Expansiveness

"Letting go means accepting life just as it is: elusive, free, spontaneous and without limits." Zen practice.

I drew this wisdom from my Awakenings book of Asian Wisdom for Every Day, by Danielle and Olivier Follmi. The photo beside it is on a vast landscape with mountains in the background. There is a person on horseback (so small one could almost miss it) in the foreground and in the middle ground is a campsite. The photo certainly brings a feeling of wind swept prairie lands at the foothills. It makes me feels as though I can breathe again after a long time of being smothered. I can almost feel the wind in my hair (like I have hair!) as I gallop along on the back of the horse.

When I was young I spent a lot of time hiking and riding my horse. It always made me feel free and without limits. My daughters now experience the same feelings as their passion for horseback riding is developing. A few years ago I took a spill from a horse and severely injured my hip. I decided then that, although I love horseback riding, I cannot afford to be injured at my age when my family relies upon my good health, being self-employed and all. I don't really miss it, although I can certainly access the feeling of it when I see a photo like this one before me now. What I find fun is that the feeling is so easily accessible. It is amazing how, even though our bodies may be limited in some way, our minds are not limited and neither are our spirits.

So I enjoy my life, even though there are some limitations. I make it a point to enjoy as much as I possibly can in life and to laugh out loud and to dance and sing. Life is too short to be continually somber and serious. There are enough moments in life that require that, so as soon as they pass, it is important to celebrate. Live in the moment and enjoy the NOW because when all is said and done at the end of the day, who really knows what is around the corner or if we will still be here in this life? I would not want to ever go into the LIGHT and have to say, "Oh, jeez! I didn't get to (fill in the blank a number of times)!" I would rather take advantage of every experiential moment and slide into the LIGHT and let Spirit know that I am completely on "empty" because I used up everything that Spirit had given me.

Blessed Be

Trent

Personal Authenticity

I often encourage people to "follow the path of the heart". In fact I have that on my message manager announcement. But some don't know what the phrase really means. It means personal authenticity and integrity. It means allowing yourself the courage to do what you know to be right for yourself, no matter what our friends, family and society thinks. This of course does not mean that we can just do whatever the heck we like to anyone and not care about the ripple effects. But it does mean to be true to ourselves.

How do we know if we aren't being true to ourselves? Well, does it feel right and good? Or does it create turmoil in your gut? Are you coming from a place of compassion in your heart both for yourself and for everyone else who is affected? Or are you guilting or shaming yourself or anyone else? Are you trapped inside sentiment or nostalgia (the way things should have/would have/could have been, or the way things always were)? Or are you done shoulding on yourself?

Every decision we make in our lives gives us both limitations and liberties. We have to choose
which sets of limitations and liberties will go together and then we have to come to terms with which combination we can live with, and what we cannot live without. All very easy when it comes to buying groceries. But not so easy when it comes to living authentically in our personal lives. And the rotter is that no one can make the decisions for us. We have to meditate, contemplate and decide all on our own and let the chips fall where they may. And we all need to be responsible (the ability to respond) enough to make the decisions, because to not decide does not let us off the hook. It only delays our freedom.

Blessed Be

Trent
www.deerhornshamanic.com