This morning, I broke a hanger and it was such an analogy to life: we can be the most stable and strongest person out there, always holding everyone else up… But if we don’t have someone to pick us up and hold us when we’re down, we’re useless.

Super Mario World

Life is an illusion. Just like a video game. We plug ourselves in and direct our course of action without realizing it’s all just a game. No matter who plays, we’re all headed for the same end goal: to marry the princess; or in the case of life, to find love. The end result, what we strive for, is ultimately love.

Obstacles are set up along the way and each time we face one, we learn how to overcome it from how we conquered it last time. Sometimes the obstacles are large (a fire burning dragon), sometimes they look just like us with a different face (Mario and Wario), and sometimes, they’re little hurdles we have to jump over (a brick wall). But whatever the case, the issue at hand will keep us struggling until we learn to overcome it.

If we die, we just ask for another life, come back to the game again and see if we can overcome what we didn’t achieve last time.

Oh, and there are always ways to beat the system! Thousands of published books on how to overcome the demons, the hard parts, and get to the final destination. But ultimately, if we just realize we’re just playing a game, all we have to do is unplug and start living something so much greater!

This morning I sat on my lanai with a cup of coffee and watched the traffic twenty-seven stories below. The cars stopped, they went, braked, and zoomed. And I couldn’t stop thinking how similar this was to our thoughts.

When we’re right in the madness, in the middle of the traffic, we get so tangled. Our heart pounds, we instantly get angry, scared, frustrated. Just as when we’re in the middle of our minds and thoughts. We get so easily caught up. When we’re right in the thick of it, it always seems there’s no way out.

But when we remove ourselves from the traffic and simply just watch, rising above the situation, everything seems to be working in perfect order. It just becomes a game of stop and go and letting things pass. We hold no attachment to the cars that stream by nor the ones that stop quickly or shoot by like a bullet.

As soon as we remove ourselves, and just watch and allow, it all just seems to flow.

From thebalancedguy.blogspot.com

As I just found out, a shooting star is not a star at all, but just a term people have used for hundreds of years to describe intense streaks of light across the night sky, commonly referred to as meteors.

But a meteor by any other name is still as bright and so excusing any scientific blasphemy I may make, Life is much like a shooting star.

There has only been one instance where I saw a shooting star, 12 actually. It was the one and only time it has happened and I will never forget what it felt like. It was bright, fast and for that one second, I felt I was witnessing something magical. A universal fireworks show.

My mind escaped me for that instant and I felt completely connected to something beyond myself. Something that had the ability to create such incredible beauty. I was speechless. And then, I couldn’t stop talking. Words couldn’t describe what I had just seen.

Looking into the night sky as I type right now brings me back to that moment where I saw my first shooting star. It was over 6 years ago but I remember almost ever detail of that evening. The way the car smelled. The jacket I was wearing. The breeze that came in from the open sun roof. The amazing conversation with my friend, Mike.

Remembering that day… it was bright, fast, and magical. The exact same definitive words used to describe a shooting star. Something amazing that captures the essence of what life is about. A joy beyond expression. A feeling words cannot describe even when one tries. A love for life. A happiness that literally pulls a smile on your face. And although it may only last for that one instant, you know it’s so completely perfect.

It’s humbling. Mesmerizing. Joyful. Shocking. Awe-Inspiring.

It’s life. And I am so happy I am able to be a part of it.

Dear Stress,

I thought I told you we were through.

You were the one who sent me to the hospital with unbearable stomach cramps. You were the one who woke me up in the middle of the night and wouldn’t let me go back to sleep. You were the one who messed around, not only with me, but also with my friends.

Each time you leave, I feel a huge sense of relief, like I can live and breathe again. But somehow, you always find your way back into my life. This time, I’m putting my foot down. I’m better off without you. Plus, I’ve found someone new. His name is Yoga.

Yoga centers me and I always feel good when I spend time with him. We’ve recently been spending every day together and when we do, I don’t think about you. You’ve become easier to forget. You no longer consume my life.

So, this is goodbye. Actually, greatbye. It was only nice knowing you so I know to avoid you if we happen to meet again.

-Tess

If you look at your problems like dirty dishes, it becomes very clear how we can deal with them and not let them infect our life.

