Facing your Inner Hecklers

Waldorf & Statler- The Muppet Show Hecklers

Waldorf: These seats are awful. 

Statler: Why? Can't you see anything? 
Waldorf: That's the problem. I can see everything. 

One of the great lessons, I believe, that Jim Henson taught me as a child is to face the hecklers in my life and to recognize they are a natural part of our every day audience.

Never are we faced with 100% support by everyone we meet.  

There are always going to be those who don't appreciate the performance you are giving the world.  And most likely, they'll let you know about it.

And hardly ever do we meet change in our life without some part of us resisting it with nasty or fearful comments- trying to get us to stay right where we are, or to plain ol' just give up and get off the stage.

Kermit the Frog, one of my gurus in life, never gave up.  The show must go on!

He did however constantly deal with interruptions, complaints and the insecurities and big egos of his cast members.  But the show kept going......

Opportunities will come and you will be asked to take the stage in your own life.  And you'll know your on stage because that's the moment when everyone starts giving you their opinion and advice or you inner voices start heckling you with all the "what ifs" and "you're not good enoughs" to make you want to go backstage and hide.

DON'T do it!  Absolutely keep on performing- because quietly in that audience there are other parts of you watching.  Watching and waiting for you to be BRAVE and to SPARKLE they way they knew you could someday-  Parts of you that love you and need you to sing for them, and dance for them because they don't feel big enough to do it themselves.  So, you my dear, are the Star Act of your own Show and if you don't perform, or you let the hecklers and fear mongers scare you off the stage- the world will never hear your music.  

And that is too sad for me to even think about.

I've been on stage too many times to count now (sometimes literally) and I have to say, I've grown fond of my hecklers inside.  They make me laugh and they give my middle finger excellent exercise.  And each time a new part of me is asked to be strong and take the stage, I find myself, just like Kermit encouraging and pushing myself to say "YES" to whatever song I'm asked to sing next.   I"ll give it my "all" for the parts of me who were told "you can't" or "you shouldn't".  

In fact, it's the very act of showing those hecklers who owns the stage that makes it so exhilarating in the first place!

It's what gives my life aliveness, meaning and fulfillment- showing others how to Sparkle.  

And isn't that the whole reason we are on this stage of life anyways?

So ask yourself today- what's calling me onto the stage of my life?

What am I yearning to give to the world?

And when those inner hecklers start throwing out all the reasons you suck- show em your middle finger and sing louder.

Is that a Light at the end of the tunnel?

I love my job.  What's not to love about encouraging others to love themselves, reminding them that God is within them and challenging them to give into their heart's desire?

The truth is, in order to get someone to that understanding you have to walk with them through what's holding them back or hurting their heart so deeply they feel they cannot possibly heal.  And this, my friends, is challenging.

It's challenging to hear about the loss of a sweet baby, to hear about someone going through a divorce, or someone who just lost their job and their husband in the same week- really challenging.

But, I do it anyway.  Why?  Because I know without a doubt, things always get better and our deepest losses can guide us to our greatest joys.  I know because I've walked through my own losses and found God and myself in that pain- sometimes after digging through some knee deep sh*t for so long I was ready to quit.  But that light at the end of the tunnel always, always, always showed up and guided me home to happiness.

It's unrealistic to expect happiness 100% of the time.  But it isn't unrealistic to have PEACE.  Peace, I have found, comes with the acceptance we offer ourselves and our life through each moment.  An acceptance and a knowing that, "this too shall pass" and all is flowing as it is meant to flow and I CAN TRUST THIS- even though I don't like it.  With Peace, you can look deeper at what you are experiencing instead of trying to run and hide from it.  It is in staying with your pain and looking for the understanding that you will see that light.  It'll come. It always does.  When you calm down, stay present and love yourself it breaks through.

So, if your up to your knees today in life's muck and pain. Stop, breathe and let the understanding come.

And, ask yourself this question.  Who am I becoming from all this challenge- that only this challenge could bring out in me?  And give yourself some Peace in knowing the answer is there in your heart.

Valentine's Day Giveaway Winners!!

Happy "I am LOVE" Day!

The 3 Random winners of the Nurture 8x10 print are:

1. Gail@...........
2. amyryan@............
3. jmack@............

I will contact you for your mailing address.  Only partial emails were given to product identity.

Please enjoy the print or pass it on to someone who will.

XOXO

A Gift of LOVE for you...

In honor of the Month of LOVE, please receive this art collage I titled "Love's Gift".
Just right click and save, then print and Enjoy!!

May you remember that those we love need space to grow and expand their wings.

May you celebrate their willingness to try new things and encourage their dreams.

And may you remember that God in YOU is the greatest love of all.

Clarification

Seems yesterday's blog brought up some interesting feelings for some of you.... and for those of you who shared I thank you :)  Some LOVED it and some were triggered by it.  So thank you for the emails/comments as It helps me to communicate more clearly and also to recognize the impact I can offer.

So, I wanted to clarify (and I did add an addendum to yesterday's blog):


I'm not saying it's "bad" to do the reading of books, attend groups, etc.- those things can and do offer us great joy.  What I'm saying is that to release the NEED for those things is so empowering and Peace bringing- To have the PEACE within because you know what is best for you- and always will and you need no one else to make it true for you.


Hope this clarifies for those of you who felt slightly wounded by the idea of being judged or imagined that I was judging those of you who do.  While I have had my share of judgmental moments in my life- this is not one of them.  How can I judge what helped me find the greatest gift of myself? I cannot and do not.


