The Value of Personal Time

Having spent some recent time away with family on vacation, I have had the gift of non-schedule. Normally, my life weaves together spirit time, family time, social time, client time, and personal time…not always in that order. While on vacation I was able to play with the measures and doses of these times. Where room was made, I was able to embrace more personal time, which was lovely. Personal time for me usually has abundant quiet time. Time to reflect, to daydream, to nap, to do walking meditations, to drum, to chant, to journal, to read, to sit quietly with eyes closed listening to the birds and cicadas and more. Personal time regenerates, refuels, refreshes and revitalizes me in a most important way. I value this time. I honor this time. I celebrate this time.

Personal time also makes more room in my life. I am able to sit and discover what no longer serves me and release it. I am also able to decide on re-balancing of the components of my life.

Let’s face it, I have very, very full days! I enjoy the fullness. Rarely does it get to the point of stress or disappointment. But this is only because I have put personal time at the top of my list for good self-care! Without it, I am sure things would be dramatically different. Everything would be effected; my relationships, my work, my spiritual connection, and even my mental status. I begin to suffer. My clarity goes. My passion wanes. My vision clouds. My step slows. Personal time keeps me strong, alive and balanced.

Personal time also keeps me grounded. It affords me time to sit within the embrace of nature. It is there that I breathe deeply, relax fully, and focus clearly. Sitting beneath a tree or at the water's edge gives me pause to soak up what Mother Earth has to offer. She is generous beyond measure and our relationship complete the cycle for me of spirit, mind and body.

Personal time has become a necessity for me. I do not understand when people tell me that they have no time for it. I believe what they are not understanding is that the reason they have no time for it is because they don’t understand the enormity of what it offers and on how many levels. Imagine how your life would be different if you created space for more personal time.

Blessings ~ Lisa

©COPYRIGHT 2012 Lisa Meade

What is Your Legacy?

What do you imagine your legacy to be? When you leave your earthly body and your family and friends remain behind, what are the stories that will be told of your offerings to this world, your relationship with others, or your gifts and offerings? Have you given thought to what you consciously leave behind? Imagine having a poignant conversation with a loved one to offer your insight, a humorous take on a situation, or to share a story from your past with a particular message. What would you choose to say?

Recently on a family road trip, one member shared quotes of famous people’s last words and it got me to thinking. So many people departed with heartfelt shares or intriguing words of encouragement to those they were leaving. Some quipped in what appeared to be unusually blasé and normal conversations. Others showed appreciation of small and simple acts we have grown to take for granted.

Obviously, for the most part, we cannot pre-plan our last words. But we shall also be remembered for our actions, our visions, our dreams, our moods, and our relationship to others and this world we live in.

What do you hope for others to remember or say after you leave this body and move on? If it holds significance to you, then paying closer attention to what we represent, how we come across, what we share with others and what we give service to may be important as well.

I have often noticed people being on their best behavior when in the company of a stranger or when meeting someone for the first time. I think this is human nature, wanting to make a good first impression and all. But should we want our lasting impression to be equally as good? I have often discussed how I make efforts every day to have my actions and my words are in alignment with my beliefs. I have shared before in this blog, how I long for my service to others and to Spirit to be honorable and worthy. Big aspirations that on some days is easier to hold true to than others. We all struggle. But I have to believe it is worth it on so many levels.

And perhaps someday, my family and friends will be sitting around a table, eating my famous vegetarian chili recipe, laughing at some of my antics, sharing some of my life lessons, and discussion some of my perspectives as I move on to the next great adventure for my soul. Maybe.

Blessings ~ Lisa

©COPYRIGHT 2012 Lisa Meade

Saying What You Need To Hear

I once had a client who told me that she was almost always telling people what they wanted to hear. I asked her, “Or are you saying what you think they want to hear?” She paused and told me she wasn’t sure. But she did know that when she had session with me, she found herself saying things she needed to hear. “How can you do that more often?” I asked her. “Maybe when I really can believe it outside these four walls,” was her reply. Do you find yourself saying what others want you to say, or you think they want you to say? We all do it from time to time. “How are you?” “I am great!” (When the reality is that you slept poorly the night before and you have a tension headache and you just don’t have the strength to discuss any of it with them.)

