I am Peace

It has been ages since I wrote last. As I sit here thinking about the reasons why, my mind wanders through all that has occurred in the past months, so much that it seems like a tornado has run its course through my brain, leaving in its wake bits and pieces that I must sort through, picking up what is important to keep, and throwing away the rest of it. 

Sometimes in our lives we enter a place of silence. A place where no matter what is going on in the world we see and experience in these bodies that our spirit inhabits, we are at a still point in the dance of life. Things happen around us and we remain still, observing the occurrences with eyes of peace, allowing everything to fall in its place, without us having to do anything. 

This still point is where I have resided these past months. No journaling has occurred. No need to record the events that continue to shape my life here on earth. I have been in a place where nothing on the outside truly matters, only that which is transpiring within my mind, within my soul, within my true self is important. Everything else has just fallen away to a place I no longer inhabit. In this process of being at the still point, I look around and see all the people who are in my life at this precise moment in time, and I have realized that my 'story' is indeed a tool which can be used to encourage others to also strive for peace and contentment, joy and gratitude for all that happens to them in the journey of their lives. 

So, my last words in this blog, where I spoke about 'story', have now come out into the Light, and I find that there is indeed a place for my 'story' to be shared. As I approach the end of another year, and the beginning of a new one, I am making space for my 'story' to unfold in the new year. As I write those words, fear rises up within me...can I really tell my story here for others to read? I feel pretty safe in that my blog does not have many followers and those who do happen to find themselves reading these pages...I will trust that Creator has brought them to these words for a purpose. 

If you have happened upon these pages, know that you have been drawn here by Spirit for a reason...it is up to you find out why. I watched the movie 'The Last Airbender' this week and gleaned a few words of wisdom from it. We each have come here for a reason...it is up to you to find out why. As I watched the movie, I began thinking about a time 20 years ago when a friend of mine asked me the question, "Do you think that you are special? That God gives you messages, and only speaks to you?" I tried to explain that it was (and still is) my belief that we are each special, unique and all have the ability to hear from God (no matter what name he/she is known by).

This answer did not go over very well with my friend, as she was trying to point out that I had delusions of grandeur in thinking that God could really speak to me. Back then, the words she used to make me see that I was wrong and delusional did serve to cause doubt to arise within my mind and I felt thoroughly chastised. 

Well, here it is 20 years later, and I am more convinced that we are all SPECIAL and we are all connected, not just to God, but we are connected by Spirit to one another.

Namaste '~The divine in me sees the divine in you. 

This is the highest form of acceptance and true love flowing between two people...to really 'See' them as the gift of who they are to the world. I will shout it to the mountains, to the streams, to the oceans, to the fields: YES, I DO BELIEVE I AM SPECIAL. YOU ARE SPECIAL. ALL OF US ARE SPECIAL. We each have a unique gift to share with the world, and it is up to us to find that gift of who we are and be bold enough to Be who we truly are. I am PEACE. Who are you?

The Synchronicity of Life

It has been a funny couple of days. Now, I can look at it and laugh, realizing that truly all things are in Divine Order.

Synchronicities are those times when things happen which we think have no significant meaning, yet they do. They are the times in which the divine touches our lives with direction and guidance.

For three days now I have been trying to post my paintings on deviantart.com with no success. I have to upload one at a time, and go through a huge process, taking much more time than I want to invest in putting them online so that my friends at Women Who Run With Wolves can view them. Especially since most of them are already on my Facebook site. But, some of the women don't have Facebook accounts, so I decided that I would open up another Ning account, only to find out that Ning will be charging for accounts beginning July 20. So, no Ning account. I am too cheap to pay for such things!

So, I ended up doing what I originally thought of and put all my paintings onto my Facebook site, and that is that. In the process what was the lesson? To just trust in my instincts to begin with. A very valuable lesson especially for women, for we have been given such a powerful instinctual nature, and we do need to learn to move through our lives listening to that still small voice inside guiding and directing us for our highest good.

