Ever given birth? Nature has created a “birth canal” to bring about new life: If you are feeling “squeezed” right now, perhaps something is seeking to be born in you right now, today!

I’ve learned long ago – and every wisdom teacher I’ve ever had has supported this premise: “THERE IS NO GROWTH IN A COMFORT ZONE!”

Growth –real growth– is never easy, but is always fruitful and worth the “birth pain” or work.

You and I have been “conditioned” from our early years of growing up, learning from our parents and society, being handed a whole chunk of ideas and beliefs which may have worked for them, but may not work for us, in our time, in our current lives.

Breaking free of our conditioning requires us to challenge limiting thoughts. We can say we want success, but any time we are agreeing with conditions that are difficult, and any time we talk about how life is unfair, we are creating resistance with the very thing we want.

So how do we grow?! We grow by being in agreement with all that is prosperous and using every means at our command to make it easy for prosperity, for abundance, for the free flow of life to be in our experience.

Whatever it is that is the greatest source of challenge and fear is also the greatest opportunity for growth. For example, let’s say that you really REALLY want to get a job. But…you’re challenged and afraid of the possible rejection if and when you put yourself out there to make an application and actually get an interview. Let’s say that you cannot stand the thought of applying for a job and then getting that call or letter that says, “sorry, you’re just not the person for us”. As much as that kind of rejection can hurt, it can also be a valuable exercise in understanding the wise admonition: “don’t take it personally”.

How can you not take it personally, you ask! Years ago, when I was auditioning for operatic roles, I was constantly putting myself out there for possible rejection. Although it was disappointing when I wasn’t chosen for the part, I began to understand that it wasn’t me or my voice or my talent that was being rejected, so much as it was a matter of the best “fit” according to the folks doing the evaluating. Yes, it would have been wonderful, I thought, if they thought I was the best “fit”. But if not, their choosing someone else was not a reflection on my talent or appearance: I was nonetheless very good at my art and craft; I was nonetheless very attractive and capable of doing the work. I realized that I need not be diminished by their choices.

For a young person just beginning a career in seeking a job, it can be daunting to make applications and then go through the interview process, and then wait for the “verdict”. If it is a “no”, then applying for the next job could be more difficult, more challenging, more fearful. Unless it is not.

Unless…the process of seeking a job becomes an adventure: an adventure in practicing persistence and self confidence, in the face of rejections and disappointment. What a great way to develop that inner muscle I like to call “courage” and “grit”.

What an adventure to discover courage and grit inside ourselves, when we didn’t even know it was there! Henry Ford once said, “One of the greatest discoveries a man makes, one of his greatest surprises, is to find he can do what he was afraid he couldn’t do.”

Most of the barriers we beat are against ourselves; most of the bars we beat against are in ourselves. We put them there and we can take them down.

One of the great discoveries you and I can make, –one of our great surprises– is to find that we really can do something we were afraid we couldn’t do. What a miraculous discovery to see that the barrier is something we have put up inside ourselves and we really can take it down! Really!

How do we grow? We grow when we choose to open ourselves for what I like to call the GREAT LEAP OF FAITH: to take that plunge into the unknown of our own capacities, our own strengths, our own possibilities. Take that plunge by being willing to risk falling down, risk the rejection, risk the pain and disappointment of NOT getting that job, or that date, or that part in the play. What is right around the corner, as we develop that inner muscle called “courage” is creating a lifetime of possibilities – if not this job, then there is another one; if not that man or woman, I remain open to meet someone who is even better for me; if not that part in a play, I will persist in getting the part that best fits me.

Each step is a learning.

Each step is our way of discovering our inner grit and the joy of becoming RESILIENT.

I just love bouncing back! I feel so powerful, when I do! And…so will YOU!

With love and blessings,
Sheila

I have a decision to make; I am faced with making a choice. It is about “this” vs. “that”; it is about “yes” or “no”; choosing to move or stay put, to go to the right or the left, to add something or divest myself of something.

Each day of our lives is filled with making choices, decisions, and distinctions.

“Do I take that new job offer?” or “Do I pursue this relationship?” or “Do I take this course of study?” or “Do I buy this new house?” or “Do I have another child?” – these are the kinds of questions you and I are asking ourselves; these are the kinds of choices and decisions we are in the midst of making in our lives. How do we decide?

