Never Look Back...Except this Time?

Have you ever left your life? No looking back. Just start over? I'm not really talking about doing it in a healthy way...more like forced change or running away from a situation?

The first time I did it I was told "if you leave here, don't expect to come running back". I was sixteen. The second time I did it, I got the distinct impression the person seeing me off was glad (or at least relieved!) to see me go. I was eighteen.

Since then I thought I had gotten used to changes. I was able to make them without too much hesitation. I was able to let go of the things I had and the life I was living with very little attachment. I would just "get a new one" if the current one wasn't working. No regrets! That was my goal. As a matter a fact, when I did make a change I usually ended up feeling pretty good about it and could eventually let the past go. BUT, I had come to accept "there was no going back".

Well another life change is on the horizon, the "healthy" kind this time. AND I AM SO EXCITED! But this time I am not so eager to give up what I have. For the first time in my life I have created the life I felt would suit me. I did it from scratch, with the help of God and some very gifted people. That's the thing...I have people around me who love me and who I love and respect very much. I have people who trust me and count on me and would actually be disappointed if I left for good.

This is a new an interesting place to be.

This time I don't have to leave for good. I am able to leave and go after my vision, but also to come back and apply what I have found to what I had.

Now I just need to get my heart and head around traveling both directions on the same path...after all I can find my way back now...just follow the path that has already been created.

Love is in the Air...

So I went to a wedding this weekend in Waynesville, NC. It was a small, very intimate wedding that involved only close friends and family.

I was very impressed by the love I felt there. Everyone seemed genuine and truly interested in being there...at one point during the weekend the bride and groom actually went around and introduced everyone who would be attending and involved in their ceremony. This was only about 45 people but it struck me how thoughtful this was for them to do...

I went to lunch with all of the bridesmaids and we did a similar, more detailed introduction...the happiness and openness that was expressed to each other was touching.

It was refreshing to see genuine love, happiness, openness and thoughtful-ness expressed in this way. I left feeling like I had actually made some new friends and strengthened my existing friendships.

Thank you and congratulations Mr & Mrs. Wahl!

Don't Believe It!

There is a collective opinion out there that people can't, don't or won't change... I'm here to tell you that this is a false statement. Don't believe it.

In the past six years I have been fortunate enough to watch so many people transform themselves and their lives, that I can't even count them.

This isn't just superficial change either...I am talking about a deep internal transformation.

Someone I respect very much was talking to me about how, in many cultures, when a child comes "of age" they take time to go inside themselves in order to bring out their true essence and enter into adulthood. This could be on a vision quest, in a sweat lodge or just spending time on their own with this intention in their minds. The information they have collected up until this age is sifted through and the opinions, advice and guidance that has been given to them are either integrated or discarded depending on how it rings true to their own unique person.

She also brought to my attention, that we miss this vital step here in our country, and as a result, we have a lot of people who do not understand who they are or what their unique gifts are. They end up confused and sometimes severely misdirected.
After all, it is frustrating, trying to find what is missing but not knowing what we are looking for.

I don't believe there is one specific way to "find yourself". In fact I believe there are as many ways to do this as there are people. What matters, is that you do. It is important not only for you but for the people around you. Each one of us needs the others unique gifts in ways we can't even begin to comprehend.

So....Don't believe it when someone tells you that people don't, can't or won't change. They do, can, and will. I see it everyday!