Thursday, April 22, 2010

Celebrate Spring

I love the this time of year. With the onset of spring the world around us seems to be celebrating life, change and renewal.  Growing up it would mean that my mother tackled the yearly ritual of spring cleaning. Windows, screens and doors would gleam with a sparkle of light and transparency after a winter of sludge and gray were expertly removed. The scent of Niagara Spray Starch would waft through the air as the curtains, crisp and bright white once again, moved in the sweet spring air flowing through the newly released windows. We cleaned the house from top to bottom inviting in the season of spring.

For thousands of years people have been celebrating the shift of energy brought on by springtime. Just as we celebrate and honor the birth of a child, we have celebrated the rebirth of our land by dancing in forests and in castles, feudal villages and family farms. I feel the joy of renewal rising from the depths of my soul when I hear the rustle of the bushes alongside the house as song birds build their nests in preparation for the cycle of life to once again revolve.

This year in particular I am rebirthing a love that I have long held and often ignored. I am painting. Finding the courage to allow myself the time to do so has not been easy, but greatly encouraged by my husband and family. I do not paint every day but I think about painting every day. I also have found that by thinking about light, color and form I have begun, once again to "see" the world around me in lights and shadows, burnt siennas and cadmium reds. To paint and not judge my rusty hand has been a challenge. To paint for the sake of the experience and not for the outcome has been something I must constantly remind myself of. But when the day is done I find that my mind focuses on dreaming of painting and color, rather than a worry about something I cannot control.

What do you love that you have allowed let lie dormant? What have you promised yourself you will find time for but have not? Is there a musuem you keep saying you will visit or a friend that you think of but never manage to call? Where in your life is there a part of you that needs to be encouraged to step forward and be reborn or renewed?

Let the season of spring release the child within and start to create in your world, daily, weekly or monthly an action that ignites creativity, curiosity and play. Find even the smallest sliver of time to nurture your most inner self. Please hold as a truth that you are loved beyond the limits of your imagination, and that the most important request of your soul is that on this journey in life you access the power of love within you in the best way you can. Starting with yourself is wonderful way to celebrate spring.

Each day I create new avenues to love, express and explore.


Love and light,
Nora

Thursday, April 1, 2010

Hate or Love?

Recently my husband and I watched the movie "Ikiur"  or "To Live" by the legendary Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa. It is a story about a man who has been informed that he has a terminal illness and his awakening to a new awareness of life. As the film progresses the protagonist finds a deeper meaning to his seemingly mundane and predictable life. During one scene he is descending a staircase after an unsuccessful meeting with a city bureaucrat in which his specific requests have been denied, with him is another official who is livid that they have been turned down.
As they walk down the staircase the official asks, "Don't you hate him?" Our hero turns looking up the steps and matter-of-factly answers. "I don't have time for hate."

During the following week those words echoed in my head.  "I don't have time for hate."  I began to think about all the wasted time spent hating. All the wasted energy and emotion wrapped up in the action of hate. Hate takes effort and time. Hate takes a lot of physical energy as well. Think about it. When we hate our heart beats faster, our blood pressure rises, we  feel our chest constrict and our bellies churn.

Hate can isolate us but it also bonds. Hate is a powerful and masterful motivator. People connect through mutually shared hatred and through that connection form whole societal communities based on hate. We can see hate in action in all levels of society from the bully on the playground demanding others follow his actions to a leader of a nation ordering  the "ethnic cleansing" of a certain tribe or type of people.

When someone tells me that I should feel a certain way I am usually resistant. As most people who know me realize I do not like to be told what to do. And I like it it a lot less when someone tells me what to think. When a person suggests to me that I embrace a belief based on fear translated into hate I stop and examine what they are really asking me. What the message often is commanding is this. "Think like me, hate like me."

Thinking about hate naturally lead me to think about love. Looking at the life around me I see so much love and caring. I see people doing good things and trying to make their part of the world better. My clients and friends are all reaching to create more love in their worlds. I want to not only make time for love in my life but I seek to be the action of love in life. Sometimes it is a very tall order as my ego and inner child rebel and cry out for different agendas. But the intention to be the energy of love in action remains. My question is: Will you join me? Join me in making love the focus of your intentions. Next time you are speaking in a manner that kills love and grows hate stop and think. Next time you are judging without consciousness stop and be silent. Think twice and three times before you join the band wagon of hate and haters in this world. Think with an intellect and a heart turned toward peace and healing not destruction and violence. It may seem to some of us that we have little influence over events in our lives but we do have one extremely powerful influence—over our thoughts and our choices. We can choose to think small, scared and hating or we can choose to think infinite, empowering and loving.

My heart leads me to create thought energy that envelopes my world with love. I disappear fear by choosing the thoughts and actions of love. Love is my core. Love is my essence.