As a lotus flower…

As a lotus flower is born in water,
grows in water and
rises out of water to
stand above it unsoiled,

so I, born in the world,
raised in the world,
having overcome the world,
live unsoiled by the world.

~ Buddha ~

An embellishment of life…

Our highest assurance of the goodness of Providence seems to me to rest in the flowers. All other things, our powers, our desires, our food, are all really necessary for our existence in the first instance. But this rose is an extra. Its smell and its color are an embellishment of life, not a condition of it. It is only goodness which gives extras, and so I say again that we have much to hope from the flowers.

~ Sir Arthur Conan Doyle ~

It is May, my favorite month of the year. It’s a time of digging deep and creating for me, and you may have noticed my absence here. As the words are not flowing right now, it seems a great time to share the beauty of flowers each day – a sort of drawn out virtual May Day bouquet. A way of sending hope from me to you…

Look for all sorts of new growth soon…

fear, playing big and getting quiet…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.

~ Marianne Williamson ~

These are some of the wisest, truest and most meaningful words I know. I’ve already sent them to friends more than once today, so I figured it was time to highlight them here again.
I’ve been playing a whole lot bigger lately and have been pushing my limits further than ever. It feels good and it feels like time to put the brakes on, just a tiny bit. In an inspired moment of divine intervention, I signed up for a silent retreat this weekend, months ago. I’ll be with a couple of my favorite teachers and one who is new to me, along with, I am sure, a wonderful group of fellow meditators. As we will be silent there, I feel called to be silent for a few days here, too. Part of more changes at CIF- I’ll fill you in next week.
For now, I wonder how today’s quote will inspire you. I’d love to hear about all of it. I’ll see you back here on Monday.

Being called…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tactful, they let us live life undisturbed

as we conceive it and as they fail

to understand it.

They wanted to blossom,

and blossoming is being beautiful.

But we want to ripen

and this means being dark

and taking pains.

~ Rilke ~

 

Sometimes, it’s not so easy, this walking in the world with your heart open.  This living authentically.  This being in the moment.

Rilke knew that.  I know, too.

And still, we do it, because we are called.

If you fall…

 

 

 

 

if you’re lost you can look–

and you will find me

time after time…

if you fall I will catch you–

I’ll be waiting

time after time…

~ Cyndi Lauper ~

 

 

 

 

Life can be hard, yes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It can be tricky to find balance.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It can feel, sometimes, like just too much.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And yet, for the most part, we decide to stay.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And if we choose to, we begin to see even the simplest things with awe.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

With wonder.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

With love, and with light.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It’s all out there,

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

just waiting for you

to discover

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

what has been right here,

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

the whole time.

On sparkling…

Begin doing that you want to do now.

We are not living in eternity.

We have only this moment,

sparkling like a star in our hand -

and melting like a snowflake.

~ Francis Bacon, Sr. ~

I ran into this charming young lady in the drugstore yesterday. Her name is Annika and she is three. Very, very three.
She radiates life, she knows who she is, and she is happy to share her light. She is amazing.

I was roaming the aisles, thinking through my list, and floating an idea for this post. I have been wanting to write about really radiating who we are, and how we lose that ability somewhere along the way. Or the fact that it seems to get buried underneath all the shoulds we learn as we go through life. Something along those lines. And I turned the corner and there she was, with her mom, sauntering and sashaying her way down Aisle 4b. Her mother, most impressively, was discussing what they had accomplished that day, and congratulating both of them on what they had done, rather than going on and on about what remained on the list. And she was moving at her daughter’s pace. That’s what caught my attention at first – the love and respect between the two of them. Not something you witness every day, sadly, and not something I managed often enough when my girl was that small.

Then I saw her. Miss A, in all her glory. I wish I had captured the entire outfit, but I really wanted to frame that face and all the glory of her. We chatted for a bit, the three of us – and I did ask her mom for permission to photograph her daughter, which was generously granted. Miss A seemed to think it perfectly normal, in fact. An enlightening few moments all around, and perfect timing. Just what I was looking for…. a beautiful example of the energy that flows from us when we have not yet learned to restrict our output, to worry about what others think of us. She dresses to please herself, she says what she thinks, she asks the questions we all want to ask. She. Is. She just is Annika. And she is beautiful to behold.

And then off they went, wishing me well and discussing their further adventures. Magical. I went back to thinking about what we do with our own magic, where we hide it, and why we have to work so very hard to find it again. Not that I can remember where I put anything, but this is Important Stuff, you know? I believe that we all come here with our own brand of Special. We do – look into any baby’s eyes. And if conditions are right, and love flows freely, that Specialness sticks around until we are three, or four, or maybe even five or six. At that point, almost always, as we are schooled in the ways of the world, we begin to pack our Special away. Or we put our coats of Normal over it – big, heavy ones that leave no trace of the sparkle that was once there.

As the years pass, when we are in love, or with dear friends, or our guard is down for whatever reason (sometimes when we are chemically altered)… a little sparkle might get out. Once in a while, a writer will let loose a little with the glitter, or an artist will use the sparkly paint. But it takes a lot of effort and practice to really, really, really begin to shine again. Which is interesting and puzzling, because when people shine, we flock to them. Think about people like SARK, or John Lennon, or Archbishop Tutu. They genuinely live from their hearts, 24/7. They have their sparkle back – or maybe those blessed few never misplaced it. Often this seems like an either/or proposition, though. Most of us keep our radiance hidden, for the most part. Those exceptions and others like them – Mother Theresa, the Dalai Lama – they seem to have always let it shine. They are not perfect- indeed, they are fully human – but they just live so authentically, so true to themselves that you can’t help but be a little bit in awe.

So what about the rest of us? I’m not so sure that we know that we still have that kind of shine still within us. I think we forget. Once in a while, we are privileged to witness someone find their Special again. That, to me, is why I love coaching so much. It is an honor and an awesome thing to walk someone through that process. But you don’t have to be a coach to see it. Look around you – it is happening more and more. Just this morning, I was delighted to read Lindsey’s post on this very thing. I let out a big hoot – I knew she had it in her. We all do. Really, truly. You, too, have sparkle in you!

And it’s time, people, it really is time to get our sparkle back and to let ourselves shine, shine, shine. The world needs every one of us to do the work we need to do to polish our selves to the highest gleam we can. It takes time, it takes work – but is there any better service we can give to the world, to each other?  I think this is it.

Carry that forward…

“My great wish for all of you who have allowed me to honor my calling through this show is that you carry whatever you’re supposed to be doing, carry that forward and don’t waste any more time. Start embracing the life that is calling you and use your life to serve the world.”

~ Oprah Winfrey ~




I couldn’t have said it better myself. It is time, people, it is time.


My first give away! The deadline is Sunday, May 29th at midnight, EST. Help yourself and the residents of Joplin at the same time… In the spirit of the Help For Joplin Auction, I am donating a package of three coaching sessions ( a total of 3.5 hours and a $250 value, to be used in any configuration) with me, via phone, Skype or in person. If you would like to enter my first ever contest, please either comment below or send me an email at christa@carryitforward.com , with a brief statement of the reason you would like to be coached and the amount you are willing to donate for my services. One hundred percent of the winning bid will go to the Salvation Army, tied into the #Help4Joplin auction. The winner will be determined by some combination of amount donated, intent and a random drawing, if necessary.