Right now I am sitting in he office, surrounded by our dogs, listening to the sound of a jack hammer as Marty takes off all the old mortar in the main bath so that we can lay new tile. As I listen to the sound of all that old stuff being chiseled away, I am thinking that it is a very good image of all the old stuff that we as humans, carry around with us every day. Old memories, Old ways of thinking, Old ways of reacting, Old patterns, Old junk. It seems the older we get, the more like mortar those unneeded aspects become, until it truly takes a spiritual jack hammer to remove it all. So on a day when I am just simply 'being' I am faced with the mortar of my life, left stuck to me after having the outward masks I used to wear removed.
The mortar has to come off also...even if it hurts and is scary, leaving me feeling vulnerable and exposed. It has to come off so that I will be free to really 'BE' who I came here to be.

So, I lay here in the office and visualize the breaking away of the old...
and think about the synchronistic way that God works to get us right where we need to be...to we can grow and see ourselves as the Light and Love we truly are.

SO, my question for you today is "What synchronicities are happening in your life, guiding you to truth, peace, love and joy?"

This Life

There are quite a few of my friends who over the years have suggested to me that I write a book about my life and the amazing journey it has taken me on throughout the 55.5 years I have spent here in this present life. I will admit there have been times I have thought such an endeavor might be a possibility. I have been keeping journals since I was very young, all of which are in tubs, stored in our garage.

Yet, as I have come to realize of late, none of my 'story' really matters. At least not to anyone except myself. The reason for this being...it is my story, and story is not important. What lies in the past is truly past. Gone, like dust in the wind...chaff blown away from the grain...it does not exist anymore. The only thing that exists is who I am, this soul here for the time being, housed in a physical body, and the understanding that I have come here, I believe, to learn who I really am, to see the connectedness I have with the One, and with everything that exists. I am here to BE. That is all that matters.

The 'story' of my life is a series of events designed to allow an experience to unfold as I step into it, walk through it, and look back upon it having grown in knowledge and understanding. It was all created so that one day there would be this awakening within me to know the One and to know that I am One with the One. To know that all which exists is only the Beloved.

I do not look back upon any of the happenings of this life with regret or with any sense of having failed, for my responses to situations, my ability to learn the lesson, or just feel the feelings, were just what they were in that moment. I came here to learn, to grow, to let go of all that does not serve my highest good. I came here to experience everything that could be experienced in a human life. And when all is said and done, someday I will leave this body and return to my natural form of Spirit/Energy, where the veil is lifted and all wisdom is complete.

The journey has taken me through the study of many religions, and yet there has never been a time where I was really comfortable in following just one way. Like many rivers headed to the ocean are the religions of the world headed toward the Ground of Being, that which is higher than we, that which is so vast and without end that it cannot be named or put into a box. I have traveled quite a few of those rivers, and finally came to a place where I am most comfortable in the space of allowing that Spirit to be in me, all around me and flowing out of me. I see the connectedness of everything and everyone.

So, shall I let you in on one secret? I see and feel the divine in and around everything. No matter where I go, there is Divinity all around. The sky, the earth, the north, the south, the east, the west and all the guides, ascended ones, angels, archangels and divinities are there communicating with me as I need it. The plants, trees, rocks and waters emit the voice of the Beloved. Animals, birds, fish all have wisdom to share but for the asking. Voices from beyond the veil come as loved ones who have already made their transition from this life back to Source.

In dream states, in waking dreams answers come to questions I haven't even formed yet.

Ahhh, this is my life here. Surrounded by this Love, this Peace, this knowing that all is exectly as it needs to be for the experience, the journey. To experience everything in it's fullest in every moment, without judgments, without being attached to any outcomes...that is my heaven here. This is bliss. TO BE free to BE ME.

So, this life continues...getting more and more exciting and glory filled as the moments come and go.

This Spring our Wisteria Vine, which provides much needed shade for our back porch, actually bloomed. It was so exciting!

The Iris which Susan W. gave me also bloomed, which ws surprising after they had sat in a tub for a few weeks (the weeks we went back to MN for Gram's and Aunt Velda's Memorials).

When I was a little girl gowing up in the Hill Country of Austin, Texas these flowers grew wild. We called them Indian Blankets, and they reminded me of my Great-Great Grandmother who was full blood Cherokee.

