Time to Rest

(Image credit: Getty Images via @daylife)

My body is screaming loudly for a respite as I have seriously put it through it's paces over the last couple days. That said, I always allot at least one stretch day in my regimen—one that's typically Yoga-infused—just to be sure that I keep my flexibility where I want and need it to be.

It's important to always listen to your body's cues when you come across the point where everything hurts and you literally don't have the energy to lift a pot much less a weight.

Rest is one of the most important aspects of training and if you neglect to get it as needed, you can potentially do unnecessary harm to the progress you've already made.

Remember to always take a day or two—sometimes a week is necessary—to reset and rejuvenate. Your body will thank you for it and the gains you'll experience the next time you workout will be felt two-fold.

Strength Is Not Given

Strength is earned.

The biggest misconception any woman (or man for that matter) can have is to believe that strength is inherent from birth. It isn't. It's something that is acquired through overcoming the challenges and trials that He sets in your path. Those obstacles are like weights for your soul and—the more you lift, the stronger it gets—it's up to you to step up to the bench and do the heavy lifting all by yourself. That's the only way to become a stronger, more spiritually balanced woman of God.

Of course, over time, it becomes easier to remain still and shy away from the unknown because it's easier to not keep opening the doors with unknown paths and struggles behind them. However, there is little glory in conceding to your fears and allowing your soul to cower and remain weak in the face of a new challenge—challenges that, I truly believe, He skillfully places in our paths as reminders  that a) He knows you're there and b) is confident you can handle whatever it is He presents to you.

My personal view on facing these challenges is that we should feel blessed by their presence because it shows us that He's confident in our strength and ability even when we're not. That realization more than anything else gives me the motivation I need to continue to face my demons—no matter how frightening the battles might seem because I know where the strength to fight those battles will come from and I know I'll earn a few more stripes along the way if I stay the course.

Don't ever be afraid to step up to the bench, put on your gloves, and do that spiritual heavy lifting. I promise you as each set gets harder, He won't be far behind to help you—His hands beneath your elbows, offering you His services as your personal "spotter".

Get lifting.

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Facing The Music: Even Living In "The Now" Has Limitations

As a woman who has accepted the fact that she is always trying to become better than she was the day before, I understand that growth is about making your way through the easy and the tough moments. You're not always going to have the best response to things, but you will learn some lesson of worth— if you're open to it.

I often try to tell myself that I can be of sound mind, even in the worst of circumstances, because my spiritual and mental side has progressed to that point—I have arrived! But, to be frank, I am no more immune to fits of indecision than the next person. As a matter of fact, I am often completely confused by exactly where my learning process began and what part I'm supposed to play in making it a more enlightening experience.

However, in my defense, even in those moments of confusion, I am still striving to do what's best for me. The only problem with that approach is that it, at times, leaves me without a grasp on the bigger picture—which can lead to my feeling emotionally distraught about all the things I don't know or understand.

In other words, because I am so focused on the moment, I lose sight of the long-term purpose of my actions and reactions. I cease to see how this moment will, ultimately, change the course of all the others that follow and—while that may not seem like a bad thing for a person who prides herself on living in the now—it can be problematic because one of the biggest lessons you have to learn as an individual is when to take things deeper than the surface. 

The best I ever hope for is to come out the other side of each day with a clearer purpose than which I entered. And while I am fully aware that this approach will, at times, leave me unprepared for accepting the worst case scenarios when they undoubtedly do happen, I'm okay with that because life is nothing if not unpredictable.

I wasn't meant to foresee it all, just to live it and hope like hell that my actions make all the difference in the person I am trying to be.

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Namaste: Working To Be Better At Being Me

This won't be a long post, but it's one that I felt heavily prompted to write today.

I am a wife, mother, and seeker of all things real in this world. I know that sounds corny to some of you, but that's who I am—it's my truth—that's my version of who I am in a nutshell. However, with that realization, I am never far from the reality of how much growing I still have yet to do.

