Sunday, August 25, 2013

The Art of Seeing Greatness

So what does it mean to see greatness daily?  It is easy to see greatness when you are doing something big and accomplish it.  Or, you set a goal and acheive it.  But what about when it is just the daily stuff life is made up of, work, school, family, bills, friendships, chores, etc.  How do you find greatness in just everyday ordinary life?

As I have been on an amazing journey the last year and a half or so it seems that all of life was BIG and constant change was taking place be it weight loss, a new discovery about myself as I learned to live from my heart, a period of building new friendships, and I was on all cylinders all the time, so greatness was easier to recognize.  But, what about when you come to a place where you are "settled in?"  Not to say that growth is not still taking place, as we never should stop learning or growing, but the intensity that was dominant for many months is not there, what do you do then?

This is where I find myself lately and to be honest it has been an adjustment.  I know how to live in my heart now and when I find myself not doing so, how to get back. The friendships that were being formed over the last year are solid and secure.  The intense period of growth is now not as instense so that "high" of constant learning is not always present.  Through this I am learning I think more than ever to trust that everything that has taken place is real and was not just a phase, but is now a lifestyle.  I have recognized over the last few weeks that I do not need someone to tell me about how fearless I am, that I have greatness because I know within my heart that I do and I just need to recognize it within myself.

I have a friend that notices things all around her and sees greatness where others may miss it.  I have been with her many times and she has pointed out things going on around us and that I may have missed otherwise.  This is what I call "the art of seeing greatness."  What does this mean?  Well to me it means noticing all the "small" things that go on around us each day.  It can be a turtle warming in the sun, an act of kindness taking place, a word or phrase that was said in conversation with a friend, a sunrise/sunset while walking outside, a discovery you make about yourself, or an obstacle you encounter and get through, all these things remind us of the greatness within ourselves and others.

It is in the everyday living of life that you can be reminded of who you are, of the greatness within you, of how fearlessly you live your life if you allow yourself to see it.  This is the phase I am now in, of learning to trust myself and all that I have leanred.  To see, know, and be confident of the greatness in me.  To know that I have made the "18 inch" journey from head to heart and do so daily.  Is this challenging, sometimes more so than the period of intense growth, but is it worth it, more than I have words to express.  It is here that I have truly discovered and am discovering what I am made of, that the greatness that has been in me all my life is an active part of my life and not based on what I am feeling, it just is.  It is also here that I have realized that I do not need the reassurance from another to know I have greatness.  Not to say that I do not have friends that recognize greatness in me and tell me because I do and it feeds my soul, and I still love being called "fearless warrior" now and then as well.  However, it is not the constant "need" that it was as I can recognize greatness and fearlessness within myself. 

So it is with this that I challenge you and myself to the "art of seeing greatness" within yourself and around you.  Trust your heart and what you know within to be true that you are fealress and greatness prevails with you.  It is here that another level of growth will take place.

Tuesday, August 13, 2013

Choosing to Trust

I have discovered something new about myself lately, well maybe not new , but rather clarity about a part of me that I allow worry, misery and doubt to dwell...relationships.  I do not like admitting this, as I feel that I should be past this in my life with all that has taken place in the last year or so, but alas I am not.  It seems to have hit me with full force in the last month or so as after I presented my journey at a Nurtured Heart Approach Global Summit in June, but especially as I started writing a book on my journey from head to heart!

I recognize it as something that can consume me and if I allow it make me doubt who I am, and also read negatively onto what others are "thinking" if they do not respond to me in a certain way.  The truth is, none of it is truth, but rather insecurity.  Yes, I could blame my past with my upbringing and lack of relationship, or my failed marriage, or friendships that have come and then gone....but in reality I would just be making excuses to not move from my head to my heart and if I blame these things I am making myself a victim ( I hate this word) of my past versus a fearless warrior of my present and future.

