Wednesday, March 30, 2011

For every "Yes" there must be a corresponding "No"

While reading the book "The Tao of Womanhood" by Diane Dreher, I came across this phrase "For every Yes there must be a corresponding No to keep thinks in harmony." This phrase really resonated with me because as we say yes to something, we are saying no to something else and that keeps everything balanced. For example, today I got home with a horrible mood and I decided to not do anything and just go walk in the park. I felt I needed to get away, enjoy the sun, the fresh air, and just relax. In saying Yes to the walk in the park, I said no to studying Mandarin, laying in bed, spending time with my husband, but I just felt I needed to get out and saying no to all those things brought me back to harmony as I walked in the park and enjoyed watching the ducks, laying on the grass, reading my book, and just listening to my body and my own needs. Sometimes, we get so busy that we forget to listen to ourselves and see what we really need, we start moving through the motions and fulfilling other people's needs and our needs get to the bottom of the list. Today was a perfect example for me since I just came back from work, changed clothes and left again to go to the park. In doing so, I listened to my inner voice saying I needed sun, air and time to relax. I did not listen to my brain saying "why are you going alone? Really, you will go all by yourself.... why would you do that?" The normal chatter that is usually in our minds that is called the monkey mind. That type of mind set that prevents growth and clutters our brain with unnecessary what ifs or gives you negative feedback.

When I came back from my walk I felt refreshed and happy. Listening to my Goddess songs as I walked in nature really did the trick for me. Today, my best friend was joking and told me "you are grounded" and somehow my brain went to the fact that I was definitely not grounded, I felt scattered and all over the place but his comment made me think that I needed to get grounded. That's why spending time in Nature was what I needed today to ground, to let go of all that negativity that has been surrounding me and just be. Doing so much sometimes gets exhausting and depleting and it is up to us to say NO and take time for ourselves.

My husband was complimenting me today on how I was able to take care of my needs and if I needed to be away, I could take care of myself and go. He mentioned how at times he needed the same but for some reason he couldn't make the move. That made me think of all those people who don't make the move. Whether it is something within or something without, they seem to not be able to say Yes to their needs and instead they keep saying No to themselves.

If we keep in mind that for every yes there must be a corresponding no, we will avoid many pains and also be able to choose from a perspective of power and not from a perspective of victimhood where things just happen to us or we have too much to do because we keep saying yes when we want to say no and with every yes we say that we don't mean, there is a corresponding no to ourselves. Take charge today and set your boundaries strong so you don't have to say yes when you mean no.

Blessings )0(

Sunday, March 27, 2011

Wake Up!

Once in a Blue Moon, you wake up and you see everything clear. It's like all of the sudden you are really awake and you are waking up from a dream. The dream may have been a good dream or it may have been a nightmare but you know you were asleep, you were not conscious, you are moving through the motions and letting life happen to you. Last Wednesday was that day for me. Somehow, I woke up and I realized that since the beginning of 2011, I have been moving through motions, eating badly, being scattered, not working out, not dedicating time for myself. It's like I started putting everyone else before me and forgetting that I should always put myself first because if I don't do that, nobody will.

Seeing the scale only confirmed that my eating patterns have not been the best and just by looking at the calendar I can see that my work out schedule has been less than normal. This was like a wake up call to me since 2010 was my year of getting healthy and whole and somehow, 2011 brought some self sabotage and getting back to old patterns. This wake up call motivated me to start a nutritional/work out program again and get back on the wagon. Many times, we forget that our bodies are our temples and how we treat our body reflects how we treat ourselves and how we treat others.

The body is only a reflection of what is going on inside and motivated me to think about all those other areas where I was putting other people first and sacrificing myself or just setting my feelings aside. Sometimes, we forget to look within and see where we are getting off center. Our core knows what we need but many times we are too busy to even hear that voice that guides us to get what we need. Some of my relationships have been less than satisfactory and some people who called themselves my friends have made me suffer way too much what makes me evaluate whether they are my friends or not. Sometimes I look at my life and I realize that not many areas bring me joy and this is an opportunity for a change, this brings awareness and the choice to remain the same or change.

Awareness is what I am looking for lately and that's why the body bugg is back in my arm, because it's not about calorie burn or about calories in, it is about having a reminder of putting myself first, choosing my options carefully, and if I start with what I eat and how I treat my body, then the same can reflect in the rest of my life.

Are you sleeping? Are you living life through the motions? I know I was and I am happy I woke up. It's time for you to wake up as well since we only have one life to live and it is pretty short.

Many blessings )0(

Sunday, March 13, 2011

The Adjustment Bureau

Free Will vs. the Plan - that's the question! Can we handle free will or do we need our lives to go according to plan? If there is a plan, can we derail and decide what feels right in that moment? After watching the movie The Adjustment Bureau, I couldn't help but think of how events in our lives impact the roads we take. Looking back, when I met my husband, I was engaged with a man who I'd been for over 7 years. We were thinking about getting married and then there was my husband... a derail in the plan. I did not think twice when I bought the tickets to come meet him in person after two months of talking online. I broke my engagement, got my passport and got on a plane for the first time in my life to come meet this man who I've only chatted online and over the phone. Yep! Big derail! I had my life in Buenos Aires, my perfect career, my beautiful apartment, everything that I wanted but I fell for this guy and I was not afraid of leaving everything behind to follow my heart. Was that part of the plan? Was the plan for me to move to California and work in the Dollar Tree for two weeks when I was an educated woman who spoke two languages? Maybe not, but the experience taught me that sometimes we hit the wall, sometimes we face hardship, but in the end, things are ok and everything is part of the story we are creating day by day.

Sometimes I wonder if I had not got married, if I had not moved to California, how would my life be? There are times when I wish I could get a glimpse of how life would be if I had taken the other road. Would I be different now? Maybe. Or maybe I would just be the same and had experienced similar situations in a different place. Like astrology says, if you don't learn the lesson, things repeat themselves in different places, different people, same lesson. Talking about Astrology, that science could be considered by some as "The Plan" because it can predict the situations that can arise, the pressure that can build up, the possibilities, but in the end we can decide... Like Arthur O'Shaughnessy said:

"We are the music-makers,
And we are the dreamers of dreams,
Wandering by lone sea-breakers,
And sitting by desolate streams;
World-losers and world-forsakers, 5
On whom the pale moon gleams:
Yet we are the movers and shakers
Of the world for ever, it seems."

Are you a shaker? Or do you follow the plan? Do you want somebody else to decide for you or are you ready to make your own choices? There is free will but it is up to us to decide how to use it or whether to use it at all. Some people want to go with the flow, make no decisions, let life happen to them. Others prefer to be the dreamers of the dream, the weavers of the web, not let life happen to them. Who are you? Are you driving in the driver's seat in your life or just being a passenger observing what is happening to you? If you are, and you are not happy about it, you can change today. Don't let the Adjustment Bureau decide what life should look for you. Make your own choices, decide today, allow yourself to dream your dream, to live the life you are meant to be and if you have to adjust in the way, be the one making the adjustment.

Blessings )0(