The Clematis has grown through the fence on the south side of the house.

The Bottle Tree

Here is the bottle tree, with English Ivy, Butterfly Bush, Day Lillies, Columbine, and Hollyhocks around it.

Here is our trumpet vine, buttercups, salvia

I love gardening!

My home

Well...Spring is quickly coming to a close here in the High Desert of Arizona. We have had a rather cool Spring, with the night temps down in the 30's and 40's, daytime highs in the 70's and 80's. Wish it could stay this way up until the Monsoons...which is really just the rainy season here.

The birds are chirping all day long now...our tile roof is a virtual birdhouse to lots and lots of sparrows and finches. There are doves, bluebirds (a huge one was on our back porch yesterday, close enough for me to see his beautiful coloring...and a sign that Aunt Velda is watching over us from the eternal side of life), and even a parakeet has been hanging around. They love the grapevine, and are keeping an ever watchful eye for the grapes to appear. Ebony (our Chowolf) thinks it is her job to run down the stairs and under the gazebo as fast as she can to let the birds know that she is in charge and that they must leave when she is in residence. It is very funny.

The backyard is blooming beautifully with all the plants from last year, plus a few new ones. It is such a peaceful place to have one's coffee in the morning, or an iced tea in the afternoon. Our oasis in the desert.

Many of you have asked how we an stand the heat of Arizona, and I will once again explain that we live at about 5500 ft above sea level. All around us we see mountains. Mingus Mountain to the East, Granite Mountain to the West, the Bradshaws to the South, and way in the distance to the North we have the San Francisco Peaks (which are up Flagstaff way). We are 15 minutes away from being in the tall pine forests which surround Prescott. The temps are about 10 to 15 degrees cooler than Phoenix. It is very dry here, and we do have to water a lot to keep plants outside happy, but it is nothing like the horrendous heat of the Valley.

I am posting some photos of our yard, which has only now really greened up and by the end of summer into the fall, will transform itself once again into a serene and peaceful contemplative place. It is a place where one can see all the stars twinkling in the night sky, a place for ceremony, drumming and dancing. It is a place blessed with angels, spirit guides and visits from the ancestors.

May the summer days bring many blessings to all, and as we travel this spiritual journey together, may our connectedness bring health and wholeness to us all.

A letter from Chief Arvol Looking Horse

A Great Urgency

To All World Religious and Spiritual Leaders

My Relatives,

Time has come to speak to the hearts of our Nations and their Leaders. I ask you this from the bottom of my heart, to come together from the Spirit of your Nations in prayer.

We, from the heart of Turtle Island, have a great message for the World; we are guided to speak from all the White Animals showing their sacred color, which have been signs for us to pray for the sacred life of all things. As I am sending this message to you, many Animal Nations are being threatened, those that swim, those that crawl, those that fly, and the plant Nations, eventually all will be affect from the oil disaster in the Gulf.

The dangers we are faced with at this time are not of spirit. The catastrophe that has happened with the oil spill which looks like the bleeding of Grandmother Earth, is made by human mistakes, mistakes that we cannot afford to continue to make.

I asked, as Spiritual Leaders, that we join together, united in prayer with the whole of our Global Communities. My concern is these serious issues will continue to worsen, as a domino effect that our Ancestors have warned us of in their Prophecies.

I know in my heart there are millions of people that feel our united prayers for the sake of our Grandmother Earth are long overdue. I believe we as Spiritual people must gather ourselves and focus our thoughts and prayers to allow the healing of the many wounds that have been inflicted on the Earth. As we honor the Cycle of Life, let us call for Prayer circles globally to assist in healing Grandmother Earth (our Unc'I Maka).

We ask for prayers that the oil spill, this bleeding, will stop. That the winds stay calm to assist in the work. Pray for the people to be guided in repairing this mistake, and that we may also seek to live in harmony, as we make the choice to change the destructive path we are on.

As we pray, we will fully understand that we are all connected. And that what we create can have lasting effects on all life.