I appreciate my journey, every book I read and every group I attended as they helped show me myself.  But in some ways I recognize it was like an addiction- it was a need that robbed me of peace.  It is an addiction I see many clients struggling with- even coming to me for their truth instead of within themselves. And of course, my role is to point you back to yourself ;) 


So my blog yesterday was to celebrate that now, I am so happy to say, I just no longer need those books or groups to feel Peace. And I wish for you that same peace- I truly do.


And, as I love to challenge you (and those of you who have sat in my counseling room will attest to this), if you felt judged or offended by my blog- I just gave you a gift. Open it. 


Look inside and ask what truth might be asking for your attention.  And without shame, be with it and love it.  Are you in any way addicted to external truth?  Do you feel deep trust in your self and knowing what is best for you or do you feel like someone outside of you knows it better?


In Peace.

I am Home

January was a beautiful month for me.  I had decided to take a "social hiatus" from outside activities and social events for the whole month.  This meant no outings with friends, attending of classes, or hosting of events on my part- simply just doing my work and being with myself and my family in my down time.  What can I say?  It was absolutely wonderful..... and I want more of it, more of me.

Because it was Feb. 2, and my month break was over, I invited a soul sister over to do collaging. We sat together cutting and pasting our soul collage cards, enjoying the connection and powerful images we were both drawn to.  It was so satisfying for me and....... peaceful.

We talked, as women do, of all those we knew of and the classes and courses out there in the world of spirituality.  We talked about new books and new travels she was venturing into.  All of it perfect for her and fun to listen to for me.  But inside a feeling, a knowing was brewing....... I choose to sit still.

I realized in listening to her talk about her next adventures, I'm am done going to self help groups, being a part of the "new age" community in my area, reading the latest book on spirituality, self-help, life, God, etc........ I've reached a point where I have found peace in just coming to my own inner world for ALL of my answers- I've come home to me and it's a really great place.

Don't misunderstand me, this is a place I've visited frequently (my inner world of me), I just chose not to stay there.  I'd get distracted by someone else I may have felt knew something more, that I absolutely couldn't live without knowing, or I'd keep buying and believing this next new book had magical answers to learn, or amazing viewpoints that would wake me up and transform my consciousness even more.

As I sit here typing this blog, my shelves (3 full bookcases to be exact) are filled with self-help & healing books galore, all of which I believed held the magic formula for awakening.  I'm grateful to the "aha" moments each gave, but it's really been the act of loving myself and speaking and living in truth that has given me my greatest awakenings.  My journey of self love has been my red sparkly shoes - like Dorothy.  To quote the Glenda the Good Witch in Wizard of Oz,  "You've always had the power".

Funny as it may seem, my husband has always been in this place.  As we sat and had our morning coffee together, I mentioned it to him.  I explained how so much of our marriage I've been chasing after knowledge & wisdom about life and running back home to share it with him.  He'd always seem interested but NEVER got caught up in the shiny "sparkleyness" of whatever it was I was selling to him.  He wasn't skeptical, in fact he would agree with almost all of it.  The difference was he didn't NEED it.  He was quite content to just live his daily life, moving through each moment with peace and contentment- and he is the happiest person I know.   Imagine that- the teacher was beside me all along.

It actually used to piss me off, that peace and contentment he exuded.  He did nothing to "earn it" in my mind.  Just loving me, the kids, his music, his daily grind and rarely complaining (seriously).  He was no Pollyanna either- just content.  I now know it bothered me sometimes because I was jealous of it and I had felt like I was working harder for it than he was.  I can reflect now about how funny all of that chasing peace was and I can laugh at myself with compassion.

And now, I can feel the grounded-ness of my own being- where my husband Todd's been hanging out all these years.  I have arrived, I am home and I found it's right where I've always been- ME.  Home is Me, I am the Peace I seek, the answers I seek, the love I seek.  I am all of it and I don't have to go anywhere to get it.

It makes me giggle, and yet I understand the gift as well, all that running around chasing after God. I realize, that for me,  it took all that external seeking to find ME.  It's like "I'm what I'm looking for" was taped on my back and no matter where I went I couldn't see it.  (I can feel my Soul smiling as I write this).

So, I'm not saying it's "bad" to do the readings, groups, etc.- those things can and do offer us great joy.  What I'm saying is to release the NEED for those things is so empowering- To have the PEACE within because you know what is best for you- and always will and you need no one else to make it true for you.

So choose to seek in another or in yourself- they all lead back to you eventually.  And, (Finally) I'll be here in the center of my being, excited to hear all about it and encouraging you in any way I can- just as Todd's always done for me.  And when you come "home" to yourself- I'll be your witness with a smile of knowing in my eyes and a welcome sign on my heart.

Addendum: Please note I have gently changed some wording from my original post to communicate my feelings more clearly.  I do not feel that seeking external experiences from books, groups etc. is a negative or disempowering thing.  I believe the NEED for them is.  And I have finally found a very peaceful place within myself of no longer needing them.  There is no attempt to shame anyone- or to create an either/or idea- that is NOT who I am.

Giveaway! Nurture Collage Print

In honor of LOVE day (aka Valentine's Day)- 3 Lucky, Random Winners will be chosen on Valentines day- 2012 to receive a Free 8x10 print of my New "Nurture" Art Collage!

All you have to do to enter the contest is FOLLOW MY BLOG by Email!  Enter your address at the left.

I will post the winners here on this blog on 2/14/12 and will contact the winners for shipping information.

Good Luck!