Where do you go for guidance? How deeply do you trust your own guidance? I want to suggest that your best guidance can be found within yourself. Trust yourself to gather the information from the “experts” in the field related to your dilemma. Consider their advice: how does it related to your situation? Act only on what feels right for you. Ask yourself: what does your whole being (your mind, body and spirit) say “Yes” to? You are the only expert for our own life.

Melody Beattie said: “I never know what the next lesson is going to be, because we’re not supposed to know; we’re supposed to trust ourselves to discover it….I trust so much in the power of the heart and the soul; I know that the answer to what we need to do next is in our own hearts. All we have to do is listen, then take that one step further and trust what we hear. We will be taught what we need to learn.”

I have a client who is on the “horns of a dilemma” regarding returning to her husband and working on her marriage, or pursuing the paperwork with a divorce and moving on in her life. There is a great deal at stake: children, financial security, emotional stability, community and family relationships and connections – there is a long list, but these are some of the more elementary issues. After having drawn out all the “pros” and “cons” of her situation, looking squarely at the factors which are more concrete and obvious, I have suggested that she consult with herself – her inner self. It has been important for her to explore the various factors, and to also consult with the “experts” in these arenas: finances, terms of separation and divorce agreement, options for starting over in terms of her own living arrangements, the emotional impact, and then the spiritual questions of what “gifts” this relationship has to offer.

As a Spiritual Life Coach, I mentor my clients in exploring themselves on a spiritual level: what gift or blessing is inside this difficult situation? How am I being invited by this situation to grow and stretch? Which “hot buttons” does this relationship or situation continue to push? How can I empower myself to grow both inside this situation and as a result of being in it?

With the client who was considering divorce – having gone so far as to visit an attorney and have the papers drawn – she looked at herself differently, after our various conversations. In looking at herself differently and taking responsibility for her own role in the conflicts with her husband, she began to look at him differently, as well. In owning her own role in their difficulties, she stopped pointing the finger of blame at him; when she shifted her glance from blaming him and therefore feeling like a victim, she shifted her perspective. In shifting her perspective generally, she shifted her emotional climate and attitude specifically: she began to see her husband as a man who was doing the best he could under the circumstances, and saw him with compassionate eyes, rather than angry eyes. Her anger was then replaced by compassion, and that space allowed love to step back into their relationship. I had suggested that before throwing in the towel – having so much at stake – in the very least, she had the option to “try again” and to “do whatever it takes” to explore growth inside the relationship.

Eventually, my client was successful in her desire to bring her husband with her to our conversations. He was a courageous man, willing to step into the unknown territory of growth and expansion in his marriage. He was up for the task. He loved his wife. We discovered in our journey together that he had a “love language” which was different from hers. I introduced the book “The 5 Love Languages” to them and used many of the exercises in this wonderful little book. This couple began to appreciate the differences in their languages of love and began to learn to speak a “foreign language” in order to create a new and viable relationship.

As James Thornton said: “Ultimately, we must learn to trust ourselves. When we do this intimately and intelligently, the world opens full of meaning before us. We find that we ourselves are the doorway to a fathomless understanding of the source of life itself. We need only to learn to walk through it.”

What dilemma or decision do you want to make today? How are you guiding yourself? To whose voice are you listening? How will you decide?

Let me hear from you – let’s talk!

With love and blessings
Sheila

“The body has its own way of knowing, a knowing that has little to do with logic, and much to do with truth, little to do with control, and much to do with acceptance, little to do with division and anallysis, and much to do with union.” - Marilyn Sewell

Do you have an important decision or choice to make? Are you wrestling with your balance sheet of pros and cons, of the benefits and costs of any particular dilemma? Are you weighing the upside with the downside of your choice?

Several years ago, I had a real “cross-roads” kind of decision to make; it was professional and it was financial and it was emotional. If I had looked at the balance sheet, the perceived benefits and costs, I could easily have stayed where I was and not moved on. The committee that was waiting for my decision asked me to consider one last time. I did. I took ten minutes to go to my office and get quiet with myself. I asked my body: “Tell me which path to take!” I noticed how my body felt when I considered staying where I was. My chest became tight, my breathing got fast and I felt anxiety throughout my torso. Then, I considered leaving my current position and moving on. I didn’t know where I would be going. I had no idea of what my future would hold for me. Yet, with the thought of moving on, my body became calm, my breathing was even and slowed down. The fluttering and tenseness in my chest disappeared. I left that position, and have never regretted it for a moment.

