Going back is not an option, Dear One, and standing still will get you nowhere.

So, it looks like your options really are limited after all.

Things can feel out of control, Dear One, when your desires and your actions are not in alignment.

• You can’t reach joy with actions motivated by regret or sadness.
• You can’t reach contentment with actions motivated by impatience or frustration.
• You can’t reach love with actions motivated by loss or desperation.
• You can’t reach abundance with actions motivated by fear or scarcity.

So please don’t be surprised when actions motivated by insecurity, obligation, fear, or a sense of loyalty don’t yield you the results that you were hoping for.

Align your actions with your desires, Dear One, and watch as the gap between what you want and what is showing up for you begins to close.

It is understandable that you would struggle with optimism, Dear One.  That you might more easily anticipate the worse possible outcome, rather than the best.

You have come by this belief rightly so.  You have experienced the worst.  The worst has already happened to you.  And so, you have every reason in the world to expect that it would, or could, happen again.

But here is the thing: Just because it has happened to you, doesn’t mean that it is going to happen to you again.
It could! But It is not a foregone conclusion.  And you, Dear One, are behaving as if it is.

You are fearing what may or may not come to pass.  And as a result, you are missing out on, spoiling even, your present, over something that will most likely never be.

So, how do you not do this?  How do you get past your aversion to optimism, and allow yourself to experience the great pleasure of being able to look forward to, and get excited about, all of the wonderful things that are possible for you in your life ahead, without dread?

• Do you avoid the sun forever because you got a really bad sunburn? It could happen again.
• Do you never eat in a restaurant again because you got really bad food poisoning? It could happen again.
• Do you never get into a car again because you were in a really bad accident? It could happen again.

The truth is Dear One, that only you know.
It is a choice; a decision to be made.  And it is one that only you can make.

^

Love is a choice, Dear One.

The experience of it, the giving and receiving of it, does not just happen. You have to choose it, you have to choose to open yourself up to it, to allow it.

When two people make the decision to choose to experience it together, to give and receive it openly, freely, and confidently, to open themselves up to an experience of the divine and let love flow to them and through them, that is a sacred act, that is an example of a sacred union; a merging of you, them and the energy of all that is.

A holy man, a place of worship, a ritual, a doctrine, a document or a vow is not the force that makes the union sacred, Dear One; you are.

What are your thoughts about the day ahead of you, Dear One?

•  Are you anticipating the best, or the worst?
• Are you looking forward to it, or dreading it?
• Are you excited about it, or stressed about it?
• Are you picturing it going well, or poorly?
• Are you feeling like anything you want is possible, or nothing you want is possible?

If you don’t like your answers to these questions, now would be the time to change them.

Love is not a word, Dear One.

• It is an action.
• It is a feeling, a rhythm, a way to be.
• It is an energy, an attitude, an answer, a solution.

Love is a lot of things, Dear One.

But a word is definitely not one of them.

Remember that the next time that you hear it, or say it.

Accepting who you are, Dear One, understanding, trusting, believing, that you are energy, consciousness, a divine spirit having a physical experience, that you are an essential part of all that is, that you are connected to everything and everyone, that you are a powerful creator responsible for the expansion of the universe, changes nothing.

• Who you are will remain the same
• Your face will not change
• Your gifts and talents will remain exactly as they are
• Your world will still be round
• You will still wake up everyday, in your physical body, and need to tend to your physical needs

Accept who you really are and nothing will be different, except for your perception of what is, your belief of what can be, your understanding of your connection to all things, your awareness of how you are creating your world, and your experience of everything in it.

Everything will remain exactly the same Dear One, and nothing will ever be the same again.

Choosing to hold on, Dear One, just may be the choice that is holding you back.

Something that is right for you, that is a vibration match to you, will move right along with you.

If you have to stop, stand still or move backwards repeatedly or for extended periods of time in order to keep it, if you feel like you are having to hold-on tighter and tighter to keep from losing it, you may want to consider the possibility that it is no longer right for you, and that it may be time for you to let it go and move on without it.

Take one step forward at a time, Dear One, joyfully, intentionally, mindfully, feel good about where you are going, and you will be traveling faster towards your desired destination then if you ran full steam ahead towards it motivated by frustration, sadness, anger, fear or insecurity.

Mindful choices guided by good feelings are infinitely more powerful than those guided by loss, lack, obligation, fear or desperation.

It is not the amount of space between where you are and where you want to be that determines the length of your journey, Dear One.

The length of your journey is determined by the distance that you must travel from where you are, to feeling good about where you want to be.

And how long  that  takes, is entirely up to you.

Action without faith, Dear One, without vision, can never lead you anywhere, except back to where you started.