Do you want to know where you belong, Dear One?

You belong in a place that makes you happy.  You belong with people that you love and that love you.  You belong wherever it is that you feel strong, supported, powerful, and creative.  You belong where you feel encouraged, inspired, and energized, hopeful, courageous, accepted and safe.

That is where you belong, Dear One.

If, when you look around you, you find that you are not in a place like this, then perhaps it is time for you to acknowledge that where you are, might not be the right place for you.

Before you take even one more step forward, Dear One, forgive yourself; for whatever it is that you did yesterday that you regret, that you wish you had not done, that you wish you had done better, that you wish you could take back, change, erase or undo.

Forgive yourself – no questions asked, without judgment, without condition, without threat of punishment or fear of condemnation.

Just forgive yourself.

Give yourself this gift today.

You deserve it.

And those around you deserve it too.

All of your  thoughts, words, actions, and connections will be all the more powerful, genuine, authentic and meaningful Dear One, when you are fully present in the here and now, when you are no longer holding yourself hostage in your past.

You try , you think about, you make every effort to watch what you eat Dear One, to exercise, to get enough sleep.

You do all of these things for the benefit of your health, for the benefit of your body.

And yet you still allow yourself to think, to indulge, to swim in negative, damaging, and unkind thoughts, about yourself, about others, about the world around you, all the time.

Your thoughts have just as much of an impact on your physical body as your diet, activity level, and sleep habits do.

Even more so actually.

Just a little reminder Dear One, not to leave them out of the equation, when trying to create good health for yourself.

A willingness to proceed. Sometimes that is all that you need to muster up in yourself, Dear One.

When fear, doubt, confusion, remorse, indecision, sadness or panic even, overwhelm you and you get lost in your current set of circumstances and want nothing more than to shut down, disconnect, give up – if you do nothing more then simply remain open to the idea of continuing to move forward – then you will!

Digging in, stopping in your tracks will not heal, solve, or resolve anything. If fact, it can do the exact opposite of that. Stopping can prolong pain and suffering, confusion, remorse and loneliness.

Life’s current is constantly moving, flowing towards someplace new. If you let go and allow yourself to float for a while – no kicking, no screaming, no splashing about – simply let go and float, before you know it, you will be in a different place. The scenery will have changed and you will find that you have moved on from that place that was no longer serving you.

Hate is a powerful emotion, Dear One, one that is often felt very deeply.  And if you are feeling it, we are sure that you have your reasons.

Hate can be a difficult thing to let go of, even if you want to, especially when you feel that you have justifiably earned the right to feel it.

We will not ask you to stop hating Dear One. We would never ask you to do something so difficult.  We would never ask you to do something that you do not want to do.

But what we will ask of you is that you stop giving hate so much of your attention.

What we are asking of you is that you not spend even one more minute of your  time, your thoughts, your energy,  your life, focused on that which you hate, and instead choose to focus on that which you enjoy, on that which you love, on loving each other instead.

You see Dear One, hate only serves to bring more hate into the world, nothing more.  It doesn’t fix anything, heal anything, even any score, or make things right, and it never will.

But love on the other hand has the power to transform, to heal, anything, even hate.

If with one hand you are reaching back, Dear One, holding on to things in your past, and with the other you are reaching out ahead of you, holding on to a vision of your future, is it any wonder that you feel like you are being stretched too thin in the here and now?

You should know, that which is for your greatest good, is and will always be, in the present moment.

The tradition of joining both hands together at your heart for prayer, for meditation, for your daily practice, is meant to be a reminder of this for you.

Be. Here. Now.

Creativity is one of the most powerful tools at your disposal, Dear One.

It can turn an old tire into a swing, flour into bread, a stone into a gem, a piece of paper into a poem, an empty space into a home, an idea into a reality.

Your life is not lacking opportunity Dear One, trust us. All that it is lacking is a little imagination.

It’s time to start getting creative.

How do you do that?

By making the decision right now that the next choice that you make is going to be the inspired one, instead of the expected, logical, or familiar one.

That’s how.

Sometimes the best way you can give back, Dear One, is to say thank you, and keep moving forward.

How do you treat someone that you love, Dear One?

• Do you call them stupid when they make a mistake?
• Do you call them unattractive when they gain a few pounds?
• Do you call them a loser for coming in 2^nd, 3^rd, 4^th, or last even?
• Do you tell them that they are a failure when things don’t work out as planned?
• Do you judge them for not making more money?
• Do you think less of them when they are tired, stressed, or not well?

Do you see where we are going with this?

You should know Dear One, that it is perfectly okay for you to choose to throw yourself a pity party, if that is what you genuinely feel like you need to do.

But just remember, that every minute that you are choosing to invest in feeling sorry yourself, is a minute that you are not investing in doing something more productive, positive, or pleasurable for yourself that just might help you to start turning things around.

Have your party if need to, Dear One, if you think it will help, if you think it will make you feel better.

Just don’t let it go on too long, okay?