As a wife, I do my best to be a friend and confidante to the man in my life because I don't think any marriage (or partnership) is worth having if it is had minus communication, loyalty, and love. The three come as a package deal and work in conjunction—not independently of each other—and require daily practice by both parties in order to be effective.

As a mother, I've discovered that I am better at the practical things—organization, providing loving care and nourishment, and being the best role model I can be—but I understand my limits as well. I play with my children, but I don't consider myself a playful person. Their father makes for a much more fascinating playmate and that works fine for them—and for us.

And finally, as a seeker of all things real, I am drawn to things that are both of this world and not. I want to learn new things and expose myself to the world in a more spiritually connective way because I feel that far too many of us take the world in which we live, breathe, and love for granted.

So, through my weekly practice of reading spiritually awakening literature and diving faithfully into the practice of Yoga, I feel more whole with each new day that greets me—isn't that all any of us want to feel?

My life is by no means perfect, but I don't expect it to be. Perfection isn't attainable, but living a life filled with grace is, and that's all I ever hope to do.

REPOST: Take This Life and Live It

Sometimes it's hard to imagine a time when your life will no longer be relevant, however, two things that are quite certain about this life is that it has a beginning and an end.

The people we meet, the relationships we build with those people along the way, and the choices we make within the time we have here are what will help to shape our experience.

We will become a collection of the good, the bad, and the ugly parts of life, and the only thing any of us can ever hope for is the opportunity to live the best life possible—to be happy.

Despite what anyone might tell you, there isn't a prescription for happiness. Each individual will approach his/her life differently and therefore will find happiness in a much different way they you or I. Where one person might choose to fill their life with friendships and personal connections, another might find the same fulfillment in discovering all they can about the world—cherishing the discovery process.

In truth, the "how" doesn't matter. What matters is that you take the journey.

Our time upon this earth is undetermined and no one can be certain when the time to leave this life will come.

Treat each day as a blessing, collect each moment as if it were a ray of sunshine, and use those rays to illuminate the spirit within you, and never let that spirit be dimmed by any one or anything.

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Yoga: Moving Towards More Than Just Flexibility

Yoga is something that I have danced with, off and on, over the last 5-years, However, it is only in the past five months that I have come to appreciate the balance it offers in my life.

I find that I am more willing to accept the inconsistencies and curve balls thrown my way because I see the benefits in going with the flow rather than obsessing over the details. Even more, the beauty and simplicity of the things around me have become magnified in such a way that it's become impossible for me not to find some level of gratification in even the most mundane moments.

Granted, I still have times where my anger and frustration get the best of me but I feel, for the most part, that I am much more centered and focused on my life as a "work in progress" as opposed to a completed picture with no hope of getting better—I am rediscovering myself as a wife, mother, woman, and friend and enjoying the lessons I'm learning along the way.

I credit yoga for allowing me the avenue to do such things without feeling the pain and disappointment that I might have in the past.

It's as if I have come to accept my bad parts for what they were/are and decided to no longer let them define me. I finally started to realize that the only consistency in this life is that things will always change and my place in that cycle is up to me.

I guess what I'm saying is, the journey does not come in trying to overcome the obstacles that these "changes" represent, but rather in taking those obstacles as symbols of how much stronger your becoming as a person because you have found a way to overcome them on your own.

Yoga has opened up a world within myself that I might otherwise never have found and I am loving it.

Now...if I could just master that darned crane (see photo).

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It's Not Always Easy Remembering To Smile

Recently, I have abandoned my daily yoga routine. I abandoned it not because it's not useful—trust me it is—but because I haven't been able to find the time to fit it into my busy schedule. However, of late, the lack of it has caused me to spiral back into my daily stress-filled ritual of trying to do too much with too little.

One of the basic mantras of the yoga routine I follow is to remember to "smile" and "be grateful for everything the day hath brought". I often forget to actually smile during the course of a normal day—on the inside, not the outside—because I'm so focused on the outward responsibilities that I have yet to complete.

The solution to my problem is easy enough: I'll just have to get back to my morning yoga ritual. I miss that moment of personal reflection and meditative contemplation—breathe in the positive, exhale the negative.

