Resilience

Posted on by

2

Coffee & my journal = self-care (photo by Solveig)

Coffee & my journal = self-care (photo by Solveig)

Hello lovelies ~

So recently, something crummy happened to me.  I mean, crummy.  Like, someone did not treat me right.  This person hurt my feelings.  Bad.  I mean, not the worse hurt I’ve ever felt or anything, but it hurt.  No matter how much I try to cultivate kindness in my life and with others, sometimes people are unkind to me.  It doesn’t happen often, and it doesn’t change my belief in the goodness of people, but it does mean that sometimes tough things happen to us, no matter how well we treat others.

Saturday I felt really sad about what happened.  Sad enough to cry about it, and not feel like getting out of bed for a while.  I mean, I felt awful the second I woke up.

Now, I’m not actually writing this post to vent (really) or even to process what happened.  I’m writing it for three reasons:

1.  I don’t want you to think I’m always happy.  Yes, I focus on peace, love, and happiness in my life and in my coaching, but this does not mean that I live some sort of painless, utopian, rosy life in which nothing nothing nothing gets me down.  Crummy things happen to me.  People hurt my feelings.  Sometimes life sucks for a little bit.  I think that for you to know and understand me as a coach, that’s important to share.  I’m definitely not “perfectly happy” all the time, and that wouldn’t be authentic.

2.   I want you to know that I let myself feel sad sometimes. I do focus on the positive generally, and I am mostly a happy person, but sometimes I feel sad or angry.  In this case, I was feeling sad.  I know from research and lived experience that sometimes we need to let ourselves feel sad.  These are the ups and downs of life ~ these are the feelings of contrast.  If we falsely “act” happy when we’re not, or try to cover up sadness or frustration, we are doing just that; covering it up and not dealing with it.  It’s not a healthy choice.  We need to allow ourselves to feel the pain sometimes.  In fact, the pain provides contrast for the goodness.  I wish we could live pain-free lives, but I don’t think that’s real.  The pain helps us learn; the pain helps us grow; the pain provides comparison for us to know the opposite ~ when things are so so so good.

3.  Resilience is what gets me through.  Have you thought much about resiliency?  Resiliency is “bouncing back,” and we can grow our own resiliency in tough situations.  Through my research and study of youth development, resilience is key.  Hopefully, we learn resiliency as a young person.  If we haven’t, it’s something to cultivate as an adult.  Resiliency is knowing that things (though they may suck right now) will get better.  Resiliency is knowing that we can get through the hard times, and that we’ll be stronger afterwards.

 How resilient are you?  What are some ways to grow our resiliency? 

Here are a few ideas:

    • Find and nurture positive relationships.  We all need connection and people to listen or care for us when we need it most. Nurturing positive relationships, and taking care of our loved ones, is a foundation for when we need someone to care for us.
    • Practice self-care.  When you feel awful, think about how you can help yourself.  Self-care, or figuring out how you can best take care of yourself, is huge.  Do you need to go on a walk in nature?  Do you need to cuddle with your pet?  Do you need to get extra rest?  Do you need to go running?  Figure out ways to show love to yourself.
    • Stretch your trust muscles.  Maybe you don’t believe that things will get better…but try.  Tell yourself that things will get better.  Pray, meditate, talk to yourself, and remember that our words have power.  The more you trust and put your energy towards the positive, the more likely things will improve around you.

I hope this helps.  Yesterday, in addition to talking to friends, and talking kindly to myself, I went on a long walk in the woods with my dog, got an iced coffee and read a book in the sunshine, and planted some herbs and flowers near my bedroom window.  All of these things helped me a little bit.  I know I’ll be okay.  And I know you will, too.

With love,

Solveig

Habits of Happy Folks ~

Posted on by

0

Hi there!

Earlier today I found this article in the Huffington Post.  I think it has some great suggestions for living a healthier and happier life:

“How to be an Optimist”

It seemed worth sharing tonight.

I’m always keeping my eyes out for resources on how to live peacefully, happily, healthfully, and filled with love.  If you ever find articles you think are worth sharing, please send them my way.