So let us unite spiritually, All Nations, All Faiths, One Prayer. Along with this immediate effort, I also ask to please remember June 21st, World Peace and Prayer Day/Honoring Sacred Sites day. Whether it is a natural site, a temple, a church, a synagogue or just your own sacred space, let us make a prayer for all life, for good decision making by our Nations, for our children's future and well-being, and the generations to come.

Onipikte (that we shall live),

Chief Arvol Looking Horse
19th generation Keeper of the Sacred White Buffalo Calf Pipe
(Wolakota.org)

White Wolf Woman

White Wolf Woman

I have been questing for my Crone Native American name and through much prayer and thought filled days and nights, Creator has gifted me with my new name. White Wolf Woman.

                                                White Wolf Woman Video

Let me tell you how this came about. My great great Grandmother gifted me with the name 'Little Bird' It was the name she called me when I was a little girl, and when I went through my Cherokee naming ceremony a few years ago, I chose to honor Grandmother by keeping the name. It seemed fitting for me, as my Spirit Guide is the Hawk, and during the naming ceremony when I accepted the name there was immediately the sound of many birds singing their songs. It was a symphony of bird songs being sung to say "YES" to their accepting of my name Little Bird.

Then, just last year when my drum was birthed, as it dried in the sun, there were birds that appeared in the skin of the drum. One looks very much like a hawk and was the first one to appear.

This year dawned bright with the Blue Moon telling me that it was time for me to be gifted with my Crone name. Being a Crone indicates that a woman is through her menopause years and is now ready to accept walking in Wise Woman's Ways. The ancient Wise Woman Crone archetype is emerging within women all over the world. We are beginning to realize that this third and crowning stage of female life (the one our culture throws away) is more authentic, creative, outrageous, powerful, funny, healing and profound than we ever imagined.(http://www.birthingthecrone.com/). I embraced this knowledge with great joy and looked with great anticipation for my name to be revealed.

First I thought that it would come from my Cherokee sister Ayanvli, who had performed my first naming ceremony. But as I sought direction from my ancestors angels and spirit guides it soon became clear that I was to quest for the name. So the journey began.

One weekend my grand daughter who is 5, came for a visit. She likes to find music on YouTube, so we sat one evening listening to songs she found. She asked to listen to a song that had a photo of a wolf on it as she loves animals. The song was 'Nothing Else Matters' by Metallica. A dear friend was here also and we both cringed because we were not sure if it was appropriate for a 5 year old to listen to. My grand daughter was insistent that we needed to listen to the song about wolves. So, I told her we would listen and see if it was an OK song for children. She stated that this song would be very perfect for all of us to hear. So, we began to listen.

And that was the beginning of a profound change in me...down to my cellular level I could feel this sound resonate with my spirit. My friend felt the same. My granddaughter in her simple childlike way had listened to Spirit and led us to this awesome song. We listened in silence, and we wept. And we watched the wolves in the photos. The only glitch was that whoever made the video had put in an advertisement which stayed on through the whole thing. Yet the wolves spoke to me from the screen.

The name came that night in a dream. I saw myself running with wolves. We were running through a forest, with the beautiful Full Blue Moon shining down upon us. I looked down and at first I saw my own body and legs and feet. Then slowly as I was running my feet changed into a Wolf's feet, then the legs changed, my torso changed, and I was running with the wolves as a wolf. I was a beautiful silvery white color, majestic in stance and running with power and freedom. I heard a howl in the distance, which changed into a clear voice "White Wolf Woman". Soon I ran into a glen, all the wolves stopped and formed a circle around me. They began to howl my name in the moonlight...White Wolf Woman. I stood in the glen and was showered with the moon glow, accepting the name and howling with the wolves.

When I awoke in the morning, I knew what my new name was, yet felt this tremendous fear at the same time. How could this be? The White Wolf Woman is one who is extremely powerful and wise. She walks in her own power with head held high and with arms outstretched to bring love and knowledge to other women and to the children of earth. I felt this was too high a responsibility and that I could not possibly have heard right. Who was I to be called White Wolf Woman?

