Silence.

Truth.

Synchronicity.

Three powerful words used recently by some who inspire me. As I allow myself to have faith and trust in the universe, it continues to align the various sides of me and my distinctive worlds. Everything seems to be a piece of my puzzle. My puzzle to understanding myself, this life, and how it’s all connected. But, just as an intricate puzzle can be challenging at times and easy others, there are moments I find myself staring at the same pieces and they just don’t fit together. While my eyes begin to play tricks on me, sometimes they glaze over. Isn’t it so that life’s ebbs and flows begin to feel similar? We can feel stuck in a void where we feel powerless. We question where our fighting spirit and motivation has trailed off to. While others, we are the epitome of solid strength.

But why? Why do we need to question it so deeply?

Why can’t I just accept myself where I am at, as I do my children? Meet myself with compassion and grace and ease into it. This is what I am learning to accept. Shutting down the judgmental words in the back of my mind. The need to fix, to question and find meaning in every single moment. Sometimes, it just is.

Just is.

It just is. I tell myself.

It’s okay to just be. Though, it sure is a process, and a journey.

Distractions?

Are they a way to avoid, to enjoy, or to help? Does it take time away from other areas of my life?

Time sure is precious. I look at my children and I am brought back to beautiful moments. “Treasure this time,” I remember reminding myself when I used to cradle my crying babies back to sleep, who had me up for hours in the middle of the night. I find myself still doing this from time to time. I need this. I must remind myself. Particularly when it is hard. It brings me back to what is truly important. So, why get so frustrated when it doesn’t go the way I hope or plan? A humbling experience when I delve into these moments as reminders that I too am learning. I do not have as much practice here as I do with other areas of my life; being a parent, that is. It’s okay to make mistakes. I can forgive myself as I do my children, as I hope to help others see within themselves, and as they do with me. It is I who needs to work through any reactive triggers that come up. These are mine, not theirs. Re-writing my story, one narrative at a time. Accept yourself Mel. Accept it, breathe deeply, allow for that fresh oxygen to nurture your mind, and move through it. Practice something different. Something better. Use the stillness and presence you can so easily tap into when you’re moving in your flow classes. When you pop in those earphones and can shut off the noise from your past or your overthinking mind. Use it to self-regulate and find homeostasis. Allowing the moment to be your guide, just as you do when you can intuitively move to the music.

All I can control is myself and my breath.  Offer yourself grace, teach them, teach yourself, and repair. They will remember how you made them feel more than what you say.

As someone who talks far too much at times, a childhood fight to be heard, a desperate need to feel understood, and listened to, I must remember it doesn’t always need to be right at this moment. Time and place Mel, as you are trying to teach your children. The mirror reflection of what you are triggered with is often a struggle within yourself. They don’t always need to hear your every thought in every single moment. Then have it repeated, over and over. Who does this help? They do not need to hear every single area that requires work on over and over, repeatedly. That is so hard to live up to. Tone it down! It can just be. Just as you can: just be. Living in the moment, one step at a time.

Am I using my time wisely?  This is a recurring theme and conversation I have with myself from time to time. Acceptance and understanding goes a long way when we use it with ourselves. It’s a fine dance balancing the differences.

Over the years, I’m beginning to recognize that less is in fact, more. Simplifying can become more meaningful when we are no longer spreading ourselves across too many responsibilities and, or goals. I am working on it. Just like picking our battles, we can pick what we expend our energy on, or when we need to scale back.

Self-actualization is my ongoing process.

Finding clarity.

To my truth.

Reflective thoughts tend to evolve in the silence. It is a wonderful discovery now as my brain is learning to slow down and sit in the stillness. I find joy in everything around me when I just sit. The chirping birds in the morning, the breeze on my face, the sound of laughter and silliness in the distance, the soft snuggly fur of my aging and loving chihuahua, the sway and dance that is possible with the wind sweeping branches of all the trees that surround my home, I am blessed. It’s degrading to be swept in and caught up in any negative whirlpool, whether my mind, or my child’s meltdown.  I am finding joy in being present more and more. This is my truth.

I learn from all of you I meet. Every encounter, I absorb, embody, and feel deeply, particularly when you allow me in.

As I close my eyes and focus on my breath, I am brought back to what is important.

So, stop.

Close your eyes.

Just breathe. And clarity will come again.

It is that simple. When you merely allow it to be.

My meditation.

My therapeutic journey.

It’s always been artistic expression.

The synchronicity of my worlds aligning. The connection we all share.

It demonstrates our life’s path, our life’s journey, it is all intertwined.

And doesn’t it always boil down to this?

Isn’t it truth, where true meaning is discovered in the connection of synchronicity?

When I look, I can so easily find no shortage of inspiring words. Eloquently touching our souls. Written by those who came before:

 

“I define connection as the energy that exists between people when they feel seen, heard, and valued; when they can give and receive without judgment; and when they derive sustenance and strength from the relationship.” – Brené Brown

 

“Healing yourself is connected with healing others.” – Yoko Ono

 

“All things are connected like the blood that unites us. We do not weave the web of life, we are merely a strand in it. Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves.” – Chief Seattle

             

“The same substance composes us–the tree overhead, the stone beneath us, the bird, the beast, the star–we are all one, all moving to the same end.” – P.L. Travers

 

“Communication is merely an exchange of information, but connection is an exchange of our humanity.” – Sean Stephenson

 

“Connection with yourself only comes in moments of silence.” – Bryant McGill

 

“It really boils down to this: that all life is interrelated. We are all caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied into a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one destiny, affects all indirectly.” – Martin Luther King Jr.

 

“Eventually everything connects – people, ideas, objects. The quality of the connections is the key to quality per se.” – Charles Eames

 

″Keep looking at her long enough. One day you might see someone you know.″ – Jerry Spinelli

“The past is the present, isn’t it? It’s the future too.” – Eugene O’Neill

 

And let it be so, the discovery of an intermediary connection.

Binding us to one another as we allow it.

Interlaced.

A universe. Deeply woven.

As one.

~Melanie Watts