Love & light,
Solveig

Lovely & Vibrant ~ Inside & Outside ~ Katie Alley

Posted on by

0

Hello sweet ones ~

Part of my enthusiasm for life coaching relates to my love of people and stories. As I go through life, I meet so many people who strike me as lovely and vibrant inside and outside.  I thought it was worth sharing them with you.  I do not present these people as “perfect people,” or people with “perfect lives,” as I like to find the beauty in imperfection; beauty in learning and sharing what we’re learning.  We are all works in progress. I share these folks with you as friends ~ as I think we can gain inspiration and momentum from one another.  As I’ve mentioned, this blog is about self-awareness, authenticity, spirit, creativity, self-expression, peace, love, and being forces of good.  I choose people I know, or folks who are recommended to me, who have stories to share about being forces of good in the world, and who are lovely and vibrant inside and outside. <3 Enjoy!  

(And let me know if you have recommendations for future features ~ email me at solandheart@gmail.com)

Katie Alley ~ Lovely & Vibrant ~ Inside & Outside ~ 

Katie Alley is an artist, graphic designer, lover of bouncing balls, hopping, running, and thinking deep thoughts.  She makes the world a better place through her kindness, her social consciousness, volunteerism, artwork, and creative thinking.  She is a force of good and an all around lovely and vibrant inside and outside person.  I am delighted to share a little interview I had with her ~ and some of her thoughts and perspectives on the world.  I especially love when she talks about “zings,” houseboats, and how she relates to the world through her art. If you get excited to learn more about Katie, check out her artwork at K.armenta designs website ~ or her Facebook page at K.armenta designs.

Katie journaling & working on art ~ photo by Solveig

Katie journaling & working on art ~ photo by Solveig

Solveig: What makes you you, Katie?

Katie: I’ve actually always been fascinated by the idea of identity and how it constantly shifts…. I guess I always have to some degree believed that I am (and that humans are) a reflection of God in some ways, of the…I guess the Universe. I have some friends that would say the Universal Consciousness, and that our identity’s such a tricky thing because it shifts so much, from moment to moment; it’s like you’re a new person each time.

S: Are there any themes that you see in yourself?

K: Well, this is kinda a negative point, but I’ve always dealt with fear, and I’ve always considered it the opposite of love, and so often I have to look at — not that fear’s always a bad thing –I guess have to look at fear as helpful in some situations, but making sure that I’m not making decisions based upon fear, but that they’re based upon love…

I think that beauty is more beautiful when you have the dark contrast of things, and so love is more precious, I guess, when you have the outlining of fear, at least the idea of something so opposite and so, and so in that way you shouldn’t be afraid of fear.

S: What are some of your favorite things in the world?

K: Things that make me go “zing!” I don’t know if I’ve told you about this.  I used to not like Picasso at all, you know, I just…I know he’s famous, and I could appreciate his artwork and I was like, “okay, I understand how important he is to the art, art history and movements, but I never really liked him until I was in a museum in Berlin devoted to him ~ don’t ask me how I got there.  And, we were walking through and I saw this drawing of a reclining nude, which is also not a subject that I’m normally a big fan of, especially by a male artist ~ but it was all one line. And it was just, it just hit me in a way that was like ~ it’s almost like the world just kind of vibrates, and everything falls into place in this one pinpointed way for one person and it was soooo beautiful that I’ll never forget that.  Just the perfect…he GOT it.  He got this woman, he got the feeling, he got the, the beauty of the whole situation and conveyed it to me.  So I guess it comes up periodically when I’m least expecting it — on a run, looking at the branches on the trees, just weird, weird ways of feeling like you’re being zapped by the Universe.  You know, like, “remember!”

S: I’m reading this book that calls that the Universe winking at you.

K: Yeah.  Zing!  Well, cause when someone winks at you it’s like this little thrill, right?  Like a zing.  I also like chocolate, I like doing things with my hands, art, eating, and people in my life.

Katie doing artwork on the beach ~ photo by Solveig

Katie doing artwork on the beach ~ photo by Solveig

 S: Out of curiosity, how would you describe your personal fashion style?

K: I really like wearing solids, for the most part.  I don’t like wearing things with words, for the most part… I used to not wear big earrings or makeup, which is funny to me now because I do both to extremes and so I guess it’s evolved.  I really just like getting thrift store things and simple outfits and then twist them to together & accessorize.

S: This blog is called sol & heart because I believe that sunshine & love help people grow.  What helps YOU grow, or where do you find inspiration?

K: I find a lot of inspiration in writing.  In like, especially short stories, or people’s stories.  I’ve been listening to the Moth podcasts where people tell their own stories, and just to have people turn a phrase in a certain way — it’s getting that zing again. And that’s always super inspiring to me.  I always feel more alive after hearing things like that….Art, as well.  And libraries; books.  I love books!  I love the feel of them, I love just skimming through them…but I also love libraries and I think it’s because it’s a space of reflection that you can sit and soak stuff in and think through things that I wouldn’t normally take time to think through.