Have you ever stopped to consider that your body actually has wisdom? Our bodies usually know us better than our minds do. The next time you have a decision to make, consult your body before making a final choice. Reflect on an option before you, and then pay attention to your body. Are you breathing deeply or barely at all? Are you muscles tense or relaxed? Is your energy blocked or flowing?

As your body is the source of your vitality, your motivation, your inspiration and enthusiasm – and most importantly, your intuition – it’s best to listen carefully as you consult that part of you, if you are venturing into a new activity.

“Our inner guidance comes to us through our feelings and body wisdom first – not through intellectual understanding…. The intellect works best in service to our intuition, our inner guidance, soul, God or higher power – whichever term we choose for the spiritual energy that animates life.” - Christiane Northrup

Much of the above guidance and source of quotes comes from a newsletter I receive daily:
“The Inner Journey”, by John & Patrice Robson of www.HigherAwareness.com

With love and blessings,
Sheila

Our world of social networking is exploding. In fact…so much…that it’s often overwhelming, keeping up with all the invitations from people I don’t even know, but know people who know people who know people I might kinda know! And then there’s the Groups, the Causes, the Fans… Oy!

There are times in my busy day that I often don’t have time to return phone calls to friends and family, who begin to wonder if I fell off a cliff somewhere…and there are even days when running off to the bathroom seems like a luxury of time! SOOOO…imagine for folks like me the inundation of stuff from my emails, from LinkedIn, from Naymz, from Twitter, and beyond.

I say all this as prologue to my offering of some lovely wisdom that came to me from Shawn Murphy on FaceBook. This is wisdom and inspiration at its best, and I couldn’t have said it better myself, so I haven’t even tried:

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Subject: Persistence

Why is Persistence so important in our lives today? Let’s start by putting this question to Robert Jarvik, Robert was a man that was rejected by every Medicinal College in the United States at least 3 times. What kept this mans ambitions and dreams going when all he received was rejection and disappointment? PERSISTENCE!

The University of Utah School of Medicine finally excepted Robert in 1972, just 10 years later Dr Robert Jarvik created the first artificial heart. This mans passion and unwavering determination to achieve his goal would not have been enough without his PERSISTENCE!

Robert did not have the greatest entrance marks for medicinal school, or the highest I.Q, but what he lacked in these areas he surly made up for with his persistence. He saw greatness in his future, greatness in the field of medicine. So for him to arrive at his destination he had to continue following his dream and not allow anything to push him off course.

Napoleon Hill devoted an entire chapter of his book “Think and Grow Rich”, to the topic of Persistence. Hill stated “There may be no heroic connection to the word persistence, but the quality is to the character of man, what carbon is to steel”.

Remember tenacity, perseverance, and courage, along with one more bite of the elephant may be all that is required for one to reach their goals and dreams. How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time my friends, one bite at a time!

Do you know that the average individual today only reads at a grade six or seven level? So what does it take to improve these reading skills? Not much, reading 15 minutes per day would be enough to move above this reading level, just pushing yourself that one step further, spending a few extra minutes studying, or just not excepting your present place in life. This is enough to become the best in your field of choice, push yourself outside your comfort zone and see the greatness you can achieve in life, wanting to become great just isn’t enough. Perseverance is needed!

So the next time you come up against that resistance and you feel like success is not in your future, will you accept being very ordinary, or is extraordinary in your future? Persistence and one bite at a time……

To your success,

Shawn F Murphy

shawn@shawnfmurphy.com
http://www.facebook.com/l/6265e;www.shawnfmurphy.com
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I DO HOPE YOU HAVE ENJOYED SHAWN’S OFFERING! I DID.

With love and blessings,
Sheila

A friend recently asked me “if you knew you only had 48 hrs to live, how would you spend that time and with whom?”.

