Before you do anything else today Dear One, stop and take a minute to think about the stories that you tell, that you have been telling, to yourself, and to everyone around you, about your life, about your work, about your relationships, about your health, about your wealth, about what’s possible, about what’s not, etc.

• Have they been positive or negative, optimistic or pessimistic, comedies or tragedies? Are they fact or fiction?  Are they from the heart or from the head? Do they create an expectation of a happy ending or an unhappy one?

Then take notice of what has been showing up for you lately; in your work, in your relationships, in your physical body, in your environment, etc.

If you like what you see, if you are pleased with what is coming your way, great!  Keep right on telling the same kinds of stories that you have been telling.

But, if that is not the case Dear One, if what is showing up for you is not what you were hoping for, then it may be time for you to start telling new ones.

Why not start today?

The more creative you are Dear One, the more you trust yourself, follow your heart, and allow yourself to color outside the lines, the more you will be living a life that is of service to life itself.

We know that it can feel like the act of doing something new, of changing your patterns of behavior, your thoughts, your actions, your habits, your beliefs, your relationships, will require a great deal of effort and struggle for you to achieve Dear One.  But the truth is that movement, progress, change, has, does, and always will require significantly less effort from you than trying to remain in one place ever will.

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

So today, we would like you to consider the possibility Dear One, that you just may have had it backwards — that maybe, just maybe, it is your resistance to change, and not change itself, that is making the process feel so challenging for you.

Optimism is one of many very powerful tools that you have at your disposal Dear One, and we would love to see you pulling it out and using it a lot more often than you have been.

Decide right now that you are going to be optimistic today – that you are going to look for, expect, anticipate, and acknowledge only the best in every person, situation, opportunity, and circumstance that you encounter.

Don’t think about whether or not you should,  could, or will be able to do it – just do it, and see what happens.

Pessimism, doubt, negativity, and judgment will all still be there for you if you need them, if you should discover that you really just can’t live without them.

So why not give it a shot.

What have you got to lose?

There is you, and then there are your thoughts Dear One.

Both of equal significance, but not one in the same.

So remember, that when your thoughts are racing, raging, spinning, tossing, turning, pitching, or falling, that the rest of you does not need to follow suit.

Remember to be kind today Dear One.

Why?

Because being unkind will not serve you in any useful or positive way.

And that is true for how you treat others as well as for how you treat yourself.

Yes, with power comes great responsibility Dear One.

But you should know that the opposite is also true.

With responsibility comes great power.

The more that you take responsibility for your choices, your thoughts, your words, your actions, your reactions, your life, the more that you accept that you are the one responsible for every experience that you have, the more powerful you will be.

And what we mean by that Dear One is, the more that you are able to accept the fact that life is not simply happening to you, but that you are the one creating it, the greater access you will have to the substantial creative power that exists within you.

We need you to do something very important for us today Dear One.

Be genuine. Be authentic. Be brave. Be honest.  Be open.  Be curious. Be conscious. Be silly. Be scared. Be uncertain. Be doubtful. Be flawed.

Be human.

Be you.

Why choose to doubt yourself, punish yourself, criticize yourself, or limit yourself Dear One, when you can choose to love yourself, forgive yourself, have confidence in yourself, or be generous with yourself instead?

Just something to think about.

You should know that it is perfectly okay for you to choose to indulge in a pity party from time to time Dear One, if that is what you genuinely feel you need to do.

But just remember, that every minute that you choose 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 make you feel better.

Have your party if need to.  Just don’t stay too long, okay?