 S: You’re so neat!  What are you passionate about?  What makes you come alive in the world? 

K: Definitely art.  Definitely.  That’s the one place where I feel the most confident and I feel like even if I don’t know what I’m going to do, and the next step, the next second, it just kind of comes to me in a way that that even if it’s wrong it doesn’t feel bad-wrong.  Like imperfections are never awful; they’re just a part of the process of it.  Which is a tough thing to pull into the rest of my life.  My greatest desire & passion is doing art.

S: How do you think that you make the world a better place?  You do!  

K: I’d like to think that I help other people make the world a better place.  So, editing papers for my friend who is very passionate about helping high risk youth…Hopefully bringing some joy into my family.

 S: Through your art, too?

K: Well, that’s something that I’ve always struggled with — and I’ve talked to other friends who are artists and they say doing art is so important for the world.  You might not see it, but it’s so important… So, it’s something I’m still working through and I would love for that to be my expression of love to the world, or at least one of the major ones.

S: I think it is already.

K: You think so?

S: What are your big dreams?

K: Well, one I just realized last week.  I had this great day of doing art – the kind of day where you get up at 7:30 and you’re just workin’ workin’ workin’ and you’re switchin’ between projects and mediums, and you don’t even realize you haven’t had breakfast until like 2:30 in the afternoon; that type of zoning in on what you’re doing.  It was sunny and I got to go running, which was just a lovely reliever.  Running’s also a good time for me to think about art, and to just recharge.  But I realized at the end of that day that my new goal in life is to be able to do that.  To do that at least like 3-4 days a week… That’s my big dream.

I also have always wanted to live on a houseboat, with a flat roof that I’m growing grass on, and I would let a goat live up there.  And it would be two stories and the top story would be all windows and that would be my studio.

S: Ohhh, where would this houseboat be?

K: In the Northwest I think – on a small lake.  I just want it to be drifting around and maybe it would have a glass floor – in just like one little part – like little holes into the lake.  So you could see fishies.  And a diving board off the end.

 S: How do you take care of yourself?

K: …I need to get more sleep.  The older I get the more I realized that.  But running is a big one, because if I haven’t run in a couple of days, I start to feel it. And it just feels so good.  And I don’t even know how I got to that point ‘cause I used to – this is kind of recent in my life that I became a runner – but there are just some days where it feels so good, and you just keep going and it’s an exercise thing, so it’s good for me physically, but it’s also good for me mentally….

S: Do you think you take care of yourself in ways related to spirituality at all?

K: That is something that I would like to, actually.  Because I do believe that there is some connection that I need to be making with a greater something.  I believe that there is something greater and right now I’m not being true to myself, I think, in really searching that out.

S: What are some super special things to know about Katie that I haven’t asked about yet?

K: I can be ridiculously goofy, like having hopping contests; I like bouncy balls – the little small bouncy balls.

Photo by Solveig

Katie on another beach ~ photo by Solveig

<3

What do you hold dear?

Posted on by

0

Image

Dear lovelies,

Happy Mama’s Day, first of all!  I hope you’re all having a most wonderful day.  If you’re a mom, I hope you’re feeling valued and loved today.  If you’re not a mom, then I hope you’re sharing your love and admiration with your mum, or someone else’s mum today.  Loving and caring for little ones (or us big people) is such a huge responsibility, and an incredibly important task in the world.  Although I’m not a mom myself, I’m an auntie, and a  lover of little and big people.  If you’re a mama, know you have my utmost respect and admiration.

Tonight, let’s think about our values a little bit.  How often do you think about what you value?  How often do you consider what you hold dear?

While some values may remain a near-constant throughout your life, often times we’ll see some changes in our values over time.  Depending on where we’re at and what we’re doing with our lives, our values may shift.

*When’s the last time you gave your values some thought?

*What are your top ten values right now?

If you ever choose to experience life coaching with me, this is one of the first questions I’ll ask you.  What do you value?  I ask you, because I want to support you in living vibrantly, in living cheerfully, and in living peacefully, and I can support you best when I know you’re values, and when you know your values.

We tend to feel the happiest and most satisfied with our lives when we’re living in line with our values.  So, if you’re feeling a little off kilter with the changing of the seasons, give some thought to your values.  Make a list of your top ten – and then spend some time reflecting.  Are you living with those values in mind?  Are you aligned?

