. Summer began with the girls graduating middle school and entering their transition phase. I got busy finalizing the OFS website redesign and preparing to have work done at the house. Winter left its mark and the time has come for some changes. I'm taking it all in, savoring every moment and creating warm, colorful memories to be comforted by, when the days grow darker and colder. I love summer and the feeling of freedom and abundance it provides. No more layers upon layers of clothing. I can walk barefoot outside. All my senses are engaged. The birds sing non-stop and they seem terribly busy. Colors bursting everywhere and every breath is infused with the fragrance of endless blooms. Roses, phlox, honeysuckle, nasturtiums, cosmos, lavender, basil, thyme. Fresh produce is abundant and the flavors unbeatable. Living is easier and time slows down. I grew up in Greece. Summers were hot, slow moving and inviting. We would be by the sea every chance we got. As young adults, we would always have our swimsuits handy so we could hit the beach after work. Greeks claim they have salty water running through our veins. I can attest to this:-) I don't live by the sea anymore but I can hear its calling and soon I'll be walking on the beach again. Bliss! Summer is nature's way of kicking her heels and celebrating life. Nobody celebrates like mama nature and we're always invited to join in the festivities. Best wishes and many blessings. Yota
A good friend told me . . . "No one should make you into what you have to make yourself." I had to think about it . . . "No one should make me into what I have to make myself!" Her words are a clue for me, especially for my "mother" identity. I can see how life has forged me into who I am today. Guidance came in all shapes and forms. I put one foot in front of the other, got up when I fell and pushed forward. It wasn't always easy but life isn't meant to be easy. Easy is overrated, it's a myth. The sooner we realize that life is a journey through peaks and valleys the better. As I watch my children growing, I see how I, too, have bought into this "life should be easier" myth. I try too hard, at times, to make it easy for them. What they need, now, is for me to step back and let them be. Parenting can be confusing. Children don't come with a "user's manual." We lead with our hearts and figure it out as we go. What I'm coming to understand these days is, that love and guidance don't necessarily mean being always there, solving problems, anticipating and preventing crisis and softening the fall for those we love. Love also means allowing room to learn through mistakes. It means letting go and letting be! How can anyone learn how to get up and go after a fall, if they don't experience the fall and find they're stronger and more resilient than they thought they were? I've been gathering clues on the subject for many years. Friends, family, clients, my children have become my teachers. As we walk our life's path, twisting and turning, forward and backward, uphill or downstream, life happens and we are asked to make choices and decisions. We're asked to feel, think, pause, act, dance, cry, face our fears and insecurities, and resolve traumas and conflicts. We learn about betrayal. Sometimes we're the ones doing the "betraying" and other times it's done unto us. A lesson is not fully learnt unless experienced from all angles, afterall. As we move along, we encounter loss, pain and grief. This way, we come to appreciate the depths of joy and happiness. How can we have one without the other? Other people, all actors in our life's play, come in and out of the stage. Love, friendship, belonging, letting go and letting be. As time goes on, we begin to ask questions. Who am I? Why am I here? What's the meaning of all this? When am I going to get it? (whatever "it" may be) Everything that happens becomes a clue, on our quest for meaning, purpose and identity. When we pause and look carefully, we can see the distance traveled. We see how much we've changed. We're always in the process of becoming, polishing, sculpting, transforming. Slowly, through trial and error, joy and pain, fear, resistance, exaltation, love, anger, giving and taking, we're emerging into being. At times, we may feel as if we've lost our way. We lose touch with our core as we try to fit in. Self-betrayal can be one of the worst kind of betrayals. Then, one day, we wake up from our stupor and pick up from where we left off. Our eyes are open, there are signs everywhere; "Not this way! That way!" and we resume our course! Nothing is ever certain, safe or secure and in that knowledge we can find comfort and peace. Thank God . . . we're not going crazy, we're human beings experiencing life . . . as life tends to be. Is that what my friend meant when she said "No one should make you into what you have to make yourself"? Maybe. For now, this is what it means to me. What are you learning about yourself these days? I'd love to hear from you. Blessings!
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©2011 Open for Success.
''If you have never been called a defiant, incorrigible, impossible woman… have faith… ~ From Women Who Run with the Wolves by Clarissa Pinkola Estes, Ph.D.
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