As the days passed into months, there have been many confirmations that this is my new name. My own dog Ebony, who we believe to be a Chow/Wolf confirmed the name one night by coming and jumping into my lap while the song 'Nothing Else Matters' was playing. I began to look for photos of white wolves and other wolves on line. Each one spoke to my heart. I found photos of Hawks and Wolves together. The signs began to come every day until I finally bowed in reverence and accepted this name.

I thought we would have ceremony for this naming, yet realized that the naming was done by Creator and Spirit in a very powerful way. At some point I will have a gathering of friends to drum and celebrate with me my entering into my Crone years and have them bless me with my new name. But for now...I have accepted the name, and the mantle that comes with it. To walk in wisdom and truth. To love and protect.

I AM White Wolf Woman
https://www.facebook.com/arizonahealingpeace/
Healing Peace

Let Them Go

By T. D. Jakes

There are people who can walk away from you.

And hear me when I tell you this! When people can walk away from you: let them walk. I don't want you to try to talk another person into staying with you, loving you, calling you, caring about you, coming to see you, staying attached to you. I mean hang up the phone. ... See More

When people can walk away from you let them walk. Your destiny is never tied to anybody that left.

The bible said that, they came out from us that it might be made manifest that they were not for us. For had they been of us, no doubt they would have continued with us. [1 John 2:19]

People leave you because they are not joined to you. And if they are not joined to you, you can't make them stay.

Let them go.

And it doesn't mean that they are a bad person it just means that their part in the story is over. And you've got to know when people's part in your story is over so that you don't keep trying to raise the dead.. You've got to know when it's dead.

You've got to know when it's over. Let me tell you something.. I've got the gift of good-bye. It's the tenth spiritual gift, I believe in good-bye.. It's not that I'm hateful, it's that I'm faithful, and I know whatever God means for me to have He'll give it to me. And if it takes too much sweat I don't need it.. Stop begging people to stay.

Let them go!!

If you are holding on to something that doesn't belong to you and was never intended for your life, then you need to......

LET IT GO!!!

If you are holding on to past hurts and pains .......

LET IT GO!!!

If someone can't treat you right, love you back, and see your worth.......

LET IT GO!!!

If someone has angered you.

LET IT GO!!!

If you are holding on to some thoughts of evil and revenge.....

LET IT GO!!!

If you are involved in a wrong relationship or addiction... ..

LET IT GO!!!

If you are holding on to a job that no longer meets your needs or talents

LET IT GO!!!

If you! u have a bad attitude.... ...

LET IT GO!!!

If you keep judging others to make yourself feel better......

LET IT GO!!!

If you're stuck in the past and God is trying to take you to a new level in Him.........

LET IT GO!!!

If you are struggling with the healing of a broken relationship. ....

LET IT GO!!!

If you keep trying to help someone who won't even try to help themselves... ....

LET IT GO!!!

If you're feeling depressed and stressed .............

LET IT GO!!!

If there is a particular situation that you are so used to handling yourself and God is saying 'take your hands off of it,' then you need to.......

LET IT GO!!!

This past week I noticed that the doves who usually make their nest each spring in one of our hanging baskets on the back porch had given up hope that the baskets would ever be back out there, so they made their nest in the crook of the bottle tree.

Now those of you who have seen the tree know that it does not provide prime nesting conditions. There are no leaves to shade it from the sun. There is nothing overhead to keep out the various weather conditions that will occur during the nesting season. Plus, any predator birds flying overhead have a full view of the eggs if one of the parents is not sitting on the nest.

Today as it snowed, rained, and sleeted...there was Momma and Poppa Dove sitting on the nest, protecting the eggs as good parents do. And as I watched them through this day, I felt sorry for them and tried to put a couple of boards over the nest for a little protection, yet it really was more my attempt to feel better, for truly there is no way to protect the nest now that it has been built where it is.

It is really a sad situation, and I found myself saying, "You poor things, you did the best you knew to do, with the information you had at the time, not realizing what was up ahead and the perils that awaited you and your babies."

Then I remembered how many times I have said that to myself as a parent (or Marty has said that to me), or I have reminded my friends using those words, or counseled someone going through a rough parenting time, and even used those words with people who were facing their own death as they tried to figure out how they could have been better parents.

