Life Is Easy, Isn't It?Written by Jerry Lopper
"Life is easy" seems easily understood intellectually. Take what comes along with thanks and gratitude; circumstances and choices we make are perfect for us. All this feels right when said in a contemplative atmosphere. But after a few doses of life's reality, we have a difficult time bringing "life is easy" to daily application. Loved ones with health problems, layoffs and down-sizing, widespread terrorism, and random killings, all cause us to choke a bit on phrase.But is life easy? Well, it can be. Deepak Chopra reminds us that other natural beings simply are who they are. Birds do what birds do, as do fish, dogs, deer, etc. They may be very busy hunting food, rearing young, seeking safety, but they don't seem to be stressed by it all. Grass grows and dies back, only to grow again. Trees grow and spread, drop their seeds, shed their leaves, and grow them again. Don't we all aspire to easy life? Aren't benefits of it self explanatory; peace, tranquility, harmony with our surroundings? Then why is life hard for most of us? What prevents us from sustaining a life is easy belief? Some of harshness of life stems from our one-dimensional view of success; don't we tend to believe that to have more money, position, power, and friends is to succeed? So we compete for our piece of pie with everyone around us. Accumulating more, and then protecting it, is hard work. And once achieved, offers little satisfaction, only a temporal glow of achievement until we are compelled to launch another offensive of accumulation. There are flashes of insight when we recognize that this effort isn't satisfying, doesn't bring joy, and doesn't feel right as our purpose in life. But then we tend to fall back into race and put our doubts behind us. Chasing a goal of accumulation is a lose-lose situation. Those who achieve it join those still struggling, both feeling unfulfilled. Another reason that life seems so hard to us is that we try to control outcomes of our endeavors. We take ownership of a specific result, and then when something else shows up we aren't able to see beauty of it because we feel that we've failed. Renowned author Elizabeth Kubler-Ross tells us "You won't always get what you want, but you always get what you need." Set your goals and intentions, and work toward them, but take what comes about as a perfect gift, just result your soul requires.
| | Have You Stopped Dancing?Written by Janet L. Hall
Have You Stopped Dancing? By: Janet L. HallI want you to think back to last time you really, REALLY danced. Who were you with? What song was playing? Where were you? How did you feel? Maybe you're still dancing BUT many of us get caught up in everyday things; we worry too much, we become too serious about life, or we just grow tired or old. Many believe that being a responsible adult means NOT having any fun; unable to surrender to music in their life, without a care or thought in world except for that very moment, not them, they have too much responsibility! When did you stop dancing? When did you start marching to a different "drummer?" Were you a young child when dancing stopped? When you went off to college? When you got married? Had children? Became a manager, business owner, or CEO? When you thought you weren't allowed or suppose to enjoy your life anymore? You can dance if you want to, and leave your cares behind. Go ahead, Universe gives you permission to let your "hair down" and DANCE! Today, right now at this very moment, I want you to promise yourself to start dancing again. To become one with music again, with no cares, no worries, no inhibitions. I want you to leave all your worries about debt, cleaning, and yes, your clutter behind and out of your mind for just one hour or one day. Dance with kids, your life partner, your pets, your friends, or just dance alone.
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