The Power of Breaking Bread

I sat at a dining table last night among a group of 10 friends who had not gathered together in this capacity for a couple of years. Our initial ties were formed as parents of children who had, when younger, established extraordinarily close friendships. Some of them, including my daughter, have since moved on in different directions, perhaps to reconnect at a later time in their lives, or maybe not. Until recently, I believed that the lack of physical connection between their parents (my friends) and I had somewhat dissipated the closeness of the bond that we had created over a decade ago.

A few of us still got together on the odd occasion, and most of us connected on social media sites, or at various sporting events or functions. But, it didn’t feel the same for me as when we used to take the time to get together over a well thought out dinner menu, great wine, conversation and many hours of laughter. I didn’t realize how much I missed this ritual of breaking bread with this tribe of remarkable individuals until I received a call a few months ago from my girlfriend letting me know that illness had befallen one of us.

Last night was the celebration of the completion of our friend's treatment. We sat beside and across from one another in solidarity with the sole purpose of supporting her in moving forward with her life. Not much was said about what she had gone through because I think we all knew that she just wanted to experience the comfort of how it used to be. Our coming together was what she had always looked forward to, and being there for her was what she needed to feel what each of us craves everyday; to simply be loved.

At one point, I sat quietly and looked around the room to see conversations and connections being re-ignited after far too long. Memories were recounted and new stories were shared. It was then that I realized that friendships never really end; they just shift a little bit from time to time and move in different directions. Eventually, we end up where we are intended to be, and often it is right back to where we started.

 

#connecting #lovingkindness #ygk #daringlymindful



Slowing Down My Racing Mind

Several times a day, I take a breath and step back to reflect on how I am feeling, and what my next move will be. I know when to do this as I feel the necessity through various physical and emotional messages I receive. I have a about a 10 minute window before I lose the ability to maintain clarity of what I choose to focus on and how I will show up next. It’s part of how I manage my leadership in a genuine and authentic way.

For many years of my life I was uncomfortable with being a leader and what it entailed both personally and professionally. Not because I didn’t know how to lead but rather, because there always seemed to be two ways of leadership that presented themselves as options to choose from; the one that came from my heart, and the other that was learned and was intimidating and authoritarian. I found this confusing and lacked clarity on how to choose the way to lead that provided me with moral ease and an ethical conscience.

I wanted to be comfortable with my decisions within a leadership role and for those around me to be accepting and supportive of my values and opinions. Whether I was leading or being lead, my fear of others’ reactions often moved me towards communicating ineffectively.  I usually presented myself as defensive and arrogant; as if my way was the right way, and everyone else’s was extraordinarily wrong. It wasn’t until I slowed my racing mind down and became clear about what the definition of a leader was to me that I was able to become self-confident and decisive within that role. It requires a great dedication to stepping back and creating awareness. xoxo

#meditation #slowingdown #leadauthentic #daringlymindful

Stepping Back

Getting Ready to Move Forward Again

It has been almost a year since I last wrote a post in my blog, and I am filled with a jittery excitement as I decide to commit to a weekly offering again. When I first began writing in my blog three years ago, I was moving through immense and painful transitions and personal transformations. My writings served me well as they allowed me to express myself in a very vulnerable way; a way that gave me great support and strength to share how I felt day after day.

At first, it was horrifically difficult to tell my story, and more importantly, the truth. But, after time, I realized how incredibly easy it actually was. I discovered that the more honest I was with myself and whoever was willing to read about my evolution, the easier it was to lay myself out on the the written page for all the world to see. This blog saved my emotional and spiritual self. It gave me the courage to move forward in a way that I was not even aware existed at the time.

And so, I am back, because just when you think you are done growing and you believe you have reached your best self, you actually have not. I realized long ago that the perception that I would figure it all out one day is a fantasy.

We are never done.

And so, here is to all of us and our perpetual moving forward and backward in a steady ebb and flow of ups and downs and turn arounds.

I look forward to doing our dance of authenticity together for another little while.

much LovingKindness,

diana xo

 

#leadauthentic #mindfulness #authenticity