For those of us who are parents it is a no brainer to say that we could have all done things better looking back. Hindsight is really good at pointing out how much better we could have raised our children.
Yet the real heart lesson is not how much we could have done better, because those thoughts only lead to misplaced guilt and not forgiving ourselves for, after all, being human and NOT having all the answers.

Honestly, none of us have the answers. When we have children there is no user’s manual that comes with the baby when he/she is born telling us exactly what the child will need to be raised perfectly. No, we as parents do the best that we can with the knowledge we have at the time, and we make lots and lots of mistakes along the way.

Just like our little doves, we don't always make the nest in the right place.
We don't always protect our children from the things that can hurt them.
We don't always say the right things.
We don't always do the right things.
We love our children, there is no doubt about that...yet they don't always feel it, or see it.
We read books, we go to counselors, and we pray for help yet sometimes those things don't seem to help.

Yet we try. We do the best we can, with the tools and knowledge we have...and we must remind ourselves of something very important.

None of us is perfect. Our parents were not perfect. Our grandparents were not perfect. We as parents are not perfect. And last but not least, our children are not perfect either. We are all simple human beings on a journey through life doing the best we can. Let the judgments go.

We love each other, we forgive each other. We let the judgments go. Those are the key ingredients to being a parent, and being a child. Love and Forgiveness. The dance of Parent/Child. As old as time itself...

May is about here...Mother's Day.
June follows behind...Father's Day.

When was the last time you told your children how much you love them? Have you forgiven them for not being perfect? Have you forgiven yourself for not being a perfect child?

When was the last time you told your parents that you love them? Have you forgiven them for not being perfect? Have you forgiven yourself for not being a perfect parent?

We, like the dove, who represents Peace, do the best we can, and in the end, what really matters is that we open our hearts and love, forgive and dance together without judgments.

Enjoy the dance...

Peace Passed On

I was thinking today about my Dad. He was a man of Peace. Always the Peacemaker. He moved through the world in a calm and gentle manner. Now I don't know what he was like in his younger years, because when he and Mother adopted me he was 35, so by the time I really came to know him he was in his 50's, and had a little bit of that wisdom which comes from having lived your first 50 years on this planet.

He had that way about him that if you were around him long enough you talked softer, your attitude calmed and you breathed deeper. He laughed a lot too. He enjoyed his life, his family and his friends. He played the harmonica, the autoharp...and when I would hear him play there was just something that brought immediate peace to my soul.

When Dad spoke, he spoke in gentle words, even if he was angry. I really only saw him angry three times, once when I was an adult and we had gone to an antique show out in the hill country around Austin, Texas. He had parked the car in front of a business (which was closed) on a Sunday afternoon, and when we came back after looking around, the car had been towed. A woman came out of the business and asked us if we had seen the no parking except for patrons of the business sign, and explained that she had called to have the car towed away. Daddy asked her if the business was open on Sunday. She replied no, but still retained the right that no one was to park in front of the business even in off hours. Daddy got angry and raised his voice to the woman. I had not seen him do this ever before, so this was a new experience for me. To make a long story short, Daddy got a ride from another nice man to get his car, came back and we all went home to Austin.

The next day I talked to Mom, she told me that Dad felt so bad about having gotten so angry at the woman that he had gotten up early, gone to the florist and bought flowers, drove all the way back to the small town and hand delivered them to the woman, apologizing to her for his conduct.

This was my Dad...he believed in owning your behavior, and making peace.

As I grew up, grew older, and grew wiser...I also saw and still see the benefits of being a Person of Peace. Really seeing my Dad I believe was a constant motivator pulling me towards the awakening in me to become a Spiritual Peacemaker...and to be a person who believes in the power of Peace...true Peace.

Thanks Dad...for passing the torch of Peace. I have it, and may I pass it on to those who will listen.

Peace is the only way this world can survive.

The Awakening (Author Unknown)

The Awakening
(Author unknown)

A time comes in your life when you finally get…when, in the midst of all your fears and insanity, you stop dead in your tracks and somewhere the voice inside your head cries out…ENOUGH! Enough fighting and crying and blaming and struggling to hold on. Then, like a child quieting down after a tantrum, you blink back your tears and begin to look at the world through new eyes.