The tears welled up and I saw clearly which people in my life have shown me evidence that they cherish me, and I saw what timeless connections are about for us all, and it was another “wake up moment” in which I clarified my priorities and sorted out the wheat from the chaf…

In my last 48 hrs, I would want to be with the people who see me and hear me…who know who and what I am and honor the fact that I have walked this earth…

In my last 48 hrs, I would want to be with the people who have most touched my soul, who have nurtured my mind, and who have been the greatest source of inspiration to me…

I would want to be with the people whose hug and kiss is genuine and whose eyes meet mine with mutual recognition and delight in that we have had the privilege of walking some of our journey together…

I would want to be with the friends and family whose touch –whether a hug, a kiss, a gentle squeeze of the hand or a gentle brush of the cheek with the back of the finger tips– is about acknowledgment and deep affection and appreciation, like my grandchildren who are truly happy to see me and practically knock me down with their vigorous hugs and kisses when they see me…

I would be with loving and generous friends like Robert who regularly clears generous chunks of his time, in the midst of his busy schedule, to prepare a delicious meal for me, sharing his work with me, inviting me to share my work with him, sharing music we love and laughing out loud together, and all the while, treating me like a Queen, as his special guest…

I would want to be with my sweet lover who lets me know that his greatest joy is in giving himself to me and sharing pleasure with me, and whose touch is coming from his deep longing to connect somehow with my soul…

And you? How would you choose to spend your last 48 hours?

“The single greatest thing you can do to change
your life today would be to start being grateful
for what you have right now ~ Oprah Winfrey”

Those of us who are familiar with “The Secret” understand the law of attraction, to the extent that whatever feelings you have within your entire energetic system are the feelings you are attracting to yourself. For example, if you are filled with worry, you will attract more worry. If you are filled with anxiety, you will attract more anxiety; dissatisfaction attracts more of that, and so it goes.

By the same token,

JOY attracts more joy. Feelings of happiness and elation are contagious and attract more of that happiness and elation. When you have the feelings of peace and serenity throughout your body and mind, you will naturally attract more of that. Gratitude attracts more gratitude and all things related to being thankful—expansiveness, an energy of allowing and openness. Kindness attracts more of that energy and likewise with LOVE attracting more LOVE.

A friend recently sent me a great quote: “When you complain, you become a living, breathing
crap magnet.” What an awesome quote!  If you take a close look at your life… can you see periods when you fell into this pattern and things just kept getting worse and worse?

I sure have. And I know that most often, I have noticed this in my relationships.

As soon as you start focusing on the stuff that bothers you, the relationships start to take a turn for the worse, don’t they? It is the best and fastest way to see that “what you focus on expands.”

That is why I wanted to share this quote with you. It left a sting in my belly because I had to admit
that sometimes I am a crap magnet. At least now that I am aware of it, I can also choose to snap
out of it as quickly as I see it.

What is even better is that the opposite is also true: “When you express gratitude, you become a living,
breathing money magnet.”

Things in our lives don’t just “happen”…we create our results, either consciously or unconsciously. I’m not here to say that YOU created the snow storm or the flooding conditions; but…you do create your reactions to these situations. It IS your job to create your own results of these circumstances.

Understand this: your “job” is an inside job… To change the world, all you have to do is change the way you feel inside. How you feel inside becomes contagious to everyone and everything outside of you! Did you imagine how easy it could be to do your part to change the world?!?!?

May you choose to feel JOY.

And…may the joy be with you!

With love and blessings
Sheila

How was your day today?  How did it work out for you?  How close was the outcome of your day to what you DECIDED this morning it would BE?

Strange question?  This is what I suggest: you can CHOOSE to make your day a GREAT DAY, even a HAPPY DAY.

When you got up this morning, did you CHOOSE to be HAPPY?  I did.  It wasn’t always so, believe me.  I used to be cranky and lethargic and just plain hard to get along with–especially before I had my morning coffee.  Anyone who was too cheerful in the morning I wanted to punch them in the face (not really, but it was a thought).  

A few years ago, I learned that I could actually CHOOSE to wake up in the morning without an alarm clock.  I also learned that I could CHOOSE to wake up HAPPY.  I learned that with forethought, I could plan to begin my day in a specific and certain kind of way: I put on my dancing music, prepared my healthy breakfast, and danced my way through my morning routine.

I’ve learned that I can either live by default or by choice.  I prefer choosing.

And you?

As I grow into greater maturity, my humility is growing at about three paces ahead of me: I am surrounded by colleagues who are much younger and smarter, and this is the good news! A local colleague whom I met at a conference in the Hudson Valley here in Upstate New York has proven to be one of those people whose work I highly respect and to whom I have made numerous referrals (I don’t know if he even knows it!). This highly talented and professional practitioner is Jeff Schneider, L.C.S.W. He is the therapist’s therapist and uses many modalities which I use, and some which I do not, including NLP, to name only one of many.

