Be Real: The Humbleness of Hay

"Do not forget your place, Roberta."  I've heard this over and over for the past two weeks.  "Do not start to think too much of yourself."  The grandness, the importance that comes with ego vanity.  If someone had told me these statements a year ago, even 6 months ago I would have dismissed them with a self-esteem issue. That may have been true once, but now these words have importance as they have kept me in balance, in alignment with Source.

These words have helped me stay focused on what it is I actually can do and what I must walk away from.  These words have given me power on which to stand because they remind me of my role in God's grander plan.  They have given me confidence to be who I am and not pretend to be any more or any less.  This is humility.  Humbleness.  My husband so eloquently reminded me that this is a blessing, a gift God gives us. At the moment of my earlier lessons, it felt more like failure or embarrassment, yet, it was and is a gift.  Helping me to see my own truth.

Humility can be defined as:
1. The opposite of entitlement
2. True self-knowledge of the good with the bad.

"It is being able to be comfortable with who you actually are and not trying to pretend to be what you are not. It gives you pride when you have earned it by your talents and accomplishments and shame when you fall short. It accepts that you are far from perfect and keeps striving. It is honest." (link to this quote found here.)

I've been humbled for the past few months, shown my place, seen who I actually am and shown others who I am and who I am not. My kids keep me humble. Anytime I take myself too seriously, start to feel too important - they do something so utterly ridiculous, that I have to notch it down. Am I asking for it? Maybe, on some level I'm testing my boundaries, seeing how far I can reach right now. It's karma in action, saying "Hey... don't loose yourself here" or "This may not be the right fit right now." What has been illustrated to me is where I belong or, where I want to be, in relation to how comfortable I am with myself at the present moment. That's not a bad thing. If you have to fit yourself too rigidly into the rules someone else has created, it can actually hurt. Yes, it's humbling, but it's also enlightening.

If you are humbled, humiliated, or embarrassed - instead of beating yourself up or getting defensive, ask yourself, am I honestly being myself in this moment? Was this the experience I was looking for? Are you trying to be someone you are not? Are you being your truth or pretending to be something else?

Humility keeps us from hiding behind a mask. It keeps us true to who we are and where we are in life. You can change the mask, but if the inside does not match the outside, there will be disharmony and that disharmony can be communicated as humility. It's God reminding you that you don't have to be anyone other than who you are right now. You are perfect right now, in this place, as you are. This doesn't mean you stop reaching beyond yourself, it means you reach truthfully to yourself. Being truthful as to what feels right and what doesn't.

There was a woman many years ago who gave birth to a King.  Did she rant and rave about her pregnancy?  Did she demand satin sheets at the finest hotel?  No. She gave birth in a shed on the hay with a bunch of farm animals present.  This is how the King came into this world.  Our first present - His first human lesson was humility.  To be fully human, fully present, fully love, in whatever conditions are present.

Humility is truth. Humbleness is peace.  I wish you peace. Merry Christmas!

Be Real: Get in Your Own Way

You might think you are getting in your own way.  But what if God is really the one getting in the way because He is keeping you on path?  You are not your body.  You are not your thoughts.  You are not your experience.  You are the witness to the experience of God in what is called your body, in what is called your thoughts, in what is called your life's experience. 

So often we may think that 'we are getting in our own way' in regards to success in business, relationships, in life.  We are not getting in the way. We are the way.  We are the carriers of love, of God.  What will be, will be regardless of what we do, think, or say.  Our perceptions of the experience change based on our interpretations. Have you ever thought, "If I could only get 2hrs to myself, I could get "X" done."  Whatever "X" is.  "I know I could make a million dollars tomorrow if I just applied myself."  Or, how about this one -  "If they would only listen to me or do what I say, it would be done already!"

Here's a thought, maybe you're just fine where you are and you have been fine all along.  Maybe you don't need to fix or control anything.  Maybe you don't need to respond to the emails from the PTO.  Maybe all you have to do is watch them be who they are and figure out how to love them in spite of who you are and who they are - and keep on loving yourself in the process.  Lord, just give me the words and tell me when to speak!

All of life shares inherently the same genetic structure.  In essence, we are no different than the tree, the bird, or the flower. There are two differences between them and us - we have conscious awareness of our existence and the gift of free will.  The tree does not think how to grow, it just grows.  The bee does not think which flower to go to, it just goes.  The tree does not choose to be cut down, it accepts it fate.  The flower does not choose where it grows.  We choose to cut the tree and we choose to plant the seed.  God has made this incredible creature, called (wo)man with the ability to create in life as He creates.

There are two theories I've been meditating on - 1. We are co-creators of our existence and 2. We are Divine Instruments of God.  I've been asked to marry the two, to find the correlations and interconnectedness between them, to understand it and convey it to others.

As of today, this is what has become clear  - we are both, but not in the way one might think.  We are Divine Instruments, just as the tree and the flower. And, we co-create by surrendering ourselves to God's Perfect Plan for us.  In old vernacular, this is called God's Will.  There is no right way to do this and no wrong way.  Because of free will, we can choose a way that feels good or a way that feels bad. Are we looking for approval?  Are we taking things personally?   Do we feel guilt?  All of these indicate the rise of the ego or the mind directing the experience rather than the heart.  If we live this way, we live from the heart.

All we have to do is think the thought of an experience we'd like to have or a goal we'd like to achieve and take a first step towards realizing the outcome.  The trying or the work that really takes place is learning how to surrender to God's Perfect Plan for you.  In essence, His Perfect Plan for you is the Perfect Plan for everyone.

Let God get in the way.

Be Real: Everything I Ever Wanted

My son came out of the cub scout meeting and said to my husband, "Dad, look what I won! It's exactly what I wanted!" Dad replied, "What is it?" The kid said, "I don't know. Isn't it great!?"

The logical explanation is this - He won a prize for selling cub scout popcorn. It was a total surprise to him. The bucket had legos, bionicles and other goodies.

The magical explanation is this - God gave him exactly what he wanted in an unexpected way. He didn't ask, "What is it?" Even though 'it' was wrapped in a plastic cleaning bucket. He just said, "Thank you." (I hope.)

How often do we ask or are presented with opportunities, and because the present doesn't fit our expectations we say no thanks? How often do we miss the blessings right in front of us because they are wrapped in a cleaning bucket? Yet, when uncovered or reflected upon deeper, it turns out to be exactly what we wanted? Discernment is a valuable tool. One that develops over a lifetime and constantly changes. We have free will because there is SO much to choose from. God knows our limits here and gives us the ability to choose - to select, accept or reject. All we have to do is follow the feeling our soul gives us. Does it feel good? Does it feel heavy?

My kid chose to accept that day. In his pureness, he knew it was perfect, whatever it was... In essence, everything is perfect just as it is. Every moment is a Divine moment. God doesn't make mistakes.