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 as if you are being pulled in two different directions in the here and now?

You should know that which is for your greatest good is and will always be, right here, 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 for you of this.

Be. Here. Now.

In this moment, never mind what you should be doing or could be doing Dear One.  Never mind what they need from you or what they want from you.  Never mind what their expectations are.  Let them go.

In this moment all that really matters is you – what you think of you – what you want from you – what you expect from you – what you want this day to be.

When was the last time that you allowed the sound of your own voice, your own heart, your own wants, your own needs to lead you – regardless of the needs, wants and expectations of those around you?

In this moment, ignore them Dear one.  Ignore all of them and listen only to yourself, to you own inner voice.  Pay close to the details of what it has to say to you – because your own heart holds much wisdom for you.  It holds much love and compassion and forgiveness for you too.

In this moment, allow yourself to connect with that wisdom.

And in the next, allow yourself to follow it.

Don’t curse time for moving too fast Dear One, or for moving too slowly. Don’t blame it for prolonging your pain or cutting short your pleasure.

You are the one in charge of how you choose to experience its passage. You are the one who decides how you are going to spend it.  That power always has and always will rest with you, not with time.

Time is a gift Dear One.  Not a curse.

Make a choice to experience it intentionally and consciously, with ease, grace and gratitude.

Use it.  Enjoy it.  Celebrate it. Open yourself up to it.

The experience of it is, after all, one of the biggest reasons you are here.

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.

Not now, not today, not ever Dear One, will you ever be in a position where your options, your choices, your possibilities, are controlled, dictated or determined by anyone else other than yourself. At least not without your permission.

Please try and remember that the next time you look around and find yourself feeling as though your options are limited.

We know that you are tough Dear One. We know that you are strong, and clever, and resourceful.  We know that you are extremely capable of coping with, adapting to, learning to live with, and working around obstacles, difficulties, and pain.

But the truth is that we don’t want you to be.

What we want Dear One, is that when you feel that splinter go in, when you feel that first little prick of pain, when that alarm sounds and you experience those first pangs of concern, distress, discomfort, hurting, or dis-ease, that you give your coping skills a rest for a change.

We don’t want to see you reach for your usual box of Band-Aids and show us, and the rest of the world, just how well you can adapt to it, cope with it, rationalize it, and keep on going.  What we want Dear One, is to see you reach for the tweezers instead.

We don’t want you getting better, and becoming more practiced, at learning to live with the little pricks in your life.  We want you getting better at removing them, while they are still small, before they have a chance to take root, evolve, spread, and grow and into bigger ones.

Discipline is a mindset Dear One, an attitude, an approach, a guide, a commitment.
It is not a contract, a commandment, an order, a doctrine, or a law that must be followed.

Discipline is flexible, malleable, adaptable,and strong.
It is not hard, rigid, tough, and unforgiving.

Discipline is the boat on water Dear One, not the rope tethering you to the dock.
It is the compass pointing your way, not the points plotted out on a map
It is the sail, and not the anchor.

Practicing discipline should strengthen you, empower you, guide you, help you to feel stronger, freer, more connected and in-synch with the world around you. Not frustrate you, weaken you, and leave you feeling depleted and restricted.

If what you are practicing is not not serving you in all of these positive ways Dear One, there is a very good chance that what you are practicing is not discipline at all, but that you are just being hard on yourself, and that is not the same thing.

Responsibility begins and end with you Dear One.

• You are responsible for the company that you keep
• You are responsible for the work that you do
• You are responsible for the choices that you make
• You are responsible for the actions that you take, and don’t take
• You are responsible for your attitude, opinions, beliefs and responses
• You are responsible for deciding what is and what is not acceptable to you
• You are responsible for when you show up, how long  you stay, and when you leave

Just something to keep in mind the next time you find yourself looking around for the responsible party.

Create from an angry, frustrated, stressed out, fearful place Dear One, and no matter how hard you work, how hard you try, how good your intentions are, the very best that you are ever going to be able to do is create more of the same.

You can’t make an apple pie with peaches.

Make sense?