What follows is his recent newsletter article with great tips for managing that inner voice we all have — you know the one: the one that is always chipping away at our joy, at our self-esteem, and at our sense of adventure and desire for personal growth and expansion. Thanks Jeff!

UNDERSTANDING YOUR INNER JUDGE

Many people who I work with and who I know personally struggle with having a strict inner critic or judge. They wonder how this came into being and what its effects are.
 
THE INNER JUDGE:
is consistently punitive, harsh, critical, condemning and belittling.
has an incessant demand for better conduct and more achievement. 
is overly strict, punitive and forbidding and therefore restricts freedom of action. 
is an internalization of parental and societal disapproval and rebuke.
is often unconscious which makes it more powerful, hurtful and insidious.

WHO THE INNER JUDGE BECOMES ESTABLISHED IN:
Children who grew up with parents and/or caregivers, including teachers and spiritual advisors, who were consistently critical, condemning and belittling, intolerant of short comings, intolerant of children simply being or acting like children,  intrusive of physical and/or emotionally and/or sexual boundaries, narcissistic and egocentric (essentially they were overly involved with themselves and could not focus on their child) and emotionally distant, who exploited their children, could not provide emotional nurturance, who put forth incessant demands for better conduct and more achievement,  yelled and screamed,  had rigid expectations and who unfavorably compared their child to others.

EFFECTS OF THE INNER JUDGE
Having a strong inner judge and this type of personality structure results in high levels of anxiety, depression and guilt, all of which contributes to disturbances of mood. Quite often a person may feel like this and not know why. As such, it is a “free floating” pain not necessarily associated with an event or situation. It results in feeling low grade anger and/or in bursts of fury. The anger will often exceed what the situation warrants.  It manifests as hopelessness and chronic disappointment. Even when on the surface there is reason to be hopeful a person isn’t and even when things are going well a person will feel chronically disappointed. Because there are consistent unrealistic expectations a person is set up for failure. They simply cannot succeed because their expectations are unrealistic and unachievable.

No matter what one does it is not enough, no matter how one is, it is not good enough, no matter how one performs they feel like they fall short. Because a person is afraid to fail or make a mistake they often don’t take action (this might even include something that is fun).   People will also believe that they are making mistakes when they aren’t. They will think that they did poorly on a test or with a presentation yet their grade or feedback will contradict this.  Yet, when positive feedback is given it is often disbelieved. Or they may be overly afraid of making mistakes. This fear will often prevent them from taking healthy action. And they often feel that the job they are doing will be criticized.

Once again no matter what they do or how they are or how things are it is not good enough.  A person may feel chronically guilty about what they are, or not, doing. This could be simply when they are caring for themselves, setting healthy limits or saying no to a request. A person with a strong inner critic also has difficulty relaxing and having fun. There is an underlying sense of dis-ease and dread. When someone wants to spend time with them they feel unworthy and question the person’s motivation. They might ask themselves, “Why would anyone want to spend time with me?; Other people see and feel their goodness yet they cannot.  Also very present is a very strong sense of shame. It is important to differentiate between guilt and shame. Guilt relates to feeling badly about what someone does or does not do while shame is related to who someone is and how they feel about themselves. What we do varies and fluctuates. Who we are and how we feel about ourselves is more permanent.

As such, while guilt and shame are both painful, shame is the deeper and more pervasive pain. So, as you can see, there is an explanation for how the inner judge comes into being and for the pain that it causes.

ACTION STEPS / SUGGESTIONS
- Reflect on whether you have a strict inner judge.

- Become increasingly aware of it.

- Discern between who is making the decision-you or the inner judge. When you have a decision to make.

- Observe it with curiosity and interest. Being aware of it will give it less power and give you more autonomy.

By Jeff Schneider, L.C.S.W.
http:/www.healing-wellness-counseling.com

As a Life Coach, its my daily “job” to teach, mentor, and remind my clients what the Rules of the Game of Life are all about: How to Win? What are some of the basics? Well…CONSISTENCY is one of those basics, without which, no one really wins at anything — not a game, not in business, and not in our relationships.

