Just Do It!

As we get older and move forward on our path we learn many things. Life’s lessons hold new meaning and sometimes greater consequences for us as well. Take for example, how quickly time goes by. It seems to me last summer was only a blink ago, not an entire year! Acknowledging how quickly the days slip by, I often reflect on my plans and my motivations. What am I doing with my time? Is it put to its best use? Am I doing all I can to be of service to others and to Spirit? Am I living with intention and consciously? Are my actions aligning with my words and thoughts? If not how can I make it happen? I have learned over time that to have things happen in my life, I have to make them happen! Basically I have to do to see the results, even at times, in the face of doubt. I have to be willing to try new ways. I must be willing to stretch. I need to sometimes shift my perspective and see things from another point of view.

I have learned there are times when I will get stuck. I have had to learn when to be patient and when to push on. Trial and error has become my friend. Exploring all possibilities brings juiciness to my day. When frustration enters the picture, I challenge it with focus. When I fail, I fail beautifully. Really, sometimes it is not so graciously, but I have learned to make the most of my failures!

There is a phrase, “Just Do It!” that I have often had to adopt and apply to my personal journey. That is not to say I don’t weigh options, I give thought to the plan, and sometimes I seek others input. But when it comes down to the bottom line…sometimes I just have to do it. What is the worst that will happen? I might mess up, make a fool of myself, have to start over or lose out on something. But I also could succeed, radiate and ripple outward, get a strong start and gain a big life lesson.

There is a good deal of talk out there. People saying that they want to do this or that, but they don’t put their words into being. They just talk. I got tired of hearing myself talk. Now, I enjoy watching myself move. Moving onward. Doing it!

Blessings ~ Lisa

©COPYRIGHT 2012 Lisa Meade

Saving with Service

If you are one who feels blessed to live on and be in relationship with this great planet, then you also believe it is an honor to be of service, to offer support and to bring aid to the earth and all its beings. We have our own needs that we try to meet daily. We have the needs of others who rely on us that we support. And we have a commitment to bring our talents, gifts and energies to the greater good of this earth and Her beings. When we build connections with others who hold this service in their heart, we are moved to find how widespread it is. Contrary to what some may say, there is an optimism that binds us as we strive to give back, to ripple out and to bring our best self to the equation.

There is a want to be of service in many. For some of us, this service is a call of Spirit. For others an ongoing commitment to a lineage they have had modeled for them. And for some there is such a life purpose in the call that it is as if it is encoded within them, passed on from the ancestors. Thank goodness for all!

Service has many faces. However you want, need or wish it to look…is great! Just offering it with good intentions, with an open heart and acts of compassion is what gives it the power. Imagine the many faces of service you can have… a favor to a friend in need, a donation to a charitable cause, a day of service in a community clean up, recycling, eating vegetarian, using environmentally friendly products, reducing your waste to landfills, praying for the earth and more.

Take notice of the attempts of others. Applaud their efforts or at the least, thank them. Show appreciation to companies that are in alignment with this role of service by utilizing their products and services. Taking note like this fosters the growth of this energy! It encourages and keeps it alive!

Acknowledge how even the smallest of actions provide the energy for change. Praise all efforts when you can. Assist those who are making attempts and need your support. Continue to be creative in your ways of service and honor. Celebrate the impact that is achieved by all. Encourage those around you and teach those who do not know better. Every effort is worthy and the Earth will be changed.

"In a gentle way, you can shake the world."-- Mohandas Gandhi

Blessings ~ Lisa

©COPYRIGHT 2012 Lisa Meade

The Benefit of Alone Time

How are you with being alone? Some people treasure it while others run in the opposite direction! For many of us, the only real alone time we get is while driving in a car or a quick ten-minute shower. Not nearly good enough! Most of us don’t even know how beneficial and inspiring alone time can be! Signs that you need more alone time are quite telling. Do you know what you really like to do in your free time? Do you have a favorite pass time? Do you have a hobby that you like to do alone, such as reading, handiwork, daydreaming or puzzle making? When was the last time you got to do any of this and really lose track of time doing it. I am not talking about squeezing it in or feeling guilty because you believe something else is being neglected.

Being alone allows time for you to meet your own needs, not just everyone else’s. There will always be someone else’s needs to be met! If you make time to meet your needs then you are better able to face the challenges of the day. Makes sense!

So what keeps you from making alone time? Are you one of the people who would rather be busy, busy, and busy? Do you believe it shows the world how productive you are, how important, how needed? Be honest with yourself. Honestly, you know this can only go on for so long and then you get crispy, burnt out or resentful. And who does that resentment get focused on? Everyone and everything else. Rarely do busy people recognize that they are in control, most of the time, with how they spend their time.

Solitude can offer us mental diversion from the stress filled tasks and lists we carry around with us. Time alone can allow us opportunity to learn more about ourselves. Separateness can be a fostering of inner peace as we intentionally seek just being in the moment. Time alone can bring play back into our life. Alone time can feed our spirits, rest our minds, and celebrate our bodies and so much more.

The next time you map out your day, put in some alone time. Find a way to make it fit. Find a half hour, fifteen minutes even, to get to know a part of you that may feel neglected or needs some personal attention. You will be surprised at how good it feels and how much it will benefit you. You may even want to do it daily!

Adjust the Joy

Did you know that in Ancient Egypt Joy was considered a sacred responsibility? It was believed that when you passed on the God Osiris would ask you, “Did you bring Joy?” and “ Did you find Joy?” If you answered yes, you were allowed to continue your journey onto the afterlife. How would you answer? Joy is one of the highest vibrations on this planet when it is looked at energetically. It is understood that everything in the Universe is energy and we can measure this energy by vibrational frequencies. It is a universal law that as we feel, think, and live we vibrate. As we vibrate we not only send out our energies, but we also attract energies. When we are feeling Joy we attract things, people, experiences that will serve our greater good.

What answer do you get when you ask yourself the two questions above? Are you pleased with the answers. If not, what will you do to change the answers. So much of what we experience and what we ripple out to the Universe, to our family and our friends, has to do with our perspective that we carry around with us in our lives. Perhaps you need a shift in perspective.

Take something that is keeping you from finding Joy and approach it from a different perspective than you usually do. The only way you will get a different result is if you change things up. What can you do differently?

Explore why you are having a challenge in bringing joy to others. What needs to shift or change? What gets in your way? Again, if you change your approach, if you change your reaction to people and situations, if you change the way you “see” things you may find a difference waiting for you to embrace it!

Start small, start simple. Joy is easy to find in the simple things in life. Joy does not need bartering or negotiating to be met. Joy softly approaches and tenderly shares its lovely and light tendrils with us and once we are wrapped up in it, we do not want to let go or be let go! Find Joy today.

Blessings ~ Lisa

©COPYRIGHT 2012 Lisa Meade