If you feel like you’d like to talk this through with someone, or need a little extra support in moving forward, I’d love to set up a coaching session to explore together.  (P.S. ~ The first session’s always free, in case you feel like giving it a try and seeing what you think!)

And if you’re wondering about the photo, this was a little quiet time I had this weekend, in which I decided to look over my own values a little bit.  My journal and coffee are always necessary for my introspection. <3  Two of my pretty consistent values are ~ peace & love.  (I know, you’re shocked.)  One of the things I’m valuing recently more than ever: ADVENTURES.  I’m sure I’ll have some good stories with this in mind…and I’d love to hear about your values if you want to share with me here.  I always love to hear from you.

Sparks & love,

Solveig

On Gratitude

Posted on by

0

 

Hello sweet ones ~

Whatcha grateful for today?

This is a good starting point for this week’s post.  I’m thinking on gratitude, and what I’m grateful for right now.  Right now.  :)

(My friend and I like to play this game in which we talk about something happening hypothetically – which we want to happen in our lives – and then say, “I’d really like to get a raise at work, but I don’t know how likely that is…But what if it happened RIGHT NOW!??! Or….. -pause –  ….right NOW!?” Yes, we do this for a little while, pause to see if it happens, and eventually move on in our conversation.  Has it worked yet?  Nope…but we keep trying it!)

Last week my super cool buddy, Geoff Welch (of This Tiny Empire), and I got together online for a little chat about gratitude.  I really enjoyed our conversation, as I admire and respect Geoff, and dig that we have some differing takes on life, as well as some overlaps.  We decided to film our conversation for all of you (Gulp!  This is the first time I’ve ever done this, and it’s a little scary!) in the hopes that there might be some folks that might find the conversation useful for things you’re working through in your own lives.

As you’ll hear (if you watch our 20 minute conversation), I’ve found that thinking on gratitude is really helpful when I’m starting to feel blue or return to negative thought patterns.  Geoff is awesome about gratitude in *action* and he shares a great technique he uses in his own life.  We hope you find our conversation valuable.

Watch our conversation here ~

Let us know what you think!  We want to hear from you.  What great practices do you have around doing or being gratitude?  I love opportunities to learn from one another.

Just for fun ~ here’s a couple of things I wrote down in my gratitude journal ~ last July when I started! As you can see, they’re simple things, but they make me happy to read even now.  (It’s fun to look back at gratitude lists if you keep them.)  On July 18th, 2012, I was grateful for:

*Sunshine (!!!)

*Momentum & energy at work

*A happy friend

*Being able to teach class outside

*A friend sending me a text, and starting by saying, “hello darling.”

*Spending time with my dad

*Wearing a summer dress

Ahhh…this makes me dream of summer.  We’re almost there, my friends!

I’ll close with a little quote (you know I love words) ~ from Daphne Rose Kingma ~ as another perspective on life and gratitude.  She wrote:

“How easily can we forget how precious life is! So long as we remember, we’ve just been here, being alive. Unlike other things for which we have a comparison – black to white, day to night, good to bad – we are so immersed in life that we can see it only in the context of itself.  We don’t see life as compared to anything, to not-being, for example, to never having been born.  Life just is.  But life itself is a gift. It’s a compliment just being born: to feel, breathe, think, play, dance, sing, work, make love, for this particular lifetime. Today, let’s give thanks for life.”

With gratitude & love,

Solveig

 

Lovely thoughts to start off your week

Posted on by

0

“If perceptions lead to behaviors, can our thoughts bring love into our lives? Absolutely. I know for a fact that we can make the choice to love, that we can make that choice come alive, and that it’s sustainable, renewable, and ever-deepening.” 

-Barry Neil Kaufman, p. 23, Handbook for the Heart

Hi sweet ones ~

Isn’t that quote lovely?  I’m a collector of quotes, in case you haven’t noticed.  I don’t collect much else, but I do collect words in combinations I find meaningful.  I am loving this book I mentioned, Handbook for the Heart, and I would definitely recommend it to anyone else who might be enamored, intrigued, and curious about love.  The book is a compilation of original writings about love, and I’m finding it a very interesting read.

Kaufman suggests that our thoughts can bring love into our lives.  I think this is true.  In fact, I always try and share uplifting thoughts that will hopefully be thought-provoking and make you feel good.  Whether we want more love, more happiness, more peace, or more motivation, our thoughts affect how we feel and what we bring into our lives.

