“You must live in the present, launch yourself on every wave, find your eternity in each moment.”

~ Henry David Thoreau

“I constantly catch my mind planning out my future. I might be thinking about where to have dinner (the very near future), dreaming of my next home (the few years away future), deciding on my next travel adventure (the hopefully this year future), or what type of shoes I want to buy next (the sometime this month future).

In my mind, I am living in the future. Creating my next steps along the way. My brain just constantly planning, scheming, dreaming and thinking about what lies ahead.” ~ Of Undisputed Origin

This blog post stopped me in my tracks. So true that we are always working up something for the future. I think it takes a lot of practice to stay in and relish in the present moment. I continue to work on being aware, and to skillfully learn to use my presence to keep me focused on what is before me.

I have learned more of this practice since having my first granddaughter. She has overwhelmed me with the beauty of presence, the innocence of life and the brilliance of discovering each little burst of growth. And I have noticed it by simply being aware. I think we grow more and more aware when we allow ourselves to BE love. Maybe as we learn more about love we are moved to awareness on a different level… perhaps as we grow in age and wisdom we embrace the simplicity of being in the now.  Whatever the answers, don’t miss out on what is happening right now in you and without you – as Thoreau said, “… find your eternity in each moment“.

XOXOXO

Featured image: Roma (2018 film) by Alfonso Cuarón

“Wake up to today. All possibilities reside in this moment.”
~ Sandy Hibbard

Embracing ourselves and our talents as they are, AND our limitations as they are, is the place where freedom begins.
~ Sandy Hibbard

The most difficult thing [to some] is accepting yourself – right where you are. I think as an artist/creative we’re always worried about how other people are going to perceive the scope of our work. Battling and dealing with how things are going to come across to others is a struggle, yes, but not just because we care about what they think about us, I think it’s more about the worry of how they will accept our talent and gifts. To make things worse, we deal with our own struggle for perfection and wrestle with our inadequacies.

As humans, we are always changing and growing, evolving, learning, and unlearning. One set of skills increase then decrease as we develop excellence in another area.  This is life – we ebb and flow. We grow into our best by building upon layers of experience. You have to accept who you are TODAY, with what you have been given and learned so far. Embracing your gift as it is in the present is an important part of our journey… that’s awareness!

Accepting Yourself for Who and What You Are
As a writer and artist, if I wrote a poem out of inspiration today and then rewrote it next year, can you imagine how different it would be?  If I record a song today and go into the studio and re-record it 2 years from now, they would be completely different songs. At some point, you just have to say ‘enough’ and accept your art, your gift, AND YOURSELF as you are in this moment. You have created the art that speaks to you now and from your current level of experience. That has immense value. You have shared what is from your moment in time along your journey, what could be more pure and beautiful than that? Being ‘OK’ with ourselves and our talents as they are, AND our limitations as they are, is the place where freedom and growth begins.

When you embrace yourself and your gifts as they are, without judgement, it will be a relief. You can relax and settle into who you are, accepting the opportunity and the room it gives you to expand on so many levels – and there will be nothing to hold back the growth. There is a beautiful confidence and ability that comes with acceptance, an honesty and awareness that is attractive and inspiring.  Sure, you can always do better, but how wonderful it is when you put yourself out there, let go of the judgment and criticism and can say ‘this is real now, this is who I am’ – with no shame and no apologies. BOOM! You just let go of the chains that were holding you down!

Love and Hugs,
Sandy

When the pain
and the piano keys
need no voice
to carry the
ache of the loss
you felt
the moment you
laid eyes
on the one
you can
never hold
in the morning.

~ C.S  [Christina Strigas]

Beautiful things come out of horrible situations.
I know for a fact.

Out of sadness you get a new found wisdom on how the world can look with a haze of gray clouds,
how people can be senseless,
how you can see the whole universe in a whole new way.
That may be hard to handle, hard to cope, hard to accept,
but it is so damn beautiful if you really seize the moment to realize.
Out of anger, you can feel your heart beat race, with every beat it is shaking your whole being –
and not only with the heavy steps you take, but shaking with awareness, with focus, with a presence of BEING in the NOW.
This is when you, your whole self and being is telling you that you are alive. It is connecting to the energy of the Universe – the collective of all human beings.
It is amazing from every angle.
It is YOU
Being.
Out of anything there is something.
The creative power of the human spirit.
The healing power of love and acceptance without judgement –
of yourself
of others.
Incredible aliveness.
All that makes you shine.
Whatever you feel is a blessing.
Whatever you feel means you are alive.
 
Taken from post by WomenInLove on Tumblr.