what are you afraid of?


sadie nardini
confession: i’ve been putting off a few business to-dos.  i’ve had it on my calendar to contact some influential and successful yogis – one being sadie nardini, founder of core strength vinyasa.  yet, despite my intentions, i’d push “contact sadie” from week to week, always blaming my schedule for not allotting me the time to reach out to her.  but, in truth, my schedule didn’t prevent me from emailing her, my mind did – and more specifically, my fear of rejection and the unknown.
when we’re young, we’re scared of the monsters under our beds, but as we mature, we’re scared of the monsters in our own minds – and we find ourselves plagued by a whole new set of ghoulish mental afflictions.  fear of loneliness, rejection, the unknown or failure can paralyze us, convincing us it’s better to stay exactly where we are (stuck on the proverbial hamster wheel), rather than confront what we’re scared of.  our fear keeps us in a box – making our life small by binding us to patterns of thought-processes that no longer serve us.
we diet because we’re afraid of losing control and gaining weight.
we jeopardize relationships because we’re afraid of being vulnerable.
we beat ourselves up when we’re not “perfect” because we’re afraid to fail.
sound familiar?  we’ve all been there…
but the really cool thing that happens when you face your fears is that you learn that they’re not as bad as your mind envisioned.  and, you also give yourself a chance to learn and grow.  when you choose to listen to your innate inner wisdom instead of your fearful mind chatter, you put yourself on the path of growth and evolution.  and, the more you cultivate that voice, the happier and more fulfilling your life will become.  anxieties about your body will melt away.  worries about your work performance will subside.  and obstacles that used to appear to stand between you and your best self will no longer be unconquerable.  because you realize that moving outward from your most authentic self will ultimately bring nothing but good to you.    
oh yeah, and not only did sadie nardini email me back with a beautifully composed and thought-provoking email, she even gave me a shout out in a piece she wrote for the popular site, elephant journal.  so cool! 
check out sadie’s post "can money & spirituality mix?" {here}
today’s meditation prompt for your journal or cushion:
what fear keeps cropping up in your life?
are you ready to confront it?  if not, why?
if you’re ready to move beyond it, what action can you take?

.

la beauté

la beauté est dans la rue.  translation - the beauty is in the street.  my take away - beauty is found in the journey and be open to unexpected moments of grace.

credit {here}

craig and i often walk with our little dog, olive, on nice evenings.  the other night, we went into doylestown, as we often do, and parked in the residential section of town near the library and local art museum.  as we meandered along, i spotted a lonely book on a bench.  as we approached, we realized it had been left there on purpose.  the book - an old anthology of robert frost poems - was tied with yarn and had a note attached.  "to finder - la beauté est dans la rue." 

i picked up the book and removed the yarn.  upon opening it, we realized that a secret compartment had been created by removing some of the interiors of the pages in the 2nd half of the book.  a note there read "place secrets here." 

i don't know who put it there, but, as the finder, i looked upon this find as a true treasure.  how lovely.  a gift from a stranger.

it's always interesting where we find unexpected moments of beauty & grace.  today, i attended an "upper level" yoga class.  a yoga teacher had recommended trying the class weeks ago, but she said it might be a little advanced for me, so i kept putting it off.  i was afraid of feeling lost and out-of-place.  i was afraid of looking foolish.

today at 9:30am i finally went to the anusara class, and it was fabulous.  i could keep up (enough) to feel at ease but challenged enough to keep me alert and engaged.  and now, i wish i hadn't put it off for so long.  i kept myself from going because of unfounded worry and negative thoughts - and now that all seems so foolish and inconsequential.

i encourage all of you to look for moments of beauty & grace.  rise to the occasion.  embrace the unexpected.  breathe through it.  and let go.  allow la beauté to reveal itself...because it was always there...

.

wise words

i've happened upon a lot of fabulous blogs lately that offer such powerful messages to women about self-acceptance.  i feel that, across the board, self-acceptance is something we all deal with at some point in our lives.  too often it feels like we're meant to "fight" against ourselves and our bodies to achieve perfection.  but true joy is in the act of letting go.  letting go of the idea of perfection.  letting go of negative self-talk.  when you release all the negativity, you create space in your life for beauty...true beauty.  the kind that shines from the inside out.

credit {here}

here are some of the lovely ladies whose words inspire me...

mastin @ the daily love
kerri @ your wishcake
ashlee @ where my heart resides

so, girls, whose words inspire you to live better?

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.7

.

Inspirational Reading : )

Hello all!  I've compiled a list of a few of my favorite blogs that I follow.  Check them out - they offer some really great advice : )

www.ThinkSimpleNow.com
www.thechangeblog.com
http://www.happiness-project.com/
http://wholelivingdaily.wholeliving.com/author/kate-hanley

All the above blogs offer awesome tips about how to live a happier, healthier life.  I always look forward to seeing what they have to say.

Have any favorite blogs I should check out?  What do you think of the ones I listed?.