Your life could easily be dominated by good feelings Dear One, by pleasure, joy, contentment, happiness, balance and love, if  you would only allow yourself to believe that you can have all of these things without first having to pay a high price for them.

Because the truth is there is no posture or practice,  mantra or diet, book, teacher, or regimen that you must first master in order to be joyful, in order to be happy, or peaceful, secure,  content,  compassionate, forgiving, or to live a more conscious life.

The only requirement is that you allow yourself to feel good, that you make feeling good a priority.

And the surest way to do that Dear One is to focus your attention on that which makes you happy, on that which you see as possible, on that which is going right, on that which you desire, on that which makes you smile, laugh, anticipate the best, on that which you are grateful for.

Yoga, meditation, exercise, a healthy diet, a spiritual practice are all ways that can help you to achieve balance in your mental,  physical and spiritual life Dear One.  And that balance will help you to feel good, to stay healthy, to feel strong and be more confident in yourself, in your body, in your ability to handle any situation, in your capacity for trust.

But they are just a means to an end. They are not necessary.

The answer that you are looking for Dear One is simple — if you want your life to be dominated by good feelings, make choices that make you feel good.

Keep looking ahead Dear One, no matter what.

Where you are going matters so much more than where you have been.

They are going see in you Dear One, what they want to see in you, what they are ready to see in you, what they are looking for, what they are ready for, and nothing more.

And there is not a whole lot that you can do about it.

Isn’t that wonderful!

Now that you know, you don’t have to worry so much about trying to make a good impression, about trying to please them, or impress them, or win them over, you can just be you, and instead put all of your energy into doing what you do best, into doing what brings you the most joy,  into creating, sharing, and enjoying your life precisely the way that you want to.

You are not in this alone Dear One.

But you alone, are the only one who can change it.

If you want things to be different, if you want a different life, different circumstances, different stuff, you’re going to have to start choosing differently.

You are absolutely the only one who can.

You can’t punish yourself for making a mistake, misjudgment, or misstep Dear One, and come back into alignment, return to your flow, make it right again, at the same time.

You’re going to have to choose, one or the other.

You’re going to have to decide which is more important to you, returning to well-being and restoring balance, or remaining self-critical.

What’s it going to be?

As you already know very well from experience Dear One, trying to stand still in the constantly flowing river of life creates resistance, and requires so much more effort than trusting, letting go, and allowing yourself to go with the flow does.

When you see that they are hurting, when you see that they are struggling, when you see that they are lost, confused, or in pain and you want to help, but don’t know how — Love them Dear One.

There is no more useful thing that you can do.

We know that sometimes love does not seem like it’s enough, but trust us, it is.

Love heals. Love inspires. Love transforms.  Love can do a great many things.

• Don’t pity them
• Don’t fear for them
• Don’t be sad for them
• Don’t join them in their grief

See them as well.  See them as whole.  See them as prosperous.  See them as confident.  See them as happy.  See them as healed.  See them as the person that they want to be in this moment.  Hold an image of them in your mind and in your heart that they are not yet able to hold for themselves.

You can’t give your attention to their pain, to their struggle, to their problem, or their grief, and hope to be a part of their solution Dear One.

If you really want to help, if you really want to make a difference,  keep seeing the best in them, and for them and just keep loving them.

It truly is the best and most useful thing that you can do.

Right this minute, imagine Dear One, things exactly the way that you want them to be.

Are you doing it?

Are you smiling?

Good.

We think that it’s time you started holding yourself more accountable for your actions Dear One.

Celebrate your victories.  Acknowledge your accomplishments.  Praise your successes.  Honor your abilities.  Each and every one of them, big and small, everyday.

When you don’t, when you dismiss them, belittle them, or simply gloss right over them and immediately shift your attention instead to that which remains undone, to that which you have not yet achieved, not yet completed, or not yet mastered, you are doing yourself a great disservice.  Not only are you cheating yourself out of a wonderful experience, but you are tossing aside a potentially life changing moment.

Stop doing that.

One good feeling is all it takes to turn anything around.

Celebrate, acknowledge, praise and honor your accomplishments today Dear One.  It is the surest thing that you can do for yourself to guarantee that there will be more of them tomorrow.

Regret is an easy emotion to latch on to and embrace Dear One.  Costly, but easy.

It serves to keep you rooted, in the past, attached to a moment that has come and gone.
It maintains the familiar, regardless of how uncomfortable, painful or damaging it may be.

But Forgiveness is hard. Forgiveness takes courage because it moves you beyond where you are, beyond what is known to you, beyond what is familiar to you.

Forgiveness releases – allows – heals – requires you to trust, love, and let go.  It serves to bring you back into the present and frees you from emotions, thoughts, and connections that are keeping you tethered to the past, be it 5 years ago, 5 days ago or 5 minutes ago.

Regret holds on, binds you, and keeps you cemented in one place.

Forgiveness releases, frees you, and allows you to move ahead.

So now you know.