Sometimes just going with the flow of the conversation is the best, though it may not always be the most honest, but little is served with expanding. BUT there are those times when our honesty not only serves us or the relationship but our future as well. If we continue to not telling people our Truth, we begin to deny ourselves of it. And then we run the risk of not recognizing it, not trusting it or worse yet, not even being able to hear it.

My client could borrow the trust in our relationship to tell her self what she needed to hear, to speak her truth. She was able to recognize she needed to break the cycle. And in the safety of our relationship she could have the courage to speak it, hear it and believe it. With time we worked on expanding outside the four walls, bringing this attention to truth into her daily life and having the courage to speak it.

It takes times for patterns to be broken, because it takes time for them to be born. But the more they are stroked and fed, by our selves, by our family and friends or by society, the stronger they become. Speaking our Truth is not always welcomed. It can cause waves of energies around us that ruffle people’s feathers, cause them to doubt their own patterns, and can be an affront to what has become the accepted norm in our society.

It takes courage to take the risk. It takes an effort to break the pattern. It takes desire to be authentic and it helps to have an a community that supports this. Do you have a community that applauds your efforts to speak your Truth? Do your friends celebrate when you take a risk to say something that is not the expected norm? Do you listen to your words with compassion and understanding, allowing your honesty to be bold and brave?

Sometimes starting in a journal is a great place to practice. Just the simple release of the energies surrounding our Truth empowers us greatly. Sometimes sharing an excerpt or two with a trusted confident and witnessing their understanding, appreciation or acceptance alters the belief that we are not worthy of this Truth. Eventually, with time, the pattern gets challenged and begins to break apart. We find our selves no longer wanting to only tell people what they want to hear, but instead begin to say what we need to hear. We step into our power more fully, even if it is for brief moments scattered throughout the day. And surprisingly, it begins to get mirrored back to us. People begin to believe your Truth as much as they believed your mis-truth! Affirmation, affirmation, affirmation!

Boulders On The Path

Showing up and being present is a powerful way to enter your day and walk your path. But is also a sure way to be certain that you will annoy someone. Having strong opinions, beliefs and intentions are dynamic forces of expression and creativity. AND they ruffle feathers. I have learned that if I am not creating some sort of resistance then I am not being fully authentic. That is not to say that I am being confrontational or rude. But my days of people pleasing are over. I show up, with my convictions and my intentions and hope that my light will shine brightly. For some, they may believe it is too bright, or perhaps not bright enough. So be it. I am a woman of spirit, every day doing my best to bring my truth forward, to be open to possibilities and to live as consciously as I can. It may offend some. It may push others buttons. And it may disappoint others too. But it is all I can do to direct my energy on myself and not be concerned with the beliefs of others and their point of view of me. As a child I strove for acceptance from others. My self-esteem could have been measured by the praise or criticism others paid me. I did not have a reserve within to draw from during low points or during times of trial and test. It wasn’t until later in life that I became aware that my self-worth, my self acceptance and my inner beliefs could not be my personal truth if I continued to look to others for their take on me.

Freedom came in that moment! Freedom to walk my path and to create the life I hoped for. And surprisingly it was so much easier. Living up to others expectations and even, and I believe this was far worse for me, even restraining myself to not shine too brightly and appear overconfident or full of myself to others, was taxing. To awake each day and set my own intentions, hold vision to my own goals, to encourage and stretch myself and to allow myself time to learn, to pause and soak up a life’s lesson…all this became my dance of freedom.

I cut the invisible tie I had tethered to myself and to others point of view of me, my life and my successes and failures. This release has meant dedication to me. This severing was sometimes frightening and often exciting. This liberation allowed room for growth and expansion. This emancipation meant I was allowing myself to make mistakes, beautiful and glorious mistakes and not be laden with shame, guilt or over criticism of my efforts.

It was only with this that my evolution to authenticity began. It soon was thriving. It was many times messy and complicated. I learned to slow down, to find my own pace and tempo. And when I was ready I would propel my self forward, taking leaps of faith, enjoying calculated risks and exploring unknown territories of my life’s journey.

Letting go of the concern of what others thought, said or believed made the necessary difference for me to live the life intended by Spirit. There were the naysayers and disapprovers then and there are those now. The names and faces may have changed but their presence remains. But most importantly, I have changed. I am aware that my actions and beliefs will always cause some comment or critique. I casually observe and step over what does not serve me. These are no longer boulders blocking my path. Now, I rarely even stub my toe!

Blessings ~ Lisa

©COPYRIGHT 2012 Lisa Meade