Follow your Bliss!

"What, at this moment, is lacking?"

Zen Master Rinzai

Meet Jazzmine, official greeter, and follower of bliss at Tumalo Lavender Farm (www.tumalolavender.com) outside of Bend, OR.  Here's a girl who knows how to take care of herself!  What better way to spend the NOW than in a fragrant, calming bed of lavender!  Our pets have so much to teach us! Thank you Jazzmine and Gordon Knight for this blissful photograph!

In his inspiring book, The Power of Now, Eckhart Tolle reminds us, "When your deeper sense of self is derived from BEING, when you are free of BECOMING......, neither your happiness nor your sense of self depends on the outcome...."  To BE...just to BE, in this very moment, free of the past and the future, which not one among us can change, that is to know bliss. I'm working on it..always!

It's been a little easier to be in the NOW for me this week.  With the weather having turned warmer, I've been out in the garden surrounded by tiny sprouts of new growth pushing through the earth, the melodies of birds, watching the travels of bees.  None of these living things gives a damn about yesterday or tomorrow.  They are just BEING, unaware of any possibility of lack in their lives, following their bliss to the sun, the sweet pollen, fat, juicy worms. They are, as far as birds and flowers and bees can be, HAPPY.  I've been holding their images, and Jazzmine's, as well, in my mind as I go about my week, doing my best to let go of the rush to do, the need to become, the planning, the regretting; for at least short periods of time. It's been good.

The trick is to make it a habit, and we all know what a challenge that can be in this fast paced world we live in. But trying to do better, makes you better, so that's my goal.  As fleeting as the moments may be - they will matter, they will fill me and hopefully, will make me crave MORE!

You and I may not have the luxury and joy of laying down in a pile of lavender today, but we can roll around in the love of our friends and family for awhile, tuck ourselves into the sweet joy of a wonderful meal, wrap a sunset around us.

Let's all try a little harder to be like Jazzmine and greet our bliss in whatever moment it arrives.

Namaste,

Dorothy

Do You Have a Monkey on Your Back?

A happy life consists in tranquility of mind.
- Cicero

The grass is lush and green, the trees are in leaf, and the tough and sturdy spring bulbs have bloomed. This is a perfect time to do some space and clutter clearing to lighten up and begin fresh. Clearing closets and drawers makes us feel lighter, and so it is with clearing your mind. It’s easy to collect unnecessary and unwanted thoughts that keep our minds muddled and burdened.

Many of us are good at collecting “monkeys”, or other people’s issues and concerns, pretending we can take control of them and even fix them. These monkeys are burdens.

Do you have a monkey on your back? Does that monkey belong to you, or have you, possibly without meaning to, taken it on from someone else? In 1999, The Harvard Business Review wrote about managerial efficiencies and how many managers take the monkeys from their staff and become bogged down and ineffective. I believe the concept is equally valid in our personal lives.

Like a computer, having our minds constantly ruminating on problems devours memory and leaves us feeling exhausted. And, it’s negative and unproductive. When we feel overwhelmed, we don’t approach our lives from a joyful perspective.

We’ve talked before about the importance of setting boundaries in our lives and understanding what is ours and what belongs to another. In accepting responsibility for our actions and views, we will find freedom to be our best selves. Being our best selves allows us to joyfully care for ourselves as well as others. Our best selves allow us to look at challenges in our lives in the best light. Our best selves give us permission to allow others to carry their own monkeys and us to encourage them, give strength and support without taking their challenges on as our own. This is setting boundaries in a solid and helpful way. Accept permission to not give yourself away when you give your kindness and support to friends and family. Living simply and honestly leaves room for joyful perspective and changing the outlook we have on the world (at least 51% of the time).

It’s a beautiful spring and we encourage you to take time for yourself. Meditate or contemplate what challenges around you are yours to work on and which ones you can give back to those who own them. It’s a perfect time to spring clean yourself and discard what is unwanted, unneeded, and that which isn’t yours.

SUSAN: I’ve taken the opportunity of time away from my usual surroundings to discard some of the monkeys I’d taken on for others. It has been freeing, to say the least! I’ve learned that I’m more resilient than I knew and that the resilience has increased since I’ve given myself permission not to accept responsibility for the actions and behaviors of others. Whew, who knew!

DOROTHY: I find myself in stunned, yet joyful celebration today because in contemplating what challenge of the week I wanted to share this morning, I realized, that besides the weather; which was, INDEED, a challenge for the whole country, I got NOTHIN’! WHAT, me, without a problem??? Who took my life away???? How could it be that I simply ignored the negative dialogue from the woman in front of me in the grocery line? How could it be that I endured 1.5 hrs in my cold garage listening to my wonderful, yet VERY political, handyman’s barrage decrying “my” party's failures, with no more than “hmmmm, and “interesting” from these lips? How can it be that in this rainy, stay inside week, my spouse got to watch TV for ENDLESS hours without the usual “How can you - mind numbing - time sucking – useless blahh, blahh blahh….,” lecture from me? YES, me! Thinking before I spoke, owning my own stuff, letting others own their own stuff, not feeling the need to insert myself into anyone else’s life!!! I’m with you Susan, WHO KNEW????

We wish you a successful and wonderful week!

Susan and Dorothy


If you find our blog interesting, please “like” us on The 51% Project Facebook page. Thank you for your kind words and support! We love hearing from you.