Sometimes the very best way that you can give back Dear One, that you can show your gratitude, is to say thank you, mean it, and continue forward, joyously on your journey.

Mastery is not about perfection Dear One, or doing, being or creating something that is the best or better than anyone else.

To achieve mastery is to achieve a state of being fully present, of being fully aware of what is happening around you and within you, and what is available to you in each and every unique moment of your life, acknowledging it, taking it in, allowing it to inspire, inform, motivate, shape, and influence your thoughts, actions and beliefs from moment to moment.

Masters are not superior beings Dear One, they are not better people than everyone else.  They are simply more practiced at living in the now and taking advantage of all of the gifts that are available to them in the present moment.

They don’t try to create exceptional, superior, or richer work, but being fully present, they have  a deeper, richer, more connected productive and fruitful experience of each moment, and that experience gets expressed, gets translated into all that they do.

If you want to achieve mastery Dear One, don’t try to be better at what you do, try to be more present while you are doing it, and you will be on  your way.

All of the imbalance that exists in the world Dear One, is simply a reflection of the imbalance that exists within each and every one of you.

If you would like to see, feel, and experience more balance in the people, policies, and practices around you, start by restoring the balance within  yourself. Do this and you will immediately begin to see your world transform as a result.

Now you know Dear One, there is something that you can do about it.

Just how powerful are you Dear one?

That is something that only you can decide.

Regardless of who is on your list Dear One, and regardless of how long that list gets, know this:  the name of the person that always need to remain on top, that you always need to please first, is yourself.

Make yourself happy and you will be doing more than you can possibly imagine towards making those around you happy too.

Forgiveness isn’t about condoning, accepting, forgetting, or dismissing their poor behavior, hurtful words, or damaging actions Dear One.

It is about making a choice to prioritize yourself, your health, your happiness, and your well-being, over your pain.

There are two ways that you can choose to respond to any situation Dear One:

• Like the victim of your circumstance
• Like the creator of your circumstance

One defines you as powerless and the other as powerful.

Which are you going to choose to be today?

Choose joy today Dear One, every chance that you get.

• Choose to think joyful thoughts
• Choose to speak joyful words
• Choose to want, do, and plan for things that will bring you joy

Be vigilant about it.

Practice it, a lot.

Practice it until you get really, really good at it.

Practice it as if your future happiness depended on it.

Because it does.

We are not going to try and stop you from making self-destructive choices Dear One, repeating self-destructive patterns, or engaging in self-destructive relationships.

This is your life and you are free to choose to live it any way that you please.

But what we are going to do is try and help you to become more aware of the fact that you are doing so.

We want you to think about and be conscious of every single choice that you make.  We want you to choose purposefully, deliberately, and with intention.

If you are making choices that are harming you, we would like for you to be fully aware of the fact that you are doing so.

This is your life Dear One, and you are free to make any choice that pleases you.

If, however, the choices that you are making are not pleasing to you, then we are going to do all that we can to encourage you to start making different ones.

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?