This is your awakening.

You realize it’s time to stop hoping and waiting for something to change, or for happiness, safety and security to magically appear over the next horizon.

You realize that in the real world there aren't always fairy tale endings, and that any guarantee of “happily ever after” must begin with you…and in the process a sense of serenity is born of acceptance.

You awaken to the fact that you are not perfect and that not everyone will always love, appreciate or approve of who or what you are…and that’s OK. They are entitled to their own views and opinions.

You learn the importance of loving and championing yourself…and in the process a sense of new found confidence is born of self-approval.

Your stop complaining and blaming other people for the things they did to you – or didn’t do for you – and you learn that the only thing you can really count on is the unexpected.

You learn that people don’t always say what they mean or mean what they say and that not everyone will always be there for you and everything isn’t always about you.

So, you learn to stand on your own and to take care of yourself…and in the process a sense of safety and security is born of self-reliance.

You stop judging and pointing fingers and you begin to accept people as they are and to overlook their shortcomings and human frailties…and in the process a sense of peace and contentment is born of forgiveness.

You learn to open up to new worlds and different points of view. You begin reassessing and redefining who you are and what you really stand for.

You learn the difference between wanting and needing and you begin to discard the doctrines and values you’ve outgrown, or should never have bought into to begin with.

You learn that there is power and glory in creating and contributing and you stop maneuvering through life merely as a “consumer” looking for you next fix.

You learn that principles such as honesty and integrity are not the outdated ideals of a bygone era, but the mortar that holds together the foundation upon which you must build a life.

You learn that you don’t know everything, it’s not you job to save the world and that you can’t teach a pig to sing. You learn the only cross to bear is the one you choose to carry and that martyrs get burned at the stake.

Then you learn about love. You learn to look at relationships as they really are and not as you would have them be. You learn that alone does not mean lonely.

You stop trying to control people, situations and outcomes. You learn to distinguish between guilt and responsibility and the importance of setting boundaries and learning to say NO.

You also stop working so hard at putting your feelings aside, smoothing things over and ignoring your needs.

You learn that your body really is your temple. You begin to care for it and treat it with respect. You begin to eat a balanced diet, drinking more water, and take more time to exercise.

You learn that being tired fuels doubt, fear, and uncertainty and so you take more time to rest. And, just food fuels the body, laughter fuels our soul. So you take more time to laugh and to play.

You learn that, for the most part, you get in life what you deserve, and that much of life truly is a self-fulfilling prophecy.

You learn that anything worth achieving is worth working for and that wishing for something to happen is different than working toward making it happen.

More importantly, you learn that in order to achieve success you need direction, discipline and perseverance. You learn that no one can do it all alone, and that it’s OK to risk asking for help.

You learn the only thing you must truly fear is fear itself. You learn to step right into and through your fears because you know that whatever happens you can handle it and to give in to fear is to give away the right to live life on your own terms.

You learn to fight for your life and not to squander it living under a cloud of impending doom.

You learn that life isn’t always fair, you don’t always get what you think you deserve and that sometimes bad things happen to unsuspecting, good people…and you lean not to always take it personally.

You learn that nobody’s punishing you and everything isn’t always somebody’s fault. It’s just life happening. You learn to admit when you are wrong and to build bridges instead of walls.

You lean that negative feelings such as anger, envy and resentment must be understood and redirected or they will suffocate the life out of you and poison the universe that surrounds you.

You learn to be thankful and to take comfort in many of the simple things we take for granted, things that millions of people upon the earth can only dream about: a full refrigerator, clean running water, a soft warm bed, a long hot shower.

Then, you begin to take responsibility for yourself by yourself and you make yourself a promise to never betray yourself and to never, ever settle for less than you heart’s desire.

You make it a point to keep smiling, to keep trusting, and to stay open to every wonderful possibility.

You hang a wind chime outside your window so you can listen to the wind.

Finally, with courage in you heart, you take a stand, you take a deep breath, and you begin to design the life you want to live as best as you can.