So, it’s a night for lovely thoughts ~ and here are few Pinterest finds for your enjoyment…

I try to share with you some of my highlights from Pinterest on Sundays, along with anything else that makes me happy and I think might lighten up your life.  You can always follow me on Pinterest at: Solveig Pedersen, Life Coach, on Pinterest.

Also, for those of you who don’t know me very well yet, here’s a super happy photo my friend Katie took this weekend, while we were on a sunshiny walk at the dog park.  This is me, with my best buddy, Luna:

Photo by Katie Medred

Photo by Katie Medred

And, one other happy thing to get you started off this week, is a poppy new song that keeps making me smile when I hear it… If you haven’t heard it yet, here’s the video for Taylor Swift’s song 22 ~ Yay!

Taylor Swift ~ “22″ video

Love & sparks,

Solveig

Today I said, “no.”

Posted on by

0

 

From Darcy Albert's Pinterest board

From Darcy Albert’s Pinterest board

Hi friends,

Happy Wednesday!  It’s Change the World Wednesday, and tonight I’m sharing with you a few thoughts about saying, “no.”  Many of us change-the-world types have a desire for involvement.  We’ve realized that we want to be part of the solution, and that the way to create positive change is through ACTION.  And, while action is necessary for change, we sometimes get lost or carried away with our actions, and don’t take care of ourselves.

I am a recovering overcommiter.  Spell check tells me that’s not a word, but let’s make it one.  I overcommit.  I want to do it all!  I want to be involved and doing so so so many things, because I care.  I know I’m not alone.  I have so many rockstar friends in my life who do this, too.  It’s not just me.  My intentions are good, but I have watched myself (and others) do this repeatedly with the same results … stress.  When I overcommit, things that I chose to do with good intentions seem like chores.  My attitude towards them shifts from passionate or fun, to …not that.  

So, I share this with you, because I’m also learning to say, “no.”  In fact, today I said, “no,” to a potentially very cool opportunity.  And it was sooooo difficult, but I knew, in my heart of hearts, in my gut, inside, that if I chose to take on this gig, I would be taking on too much.  It was not easy to say no.  I made pros and cons lists, said a few prayers, and wrote out my schedule on a piece of paper at least twice to see where and how I could fit this in.  After trying these things, the decision, while murky because in many ways I wanted to say yes, pointed to saying no.

I did say no.  And I can tell you that my head and heart, while a little sad about declining an opportunity, believe that there will be other opportunities in the future.  I feel clear and strong that I was able to not overcommit myself in this situation.  As a life coach, it’s important to me to live my life aligned with my values and how I support others.  I will not be as energetic and loving as a life coach and teacher if I’m overly stressed, and I know this.

So, tonight I’m thinking about saying no.  Sometimes, stepping back from one opportunity creates space for others to come into your life.  Sometimes, declining one more thing gives you extra room to take care of yourself.  For those of us who care a lot about others, it’s vital that we remember ourselves in the equation.  We’re more able to care for others when we’re taking care of ourselves.  Thankfully, there are so many ways we can choose to get involved and make a difference, that it’s also okay if we step back from a few of them.  There are others who will say yes…and really we’re just re-focusing and seeking to be strategic with our energy, passion, and time.

By saying”no,” we’re saying “yes” to something else – another opportunity, ourselves, someone we love, or who-knows-what.

Here’s to plenty of opportunities, and discernment to know when to say “yes” and when to say “no.”

In love,

Solveig

 

Lover of the Light

Posted on by

0

Light & love - photo by Solveig

Light & love – photo by Solveig

Hello lovelies ~

Happy Sunday night!  I’m listening to Mumford & Son’s Lover of the Light as I write this post.  Midway through writing the post, I decided to look up the video, which to my delight features the beautiful Idris Elba.  So, #1 – I love this song, #2 – I now love it more because of this video which is difficult to interpret, but lovely to watch, #3 – Idris Elba is ridiculously gorgeous ~ (enjoy!!)

“Lover of the Light” by Mumford & Sons

Woo.  Hope you thought that was worth it.  So, here’s my other thought for this Sunday night.  I’ve been reading this book called, Handbook for the Heart.  Have I mentioned it yet?  It’s a series of essays on my favorite topic ~ love.  Tonight I’m going to share with you a little excerpt from an essay by Deepak Chopra, called Heart Sounds.  Here’s the quote that’s resonating with me tonight…

It is easy, so easy, to get distracted and say, “Oh, my God, look at all the bad that’s happening in the world.” But we can’t give in to that notion; we have to keep our focus on love.  There does seem to be a newfound acceptance in the idea of critical mass, a definite change in the collective psyche of the world, as more and more people make love a priority.  Real change is happening.  By giving love, always love, we can continue to influence what happens in the rest of the world.  If enough of us embrace love, the world will eventually be saturated with love.  The love in the world begins with the love within ourselves (p. 13).