In my work as Life Coach, I’m constantly having the experience of learning from my clients and students; experiencing that the student becomes the teacher, the client becomes the coach. I just received a wonderful bit of wisdom written by George H. Allen. My friend, client and teacher Claudia Jacobs (www.claudiajacobsdesigns.com) just graced me with this article:

CONSISTENCY
By George H. Allen
Consistency is the truest measure of performance. Almost anyone can have a great day, or even a good year, but true success is the ability to perform day in and day out, year after year, under all kinds of conditions. Inconsistency will win some of the time; consistency will win most of the time.
Consistency requires concentration, determination, and repetition.
To be at your best all the time, you must:
Take nothing for granted. If you aren’t “up” every day, some thing, or someone, will knock you down.
Take pride in what you do. The things you do well are the things you enjoy doing.
Take setbacks in stride. Don’t brood over reverses; learn from them.
Take calculated chances. To win something, you must risk something.
Take work home. To get ahead, plan ahead.
Take the extra lap. Condition yourself for the long run. The tested can always take it.
Don’t take “no” for an answer.
You can do what you believe you can do.
PS…Celebrate after the victory!

To see more: http://www.nnp.org/nni/Publications/Dutch-American/georgeallen.html

Write these “RULES” down on your frig, your closet door and/or your forehead! Emblazen them upon your heart and mind!

With love and blessings
Sheila

In my bathroom hangs a picture of two little children leaning toward one another to give a kiss.

In my dining room hangs a picture of me kissing the Torah on the occasion of my granddaughter’s bat mitzvah.

In my living room hangs a picture of friends hugging and kissing during a reunion dinner, after a 20-year absence from one another.

In my bedroom hangs a picture of two lovers locked in a full body embrace, with lips engaging in a passionate kiss.

We have all kissed and been kissed. We kiss our kids, our friends, our spouses, our animals, various members of our families, and even a beautiful bottle of wine presented to us as a gift.

What is a kiss to you? To me, it is a gesture that says “I see you” and “I want to connect with you”.

Just a couple of days after Valentine’s Day – that day many dread and a few embrace – I am still thinking about all that that day of “love” can still serve for you and for me.

During a recent conversation with a client, she was reflecting on a kiss she experienced with a new man she was just beginning to date. She was wondering about what it “means”. I asked her to think about the other men in her life whom she has kissed. And what did those kisses “mean”? She laughed and admitted that while she had thought that this or that relationship had been something special, sometimes even basing that evaluation on the magnitude of the “kiss” experience, she realized that the kiss was just a kiss in that moment. I asked, “really?”

Then I told her the story of two kisses from two separate men who had a huge impact on my life:

The first kiss was a simple kiss of “goodbye” from a man I had met for only a few hours of conversation while travelling; it was a time in my life when I was married but celebate for a long time, due to my husband’s illness. It was a time that I was in my mid-50’s and had accepted the apparent fact of life for me that my sexuality was a thing of the past, that I was basically “dead” from the waist down, and that my own sexiness and passionate needs were long behind me, not ahead of me. His one sweet kiss awakened my libido. His one kiss gave me an experience of being re-awakened as a woman whose sensuality was simply lying dormant, but not entirely dead. We never exchanged anything beyond that one simple farewell kiss. However, I shall never forget that magical moment. Yoram changed my life with that kiss.

The second kiss was given to me by a man who became my lover for several years, following the death of my beloved husband. It was a kiss which ignited my passionate energies and, then in my mid-60’s, gave me the gift of vitality at a time in my life when many women have learned to accept libidinous tendencies as either inappropriate for “that age” or have resigned themselves to sexless lives, whether married or not. That initial kiss re-awakened hormonal activities, the release of oxytocin, the regeneration of vital energies which had been lying in wait for over a decade. That kiss was an energetic connection of passion which breathed a new level of awareness and vitality into my flow of blood through my veins and spiritual energy throughout my essential Self.

Never underestimate the power and significance of a kiss.

Let it be whatever it is: a sweet connection and acknowledgment for the moment, which has its own timeless quality, but doesn’t necessarily “go anywhere”. It can also be the beginning of an eternal relationship with your essential spiritual self, which has connected to a life partner or soulmate.

Let is be whatever it is: be grateful for whatever the gifts it brings, and don’t expect it to be anything more than what you experience in the moment. If and when that moment expands to another, be grateful for that. And so it goes…

With love and blessings
Sheila