The only thing you need to change about yourself, Dear One, to begin to turn things around, is your mind.

You don’t strengthen your heart the same way that you strengthen your biceps, Dear One.

You don’t work it harder to make it stronger.

Reps of repetitive, challenging, difficult, painful emotions are not going to create the desired effect.

The heart thrives on love, Dear One, on gentle, compassionate, peaceful, trusting, joyful, loving energy.

If you want to get stronger, if you want to strengthen your heart,  don’t put your energy into seeking out new ways that will allow you to endure your difficult situations, people, emotions and circumstances for longer periods of time.

Seek out new ways that will help you to let go of them as quickly as you possibly can instead.

Our wish for you today, Dear One, is that you will allow yourself to break with tradition, to take a break from your norms, from what is comfortable and familiar to you, from your habitual thoughts, patterns, behaviors, and beliefs and venture into the unknown — going where your heart, and opportunity leads you — without fear, without hesitation, without question.  And that you be brave, confident, trusting, and gentle on yourself as you do.

You can always choose to turn back if you would like, and return to familiar patterns, familiar behaviors, and familiar beliefs. You can always choose to revert back to what is known, anytime you would like – if you want to.

So, you’ve really got nothing to lose.

It really is okay to not take it all so seriously, Dear One, – whatever it is – even the really, big, seriously important, significant, or scary stuff.

We say this to you not to disregard, disrespect, trivialize, dismiss or belittle whatever very difficult, important or challenging situation, circumstance or event you might be dealing with at the moment.

We say this to you to help you to remember that you can choose to approach it, deal with it, and transform it with, grace, confidence, and maybe even a little bit of levity, just as easily as you can with intensity, struggle, stress, fear, and doubt.

In one form or another, Dear One, this question seems to come up for you a lot.

• What is the meaning of this?
• What was the meaning of that?
• What does it all mean?

And no matter how many different ways you ask the question, the answer is always going to be the same.

The meaning is always going to be whatever you decide that it is.

What it means to you, Dear One, can only be determined by you, and nobody else.

So may we suggest that the next time the question arises, that you ask yourself this instead:

• What meaning am I going to choose to give to this?

Doing so will ensure that you always have a definite answer to your question and, it will spare you from experiencing a great deal of unnecessary uncertainty waiting for an answer.

The universe is taking its lead from you, Dear One.

The moment that you decide that your health, your well-being, your piece of mind, and your happiness, are your top priorities – it will prioritize them for you too.

• Their breath is not your breath
• Their eyes are not your eyes
• Their skin is not your skin
• Their lips are not your lips
• Their heart is not your heart

Listen to what they have to have to say, Dear One, ask for their advice, guidance, support and perspective, consider their point of view — if you think it will help.

But in the end, the experience of it will be yours and yours alone; seen by your eyes, sensed by your skin, touched by your lips, felt by your heart.

In the end, it is not about what they want for you Dear One, it’s about what you want for you – and you are the only one that can decide that.

Why choose to doubt yourself, punish yourself, be hard on yourself, judge yourself, or skimp on yourself, Dear One, when you can choose to comfort yourself, forgive yourself, have confidence in yourself,  be generous with yourself, and love yourself instead?

Avoidance or Creation.

Which path are you going to choose to take today, Dear One?

Are you going to make this day about doing your best to avoid that which you do not want to see, hear, feel, or experience, or about creating that which you do?

Choose wisely because these two paths extend out in opposite directions from one another, and will most definitely not lead you to the same place.

If someone is not living up to your expectations of them, Dear One, instead of being disappointed, instead of trying to change them, instead of trying to fix them, instead of trying to force yourself to not care in order to put an end to your unhappiness, why not simply change your expectation of them instead?

Now, wouldn’t that be easier?