Mmhmmm.  All of this quote excites me, and reflects why I’m psyched to be a life coach.  I want to help others discover, uncover, remember, ignite the passion within themselves; the love for others and self-love that contributes to changing the world.

With that, I encourage you to start off the week thinking about love.

How can we be more loving to one another and to ourselves?

Chopra says, The way you fill your life with love is very simple: if you want more love, give more love.  

This is good stuff.

Love & sparks this Sunday night ~

Solveig

Words.Have.Power.

Posted on by

0

Well hello there, darlings ~

Happy Wednesday!  It’s what I plan to start considering Change the World Wednesday here at Sol & Heart Coaching, and I’m thinking on how we use our words today.  This is a topic that is close to my heart, for as many of you know, I also teach university-level communication classes, and spend a lot of time thinking about how conversations and dialogue can create positive change in the world.  In fact, I even wrote my master’s thesis on Walking Peacefully in the World and how we construct our reality based on the stories we tell and the conversations we have.  So, I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about how we use words, and how we communicate with one another, and ourselves.

Today we’re focusing on intrapersonal communication, or communication inside oneself, you know…self-talk. Perhaps another day we’ll look at words we use with others, in small groups, in public speaking, or through media.  (Oooh, listen to the teacher in me!) :)

Today, though, we’re gonna focus in on the words we use with ourselves and the impact those make.  I know you know this.  This is just a little reminder.

How you talk to yourself MATTERS.  

What kinds of words are you using with yourself?  

For reals.

I mean, are you building yourself up?  Are you supporting yourself?  Do you have your own back?  Are you inspiring yourself in the way you talk to yourself?

Observe.

Listen to yourself when you’re having a hard day, or feeling down, or when you’re feeling marvelous.  How is your intrapersonal communication, or your self-talk, rocking your own world, challenging yourself in positive ways, and being supportive of YOU?

Conversely, how are you being hard on you?  How is your self-talk bumming you out, making you feel less-than, not-fabulous-enough, not-WHATEVER-enough, etc…? (You get the point.)

Recall, next time you’re feeling down, that your words, indeed, have great power.  Simple shifts in remembering to use powerful, peaceful, loving words with yourself, can change your perspective, build you up, and in turn…change your world and how you feel.

Just give it a try.  And let me know how it goes.

Remember how powerful you are, and how powerful talking to yourself in positive ways can be.  Use language that empowers, even with yourself.

Love love love,

Solveig

A prayer this morning <3 And everyday

Posted on by

0

Hello lovelies,

In the spirit of trust and love this morning, I want to share a prayer with you I just found.  I want to be clear that I support you whatever spiritual path (or not) you’re on, as long as it’s one that seeks to be love and do no harm.  I have had different ways of expressing and experiencing my faith throughout the years, and I imagine that will change and grow as I do in my life.  So, know that you are loved, whether you think prayers are silly, whether you pray with energy, spirit, Universe, God, Jesus, Buddha, Muhammad, the sunshine, nature, etc…in mind.  Go with what works for you, and I hope this prayer is meaningful for you ~ as I find it to be…

This is a prayer that Marianne Williamson shared in her book Illuminata: A Return to Prayer.  Note, I took out a couple of sections (the … indicate where I did that) that didn’t resonate with me, so feel free to look up the entire prayer on your own if you want the whole thing. Big love.

Dear God,

I give this day to You.

May my mind stay centered on the things of spirit.

May I not be tempted to stray from love…

May my mind and heart be pure and true, and may I not deviate from the things of goodness.

May I see the love and innocence of all (hu)mankind, behind the masks we all wear and the illusions of this worldly plane.

I surrender to You my doings this day.

I ask only that they serve You and the healing of the world.

May I bring Your love and goodness with me, to give unto others wherever I go.

Make me the person You would have me be.

Direct my footsteps, and show me what You would have me do.

Make the world a safer, more beautiful place.

Bless all Your creatures.

Heal us all…

Amen.

Photo by Solveig - art by some super rad Fairbanks, Alaska artist at Clucking Blossom.

Photo by Solveig – art by some super rad Fairbanks, Alaska artist at Clucking Blossom.