I must get back to that.

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There's Always One Moment

Each morning, around the time I manage to get my bearings together (in other words, about the time I realize it is morning, I do have to get up, and it will be another busy day), I've found myself engaging in one particular ritual: There's about sixty seconds where I decide if I will be a positive or a negative presence on the day.

Now, I know what you're thinking, who chooses to be a "negative" presence? Negativity isn't usually the go-to option of anyone. We all strive to be positive, don't we? Well...not really.

Think about it, in choosing to be positive, you are committing to taking each moment as it comes—with zero preconceived notions.

For example, let's say you agree to meet a friend for lunch, and that particular friend has been known to be a touch over-dramatic—about everything. You might find that you actually begin to "prepare" yourself for your interaction with them before it actually happens.

Through that act of preparation alone, you've already begun setting the tone for your lunch date.

Whereas, if you chose to take things as they came, and remained open to the possibility of good (i.e. perhaps this time they will be different), you would leave room for a less stressful atmosphere because, let's face it, if you go in with negative expectations, that is precisely what is likely to greet you.

Does that mean you won't become annoyed if your friend does indeed live up to their reputation? No, but at least you wouldn't have diminished the chance of having a pleasant lunch simply by attaching your negative energy.

Positivity takes conscious effort. You have to work hard at it, daily, if you expect to make it a habit. And each new day will force you to make a choice as to who you will be in this world.

What will your choice be today? 

Are You "Set" In Your Ways?

People describe individuals who aren't open to change, or new ideas, as "set" in their way—don't bother engaging those types of people in a conversation meant to evoke an intelligent, productive, debate—you're  wasting your time.

As easy a write-off as that explanation might be, I don't buy it. Despite what you have been told,  no one is set in their way. Some people are simply more resistant to change than others because they fear the unknown and we are all, to some degree, guilty of that.

Over a period of time we become comfortable with the knowledge we have acquired and we don't look kindly upon people who challenge us on those notions. Our knowledge, derived from years of personal experience, forms the foundation of our paradigms and when those paradigms are challenged, the natural instinct for many of us is to fight back and reject the new. And, we extend those rejections not because we are unwilling to accept that they might be right, but rather because we cannot deal with the possibility that we might be wrong.

It's as much about ego as it is about principle. 

However, none of us can become better versions of ourselves if we choose to remain ignorant to the changes and the people that dwell among us. You must be willing to accept the possibility that what you know isn't absolute, and you must remain open to more than just what you've come to know if you ever expect to learn anything else of substance. 

Understand this: As a reasonable, intelligent, and sentient human being, you always have the capacity to evolve—both in mind and in body—that journey is endless. To disrespect that journey, by never giving yourself the chance to accept or understand the unfamiliar, is to lay waste to all the possibilities that life has to offer.

Do not allow yourself to be stifled by a stubborn resistance to change. Trust that you are worth more than that, and allow yourself to become better than even you could have ever imagined.

Day 15: Sometimes You Just Have to "Do You"...

You can't please everybody. Stop trying...it's useless.

The only person you can take full responsibility for is yourself and, if you spend the better part of your existence trying to gauge the approval of others, your life will be miserable.

Most people aren't looking to praise your efforts. It's human nature to be overly critical and objective—think about it—everywhere you turn, there is judgment.

The eyes of your church congregation are gauging how "christian" you are, your friends are questioning the decisions you make in regards to your dress, your career, your parenting, and your money, and society expects you to be a law-abiding citizen with the potential to offer a great deal to their world.

Just living is a challenge because nothing comes without criticism or expectation.

That said, the best you can do is be the best version of yourself—every. single. day.

Don't worry about what any one has to say, don't continually alter your actions so that they're consistent with what others feel they should be, and don't waste time trying to be someone that you're not—that's an injustice to you and the one beautiful life God has granted.

Do the things that make you feel good and make you the most effective person for those who are the most important parts of your life—period. As for every one else clawing at you and telling you who you should be, well, tell them your dance card is full, and advise them to take a number.

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