What or who do you feel a connection to? What connections are you wanting to make or acknowledge and are hesitating?

Here are few simple suggestions to nurture your sense of connection:

1. Open your awareness and shift your attention outwards. Another way to say it is stop busyness of life for a moment and stop to “smell roses”. You will experience a deeper, richer and more fulfilling relationship with world and your life. 2. Connect from your whole self. Knowing who you are first is most important. I invite you to consider that more you connect with world AS a whole being more you have to offer as well as receive.

3. Look for opportunities for connection everywhere, even in Starbucks line. Stay open to magical surprises you might not expect.

My connection with my grandmother is timeless. She’s a part of me even though she’s no longer alive. I wish I could tell her how her gift has enriched my life.

Somehow, I think she knows…

It’s YOUR life…imagine possibilities.

Instead of asking, "Who can I smash for this one?" or "Who can I hold liable for this fiasco?" I pulled it inside and began asking "What will I learn when this is over?", "How can I get to other side of this?", "How can I resolve this for my own benefit?", and "What can I do to get this out of way and move on with what is beneficial for me?"

This approach is not an easy one, as your ego will try to push you into a good fight to win a small, meaningless battle. But, ask yourself, "Who's life is it anyway?" You can either sit in one place and battle for ego or move forward and battle for success. Let other people or situations involved stay where they are as it is their responsibility, not yours, to resolve for themselves and move on.

The idea of giving up and giving in has many definitions. You can look at it from point of surrender where you give up on your life and remain stuck in a situation. Or, you can view it as a desire for fulfillment and give up on a situation. The point is, don't ever give up or give in, in any way that adversely affects your life.

Focus on where you're going, take on battles that are of consequence, and let others fall by wayside. 'Experience' things that happen, but don't 'live' them. If you allow circumstances to define you and begin to live them, you will always seek out or create circumstances to maintain newly defined you.

Another downside of allowing situations to define you is that you can eventually fall into a state of self-pity. Once we fall into self-pity, we are certain to lose battle against all situations and in long run we will be missing out on so much. If you take time to analyze situation, you can take control and define solution to your own needs.

---Just Tell Me---

One question I hear many times over is "Why didn't they tell me it would be like this?" or "Why can't you just tell me how to do this?" It just doesn't work that way, for anyone. No one can tell you what to expect, even if they tell you what to expect. This sounds contradictory, but if you are told what to expect of a situation from another person, you are hearing their perspective of situation. You are given experiences to learn and adapt. If you are unwilling to adapt, then you will not learn and you will stay right where you're at until you make decision to move forward.

One thing to consider is that difficult spots in life allow us to appreciate simple things and easy spots. This might sound like something 'grandma' might tell you, but this is too true. As you experience, and learn, you grow. As you grow, your sensitivity to certain issues is lessened. This opens up a larger area of growth for you in that your fears are minimized for successive levels of growth. You have ability to enjoy more with less effort and things that once looked like major hurdles are now inconsequential bumps.

Regardless of situation, we can always adapt to new circumstances and situations. In every case, we become more knowledgeable and stronger from changes. Maturity occurs through experience, not through revelation. Revelations make you dependant on other people. So, consider that life's lessons provide a way to make you independent. Experience, learn, and become independent in life.

--- What's next? ---

The universe gives you experiences to prepare for path you've chosen. If you allow challenges and trauma to stop you in your tracks, then you will relive those experiences and fight ghosts of past until you decide to move forward.

If you take time to learn and experience life's challenges, you will slowly become desensitized and more knowledgeable. You will eventually learn to move away from silliness of minimal to take care of seriousness of things that really matter to you. The major problems of old become minor issues not worth taking time to deal with. It is part of growth because you slowly learn to focus on things that matter.

Remember that, hard times don't last forever, unless you allow them. When you encounter rough times, this is when you make plans to adjust for better times. Get on another path that can get you back on a track for a better life. You must always be prepared to jump into a new path toward your desires.