Welcome to your life

Close your eyes

Take 10 deep breaths

And Imagine the most tranquil place you can think of

Real or make believe

Picture yourself there

In vivid detail

Is it day or night

Are you inside or outside 

Picture yourself seated comfortably 

The temperature is perfect

You are neither hot or cold

In fact you feel completely At ease

Wanting of nothing

In your most perfect oasis

Here you are completely carefree

 engulfed in deep sense of relaxation

Your body feels light 

Your thoughts are calm and serene

You're eyes are soft

You have absolutely no problems

No worries

No stresses

No fears

No tension 

No anger

No bitterness

No angst whatsoever 

All the troubles of your life have melted away

Into this deep sense of peace

Into deep calm tranquility

Your body is completely lax 

Your mind feels airy

Your thoughts are quiet

As you sit and just soak in the beauty/tranquility around you

You notice the figure of someone you deeply love

Coming into your view

They are slowly walking towards you

With a smile and a look of love

Meant only for you

And you instantly feel any rough edges of your heart soften and melt

As your beloved walks closer and closer to you

You can sense the love they feel for you

You can feel that deep connection

And it is intensely uplifting

Your heart beats to the tune of a beautiful melody only you can hear

Only you can feel

And you are overcome with a feeling 

As close to divinity as you've ever felt before

A calm sense of joy

Of wonder

You know

You deeply truly know

Beyond a shadow of a doubt

That you are completely safe here

And you bask in the glory of that feeling 

Reveling in how good it feels

To feel complete peace

And deep happiness

-------------------

Now open your eyes

And keep that feeling as long as you possibly can

Welcome to your life

It is not always an oasis

It is not always serene

It is not always full of people that love you completely and unconditionally

But that sense of serenity

Is something you can carry with you

Deep Inside yourself

No matter what your life looks like on the outside

You don't have to give that up

For anything or anyone

Keeping that deep sense of peace

Will help you navigate the hardships of life

Much better than any book, sage or scholarly advice will 

Keeping that openness, that warmth, that serenity and true sense and feeling of love will help you live as close to heaven as absolutely possible on this earth

And that is worth more than every bit of gold and every treasure this earth has to offer combined tenfold over. 

Living wide open, some would say vulnerable even or truly exposed, living with complete honesty, in complete acceptance and with a deep sense of peace, with no fear, no anger, no judgment or concerns is a true path to heaven. 

So. Make of this life what you want. This life you lead is yours alone. No one can live it for you. So welcome to it. Welcome to it all. 

(Note to self: Let everything reinforce your sense of peace. Try not to succumb to fear, anger, worry. Don't give in. You have but just this one life. Don't waste it.)

In the name of love & Gloria - U2

Nothing to say?

I've missed writing. But I don't feel I have much to say that hasn't been said much more eloquently, I'm sure. 

My daily trajectories aren't astronomically different from most peoples. I aim for what most people want in life I'm sure. 

Happiness, health, peace, bonding with friends, family and/or a community of like minded/hearted people, prosperity, to feel understood and to understand (especially those I most care about), to love and be loved, to do something worthwhile and meaningful, to make a difference, to handle myself with as much grace as I can and give myself and others as much compassion and kindness as I can muster, all whilst trying to maintain a good deal of humility and not take myself or most things all that seriously. 

Lofty really...too much so I think.... and every single day I miss the mark in at least a few areas. But I muddle on. I keep thanking God for each day I wake up and for each night I lay my head down in the comfort of a warm bed in my safe home in this quiet town with hopefully a clear conscience and peace of mind that I tried my best. I ask for forgiveness for my transgressions; albeit however small they may have been. Not stopping to completely listen to my child talk. Smirking at a stranger for no good reason. Pulling into traffic when it may not have been my turn. And so on and so forth. 

I'm not trying to be hard on myself or have expectations of perfection. I truly don't think I am or do. However I think it's good to have goals and some expectation of trying to improve. Trying to be the best me I can be at that given moment in time. Trying to learn from my mistakes. Is that entirely possible?  Yes. I think so. But it takes a fair amount of observing ones behavior, acknowledging it, understanding it (if possible) and figuring out how to redirect it into a different path next time. Doesn't it?  But what if I'm wrong?

What if all it takes is not all this stress?  Not all these endeavors. Not all this redirection. What if all it takes is slowing down?  Breathing. Softening my eyes. Opening my heart. Listening to that voice inside that speaks lovingly and purely. That makes me feel good and directs me towards the path of true happiness. The path that leads to my true self. To being a being of love. Towards myself and towards the entire world. With no exceptions. 

Isn't that the path of God?  

It's hard to slow down though. The stress of life. The news/media. The anger, fear and anxiety all around.  These things aren't conducive to listening to our hearts.  Then ad to that the constant bombardment of noise, people and electronics. How is that suppose to connect us back to ourselves?  That's why it's so good to spend some time in nature or in silence every day. Some quiet time of contemplation.  Meditation. Prayer. Just a walk around the block sometimes helps me immensely. Each person knows deep down what they need; I think. They just have to take away the road blocks. 

The best way I've found to do that is simply not by admonishing the things I don't want or like. The things that are detrimental. But just by adding the things I do want. It's harder to stop myself from eating a bag of chips than to just add going to the gym. Maybe eventually...I'll add enough fruit and vegetables and healthy snacks to where I simply don't have room or the desire for the chips anymore. But I won't stress that now. I'll simply add what I do want in my life and let the things I don't want fall to the side naturally. All by themselves. 

Because while self subjugation appears to be the right way to go and I fall into it so naturally....it seems. It has little actual long term efficacy. The easiest way. The most loving way. Is actually the most successful way to change. To grow. To become who I really want to be. Or I could settle for what I have been doing. Which is equal doses of complacency, despair, resignation, self-sabotage, self loathing, and on and on. 

I wrestle these beasts almost daily it seems. But in the moments I can stop fighting them and instead offer myself compassion and deep acceptance. In those flashes of letting go of chastising myself; I have such a deep sense of peace.  I only wish that feeling to always be present; for myself and every other person walking this earth. To feel how good it feels to inhabit a place of coming at the whole world (starting with myself) through the eyes of deep, honest kindness and love. 

Wish that I could make that feeling last forever.  But no admonishment here. Just a longing.  Which I'll counteract that with soft eyes, deep breathing, and more love. 

Love all around. Sprinkling heavily. Watching it grow. ;)