COURAGE MONTH: DAY 8: “A man with outward courage dares to die; a man with inner courage dares to live.” ― Lao Tzu
Are you alive? Really, really alive? Why not? What feeble fears are stopping you? I heard all the arguments the moment I typed the word “feeble” in front of fear…and I get it! I heard the screaming voice in my own head: “I am NOT feeble! I am life-threatening and very, very important! I am urgent! I am vital…blah, blah, blah. You don’t understand! You have NO idea! Blah, blah, blah.”
We are so busy listening to this drama that we are not alive. We are frozen in fear and ego most of our lives. This is the regret so many have in their last days. They never lived! They never got to explore their dreams and hopes and wishes and desires. Why?
They were “waiting” for the right time. Oh? Oh! Yeah, that ain’t gonna happen Cupcake! The right time is NOW, no matter what the Screaming Purple Monkeys say. The ego is only designed to keep you frozen in fear and insecurity and indecision. Let it go! Let go of those thoughts and walk out into the world with a big smile and see what happens.
Do what your heart wants, just for one day. Keep your commitments, because you made them. If that is not what you want to do with your day, make new commitments. You are the driver of your bus. Make it a good trip. Choose again, and again, and again the path that the Universal Power has in mind for you.
Remember that 3rd Step? Make THAT decision again and again and again. Have the courage to quit listening to the SPM and Go for it!
If all you do today is really look around and breathe well, that is the best beginning I know. Take deep, cleansing breaths into your belly and exhale them through the nose. In and out. No mouth breathing, no shallow panting into your chest. Let go!
Lay on the grass or the beach or the floor and watch the air filling your belly instead of your chest. Allow yourself to breathe well for 5 minutes. Then set an intention to be alive and awake and aware. Close your eyes and count your breath for as long as it takes to drift off into the realm of spirit. Even if you fall asleep, it is better than being half-awake. That is the zombie state most folks stay in all their lives. No mindfulness of this moment and this moment and this moment.
Meditate for 10-20 minutes. Keep breathing. Let go!
Walk outside and breathe into the air, let the air breathe into you. Look around. Say hello to the world around you and hug a tree. Hug two trees. Feel the love and energy you give each other. Touch a flower, watch a cloud, where is it going? Notice a leaf, a blade of grass, the sky. Pay attention. Breathe it all in. Be one with a dog or a cat or another animal for a few minutes. Listen to them breathe. Breathe with them. Look into their eyes and feel that love.
Breathe deeply into your belly and exhale. Stretch your arms and shake your legs and bend over to the front and to the back and to each side. Feel your body, love that your body is bending and keeps you upright on the surface of this spinning ball.
Thank Universal Power for every breath. For the lungs and belly that fill up. For the oxygen shooting into all your organs when you remember to breathe well. Be alive and remember that it has nothing to do with you. But embrace the day with an open heart, looking for an adventure and joy.
They are there. Have you found them? Keep looking…and when you find them, embrace them too. Do this all day, into your commitments, into your work, into your driving, into your LIFE! Go have one!
Dolphin Hug 