So how do I deal with this?  Honestly, it sometimes takes me a day or two to stop listening to the voice in my head saying to me  "they are mad at you, they do not want to be your friend, they are "ditching" you, they have had enough, " and to move back into my heart to where I know the truth.  This issue is a trust issue, not me not trusting my friends, but me not trusting myself to be worthy of true, long-lasting, healthy friendships.  In so doing, I at times will try to sabotage these relationships to protect myself, and to prove to my head I was right all the while my heart is saying, relax, you know better, allow yourself to trust.  Mind you, this is not with I just met you relationships, but ones that are developed and solid. 

The good news in all of this is that I can hear my heart through this process and while my head is trying to drown it out to pull me into myself and doubt, my heart  is saying remember you are fearless, you can trust yourself and others, relax!  Ultimately, my heart wins through this process and a calm settles in. What I hate is all the feelings I allow to happen before I get to the calm, but I know how to get to the calm and the process of listening to my heart and shutting up my head is getting shorter each time I walk through this.

This is life my friends...we think we should be at a certain place and then "wham" we get pulled back into a place we do not want to be.  However, the real strength, the real growth in this is that you get to choose to walk through it and move forward as a stronger person and more in tune with your heart and your greatness each time!  I know from experience this to be true as I have just walked through this once again this week!  While, I would like my friends to "coddle" me and reassure me, I know it is better when they do not because as I walk through the doubt and get to the truth by myself I OWN it, not them! 

What is it in your life that you need to apply fearlessness and greatness to?  It does not make you weak, or a failure, but instead one who is on a journey to greatness is all areas of life!  Remember, life is not a destination, but a journey, there will be setbacks along the way, but who will you listen too the voice in your head that leads to worry, misery and doubt, or to your heat that leads you to greatness? The choice is yours, I choose the heart!

Sunday, August 4, 2013

Greatness - We All Have It

Greatness...this is a theme that I have talked about a lot since I started this blog.  When you hear someone use the word greatness and that they have greatness you at first may think, wow what an ego!  But the truth of the matter is that WE ALL have greatness and just haven't recognized it within ourselves!

When I was first told that I had greatness my response was yeah right...I did not believe it as this was a foreign concept to me.  It took a while for me to understand that the greatness in me was not based on my belief on whether I thought it was true or not, it was just in me and had always been.  As time went on and I was learning to live from my heart and would make decisions from the heart I it was pointed out to me that I was in my greatness.  It was reinforced regularly and soon I began to understand and accept my greatness, what a freeing moment!  I think that the comment that was said to me that hit home the most is when I recognized greatness in my friend and she said back to me "you cannot see in someone else what you do not already posess yourself." 

Think about this...the greatness you see in another is what you already possess!  Here I was letting my friend know how much I appreciated her and what I had learned from her, and how awesome it was and how it had touched my life, her encouragement, her patience, her never-ending belief in me, her consistent guiding me to my heart, her fearlessness in not giving up on me, her engagement in our conversations, her boldness in speaking the truth to me...and as I told her these things she said to me, "you only see these things because you possess them yourself."  Powerful!  It was then that I truly realized what greatness was and that it was present in me.  Through this revelation and eventually acceptance is how I learned what greatness was and that yes, it was in me and a part of me and that I could choose to accept it and live in it each day.  I could also start to see it in others and as a result encourage them to live fearlessly in their greatness as well!

So, it is now that I encourage you to see the greatness in you.  To make that journey from your head to your heart and to listen.  The message of greatness in your heart is there and it will not steer you in the wrong direction, it will instead guide you to where you should be. It will speak to you your greatness, your fearlessness and lead you to a life of fullness!   As I have done this, it is truly amazing the things that have occurred in my life over the past year.  Yes, I will be honest and tell you that there are days I doubt myself and have to dig deep and sometimes be reminded of what I already know, but those times are getting to be less frequent and the reset to greatness easier.  It is when I allow myself to see and accept what is in me that I can be calm and move through life with confidence. 

Listen...what is your heart saying?