Don’t try harder, Dear One.

Try more joyfully.

Whether you are painting pictures, writing poetry, baking bread, balancing spreadsheets, fixing cars, teaching Spanish, selling stocks, playing the flute, designing skyscrapers, or sketching tattoos – what you do today Dear One, is of less importance to us than how you feel while you are doing it.

It is not your responsibility to teach them, Dear One.

It is your responsibility to find your voice and use it.

And if others should hear your words and be motivated by them, learn from them, be inspired by them, or take-action as a result of them, then so be it.

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.

Remember,

• You are blessed Dear One, even when you are struggling
• You are divine, even when you fail
• You are a beautiful soul, even when your body is weak, your eyes are sunken, and your skin is sallow
• You are precious, even when you are poor
• You are loved, even when feel unworthy

You are who you are Dear One, and there is absolutely nothing that you or anyone else could ever do that is ever going to change that.

There are no levels Dear One, when it comes to the value of human life.

No one life is more valuable or less valuable than any other.

You are not more than or less than anyone.   And they are not more or less than you.

Whether or not you (or they) choose to believe it/choose to acknowledge it, you are all of equal value in they eyes of spirit.

The greatest measure of differentiation between you all Dear One, is the way in which you choose to value and respect each other and yourselves.

Do you know the difference between a limit and a boundary Dear One?

• A boundary is self-imposed and can be changed
• A limit is finite physical reality

You may not want to get on an airplane because you have a fear of flying.

You may not want to jump off of a cliff and try to fly (unaided) because you don’t have wings.

Do you see the difference?

• Limits should be honored.
• Boundaries should be pushed, broken down, or shattered every chance you get.

Mistake one for the other and you run the risk of unnecessarily cutting yourself off from a whole world of amazing possibilities, joys, pleasures, and experiences.

Not having feathers is a good reason not to try and fly, being afraid is not.

What do you think would happen, Dear One, what do you think the result would be, if you refocused all of the energy that you have been exerting on trying to be good enough, to being happy instead?

The thought of being overwhelmed Dear One, the anticipation of not being able to handle it all, can actually be more stressful then the stress of doing all that you need to do.

So what can you do to reduce the stress?

Eliminate the anticipation of failure.

• Instead of telling yourself “I can’t”, tell yourself “I can”
• Instead of telling yourself “it’s going to be a nightmare”, tell yourself  “everything is going to work out for the best”
• Instead of telling yourself  “I don’t have all the answers”, tell yourself  “I know all of the answers will come to me”

And believe it.

Life is stressful enough, Dear One.

There really is no need for you to continue telling yourself things that are only going to add to it.

Do you want to know how to be loved the way that you want to be loved, Dear One?

Love yourself well.

Show them how it’s done.