The Magic of Having Courage

I had a great chat with some women today who have incredible faith in the youth of our world. So refreshing to be around like minded people who recognize that we, the grownups, may be somewhat responsible for any indiscretions our teenagers present to us. As we were reflecting on how we can inspire our daughters and sons to lead their lives Authentically, we agreed that we may often ‘talk the talk’, but, on occasion, we forget to ‘walk the walk’. We say that we want our children to be individuals and to celebrate their uniqueness, and yet, we are the first ones to judge their opinions and behaviour if they are not congruent with ours. Our reactions very clearly communicate our personal values, rather than letting them know that we respect theirs.

When we tell our kids how important it is to “love yourself” and “listen to what you believe”, we need to remember that when we, ourselves, don’t do the same, we project a very different message; we don’t really mean what we say. This, in turn, creates distrust. We experience this in our own social circles as we have learned that we only fit in if we act, do and say what others expect us to. We tell our kids not to get sucked in to the peer pressure vortex, and yet we succumb to it every day. If only we could dare to do what we ask of our children, and allow them the freedom to do it as well. The courage to simply ‘be’ provides all of us the freedom to live a life of truth, peace and ease.

The thought that the beauty of living comes from our true nature, creates a magic that exists when we move from pure free flow thinking; raw and unscathed by judgement and ridicule. We yearn for it, and yet fight it at the same time as we worry about the perception of others. When we move from a vulnerable, Authentic place we put in play the courage we need to project our real person without feeling the need to defend it. How great would it be to give this gift to our children; to modelling being yourself and listening to ‘who’ you are and what resonates with you without thinking about whether or not you resemble someone else; celebrate who you are, just because you exist.  Beautiful!!

A Weekend of Golf and other Distractions

This weekend I learned that I cannot go for 5 hours focused on one thing.  Admittedly, I am only passionate about golf because my son is.  I really have no interest in particapating in actually playing the game as I move much faster than it can be played, and there are many other things that I would rather be doing than hitting a ball way too many times simply to see it drop in a small hole in the ground.  I brought my camera with me this weekend to give me a bit of an aversion while following my son through 3 rounds of this crazy game.  My goal was to support him while he enjoys every minute on the green and to catch him in some beautiful action shots, and I was successful in this attempt.  However, as you can see, I got a little distracted by nature and the beautiful creatures that presented themselves to me.   

xoxo











Reaching for a new level of Authenticity.....

I have found that the challenges of life, the "failures" and times of sadness have provided me with the ability to see life as it is meant to be seen.  I have been moved into living in the moment and letting go of worrying about what may be or what might happen.  I have chosen to stop thinking of why certain things happened to me long ago, and instead focus on all the wonders that are offered to me today.  There are the obvious, my kids, my husband, my extended family and the freedom of having a home, food on my table, and all the possessions I am grateful to be provided.  However, beyond all of these amazing gifts are the things that I have been searching for far past the realm of my existence.  Little did I know that they have been right in front of me the whole time. 

As I succomb to the brutal reality that "bad things happen to good people", I simultaneously realize that those bad things are not as awful as someone else's horrible circumstances.  We all face adversity, and yet we all have an incredible amount of stuff to be grateful for.  Wanting to control what comes our way is an unattainable goal that will frustrate the best of us.  The decision to truly commit to change how I view the world is life changing beyond anything I have ever consciously chosen to do.  I will be mindful and present like I have never been.  Just when I thought I had reached the height of Authenticity, I have found that the bar is at a much higher level and I am reaching for it......100 percent.

Happy Easter Weekend!!

I stole this idea from my good friend Jocelyn at Zendoll .....so much fun!!!

Reyers' Rabbits

When You Hear This You Realize That We Really Do Live In a Wonderful World.....

Jesse Campbell Sings 'What a Wonderful World'

Kingston Whig Standard; Talk of Life Column March 31, 2012

Having Compassion For the Bully is the Only Way to Stop Her