YOUR LIFE A-Z: DARE

JONATHAN LIVINGSTON SEAGULL KEPT FLYING HIGHER

DARE

DARE to take Care of You today.  DARE to be yourself today.  DARE to get out of your comfort zone and take a risk that is so “not you.”  If you are shy, DARE to talk to a stranger today.  If you are quiet, DARE to speak your opinion today.  If you are a couch potato, DARE to go for a very long walk. Take water.  DARE to risk rejection today. DARE to ask for what you want and need.  DARE is to defined as a challenge that proves courage.  Anytime we break out of our rut, we DARE to change.  Change is uncomfortable but just like a new pair of jeans when the fit is good they feel so good.  When we DARE ourselves by challenging ourselves to be different and out of our rut then after the initial discomfort, exhilaration and excitement from the challenge sets in.  What are three things that you can DARE yourself to do?  Just like the first questions in this post, do something completely out of the ordinary for you.  Life is to be experienced, not watched from the sidelines.  It is common for all of us to get into a rut and then it feels so comfortable to know that every Saturday is chores first, grocery shopping next, order in pizza and a movie in the evening.  But really what quality does that provide week in and week out?  Yes, housework must be done but switch it out so that you can use some of your energy to DARE to be different. 

YOUR LIFE A-Z RESURRECTION

RESURRECTION:Walk through your defensive walls!

RESURRECTION MAKES LIFE NEW AGAIN

The Twenty Minute Coach thought it would be appropriate to speak about the power of personal RESURRECTION on this Easter Sunday.  Each of you have experienced very personal crucifixion stories in our lives, but have we allowed those stories to debilitate us or create opportunities for personal RESURRECTION?  In the traditional story Jesus appears to look the same, even showing the scares from the crucifixion.   However, he has different abilities than He had previously.  You have different abilities after your own personal crucifixion too.  You have the ability to be wiser and more courageous if you choose to take advantage of your pain and allow it create a new you, a RESURRECTED you.  Your story is just a piece of the tapestry of your life.  It does not define how you “are” but it can help you create a newer improved you.  RESURRECTION would be pointless if we came back the same and the painful stories in your would be useless if you did not use them to RESURRECT ourselves.   One of the things Jesus reportedly was able to do after his RESURRECTION that he could not do before was walk through walls. In our psychological nature, we put up “emotional walls” that keep people out and equally separate us from others.   We do this out of our woundedness and shame.  If we allow the painful stories of our life to RESURRECT us from our repeated past and do things new then we can walk through the walls we set up between us and others.  I invite you to walk through a wall and connect with someone you have separated from and I invite you to use this RESURRECTION Sunday to do that. 

YOUR LIFE A-Z READ

READ
What is it that you always wanted to know or to do?  READ about it.  Find out as much as you can about those subjects that interest you.  Make yourself a research project and become an expert on anything you want to know about.  READ as a way to educate, stimulate, and develop passion.  There are so many things out there to do and to discover and talented authors can take you there by the way they make the words on a page dance life right into your being.
Here are some interesting reads if you want to know something more about spirituality and Buddhism, read Pema Chodron’s, The Places that Scare You. To enjoy an entirely different take on Buddhism read, Buddha Walks Into the Bar by Lodro Rinzler.  If you want to understand the history and spiritual connection with the Virgin Mary, read Clarissa Pinkola Estes book, Untie the Strong Woman: Blessed Mother’s Immaculate Love for the Wild Soul or if you have an avid researcher inside give the History of God a whirl by Karen Armstrong.  For a psychological vacation, read Brene Brown’s The Gifts of Imperfection or if you are feeling lost try The Passion Test by Atwood and Atwood.  Want to explore the caves of your own soul spend some time working on Janet Conner’s Writing Down the Soul or the Lotus and the Lily.  Of course there are many wonderful novels to read, so whatever suits your fancy, go explore the world of READING today.  Don’t forget that I have IN A MOMENT’S NOTICE: A PSYCHOLOGIST’S JOURNEY WITH BREAST CANCER and it is just a click away at Amazon or Barnes and Nobles.