With the dog days of summer upon us, everyone seems to be breathing a sigh of relief. We can relax our entire body and collectively say “Ahhhhhh!” Are you one of the many who feels the distraction of summer and the longing to be in the great outdoors?
To be honest, writing and getting together this blog post was a challenge for me because I wanted to be outside in the sun. I live by the ocean and it seems to be calling my name. It’s like that romantic scene of two lovers running to each other. In this instance, however, the lovers are the sea and me. It keeps playing in my mind’s eye, especially after the long and dreary winter we had.
The sea gives me the “ahhh” feeling.’ Plain and simple, it’s my happy place.
How can you cultivate the sense of “ahhhh” in your life? Is your life in flow or is it tumultuous and hectic? Where do you go to rejuvenate and reconnect with your inner spirit?
The more you cultivate inner care and compassion towards yourself, the more you will be able to weather the storm of ‘otherness’ in life. By otherness, I mean work, home, bills, family trauma and illness.
Loving kindness and self-compassion ripple inward and outward towards the whole. The sacred practice of connecting to the heart allows for acceptance of the troubling of our life’s waters and that of others. Accepting that you need to be loved and nurtured first allows the flow to others without judgment.
It takes bravery to look at our stuff and to allow other’s stuff to pass by without triggering emotions. The best, sure fire way to do that is to cultivate a practice of visiting our own happy place (aka our heart) and to listen to our inner soul guidance while enjoying our physical happy place.
So this month’s homework is to visit your happy place as much as possible and to listen to what you learn about yourself and others.
Kristen
