Part 1...June slips in on the heels of May, and quite suddenly amidst graduations, end of the school year and travel plans, we are plunked into the deep end of summer!  When the timing of this letter coincided with Independence Day, I recalled this simple, yet enticingly profound quote from the famous poet, Robert Frost. 
                                   Freedom lies in being bold.  

In this season of warmth, restful replenishment and restorative deep breaths, sand between toes and mounds of watermelon to be consumed, “being bold” really doesn’t seem to match the lazy, hazy days of summer.  With kids out of school, we exercise our freedom of sleeping in, loosening the schedule and enjoying life without a stopwatch of “where to next!”  We are free to read that book collecting dust on the nightstand, free to eat frozen yogurt for dinner, free to let the kids wear the same shorts and flip flops day in and day out and free to indulge in a Netflix series, or two J. Summer is a wonderful opportunity to feel the splendid relief of checking “R and R” off your “to be” list.   So go ahead, enjoy scheduling freedoms AND begin to set your sight on being very bold, as this next half of the year awaits and unfolds. 

Loving to interpret another dimension of the concept of freedom and being bold, and at the risk of embellishing Frost’s poetic intention, let’s consider delving into the heart of “emotional” freedom. While exploring this concept of “emotional freedom” with a client recently, I asked her what she would feel like if her inner world was not plagued by guilt and shame.  Without pausing, she calmly replied “I would feel free.”  Yes, she captured it.  Emotional freedom is being relieved of guilt, shame and self-remorse and experiencing contentment and appreciation.  When we frequently struggle with feelings of anger, despair and sadness we are imprisoned.  We become restricted and enslaved in our habits of passivity, fear, clinging to what is the “norm” and believing there is no way out?  How do we break free of self defeating patterns such as the heaviness of shame, the digested pain of guilt and the simmering resentment of being misunderstood or overburdened? 

Stay tuned for Part 2... 

New Year…Welcome 2014

The object of a New Year is not that we should have a new year.  It is that we should have a new soul and a new nose; new feet, a new backbone, new ears, and new eyes.  Unless a particular man made New Year resolutions, he would make no resolutions.  Unless a man starts afresh about things, he will certainly do nothing effective.  ~G.K. Chesterton      

 

As we gaze out upon the landscape of the New Year, this quotation stimulates some intriguing contemplation.  Instead of it simply being the start of another calendar filled with 365 days, is the purpose of the “New” year to make ourselves “New?”  Can the birth of this year bring about a “new” way of sensing our lives, interacting with others and experiencing our decisions? 

Last year, as I welcomed 2013 in this annual letter, I wrote about “potential” and moving from defining ourselves based on our flaws, but rather seizing the opportunity to realize our possibilities.  The message in the 2014 letter expands this idea…not merely to consider your possibilities, but practice NEW ways of living, sensing and being in your life. 

It is easy to be comfortably entrenched in the sameness of how we feel, and manage, our daily lives.  We may pass the ocean on our way to get groceries without smelling the salty air or marveling at the enormity of the sea.  There doesn’t seem to be much time to smell the roses (or the salt) nor stare at the waves crashing against the sand due to multiple “moving parts” we keep in motion: kids, sports, meals, career, households, tending to aging parents, etc.  If we sense anything, it is how exhausted our souls, hearts, minds and yes, even feet, can become. 

What if this IS the year of starting afresh?  A renewed soul to experience gratitude, a revitalized nose to breathe deeply, energized feet to move differently, widening our vision to see clearly, opening our ears to listen more closely and strengthening our backbones to face challenges we may have been avoiding.

As you consider personal goal setting, take a moment to focus on one, or more, of these areas to be renewed and start afresh.  For example, if you have been struggling with stating the truth to someone in your life, is the goal to explore how to strengthen your backbone?  If you have been lonely for a loving relationship, is the goal to open your eyes, and heart, to see other dimensions of possible mates?  And if you have been feeling mundane and without challenge, is the goal to set your feet on a new path? 

Here’s sending you wishes for a year filled with refreshing the senses, taking leaps with new feet, empowered backbones and renewed fulfillment of hearts and souls.