Each time you eat, you’re bound to have at least one dirty dish*. Now, when you’re done eating you have two options: do your dishes, or save them for later.

If you do your dishes right away, they quickly become clean and you can move on to your next project without thinking twice.

If you wait to clean them, you make the mistake of leaving them to pile up in the sink. One dish may not be bad, but if you continuously don’t deal with them, you’re left with a pile of dirty dishes, and an overwhelming sense that you should have done something about them before they became an issue.

If you leave your dirty dishes too long without cleaning them, you run the even greater risk of never being able to clean the initial stain off them.

Like dishes, if we don’t deal with our problems immediately, they can begin to grow into a larger issue. They begin to pile up and create a blockage. And sometimes, when you neglect them, they can permanently effect your being.

So even if it’s not a passionate scrub, when issues arise, washing them off your back can be one of the best activities you can do for your life.

*This statement does not take into consideration the amazing invention of finger food, popsicles, and those who use paper plates.

Today I stood in front of a window display that glistened with tinsel, snowscapes and ornaments. Everything glittered, a sure sign the holiday season was here.

I stood there for minutes looking at the beauty in front of me. Letting my eyes fade in and out admiring the different textures that played in each setting.

My whole life I’d been addicted to glitter. Claire’s was my favorite stop at the mall because I knew I could count on them for glittered headbands, bangles and bracelets. When it snowed, I watched as hillsides covered themselves in a white dust that seemed to come alive as they danced in sparkle.

So this evening, as I stood at the window, I realized why I enjoyed the marvelous creation so much: it’s the perfect analogy to change and light.

Sparkles are ever-changing. If they were to stay one color on one image, they’d be just like everything else. But each second the pieces evolves to a new angle, embracing change and illuminating as it reflects light. Without light, it becomes a dull canvas of pigments. But as it plays with light and allows its beams to show off its essence, it becomes a wonder that stops girls in the middle of the street, to stare at a beautiful window display in wonder.

So this season, remember the joy of sparkles, don’t be afraid to wear a little glitter, and embrace the blessings of change and light!

From gettyimages.com

We all think we have a certain level of protection from the real world. We set up barriers that we think are beneficial shelter from any pain and suffering. But we have to realize it’s all a ploy to keep us covered from experiences.

Like an unraveling sweater…when the first strand starts to fray we do everything we can to put it back in place. So nervous that this will be the last time we’ll be able to wear the article of clothing we held so dear. It’s like our first experience with awakening to a higher understanding, it’s such a new concept, it starts to tear our world apart. We think we’re loosing everything and so deny that these thoughts are taking place. We try to put everything back together.

But as hard as you try, it keeps unraveling to reveal the truth.

Like a sweater that unravels to reveal your true nature, so does the awakening experience, the experience of life itself.

So next time your sweater starts to loose it’s hem, let it go and find it’s all a part of the process, of letting go and of new experiences.

From cameosteph

It’s complicated. It’s hard. And sometimes we can’t figure out how all these little pieces can make such a beautiful picture the cover of the box promises.

But just like a puzzle, it takes time, patience and trying different connections that will ultimately make everything fit together.

At first putting the puzzle together is easy. You find the edges. You find where your limits are to fitting everything together. Then comes the hard part. Where to go after that? You have pieces everywhere!

Sometimes the pieces just won’t fit. You try to put two of them together because you want to get further along with the puzzle. But soon you’ll realize that shoving two pieces together that didn’t fit in the first place not only put you behind in finding the ultimate connection, but it also tarnished the pieces a little bit.

So it is here where each of us must be careful and not push things that just don’t feel right. Because although it won’t ruin the whole puzzle for us, it will definitely slow us down on our journey. But as you look to the final product you realize that all the pieces have their place.

Piece by piece, the puzzle begins to make sense, through the chaos of many, you find it is all one in the end.

Image from American Corner

Conversations tend to start pretty similarly. Brief introductions and simple words that make you conformable in the situation. Though, from there on, none are the same. Each take a different path and evolve and, ultimately, end.

So what is this conversation? It’s letters, which make up words, which make up sentences, which make up the conversation. Just as seconds, make up days, which make up a life. So therefore each of us know how it essentially evolves, though it’s up to us and our interactions to ultimately drive the outcome.

And sometimes you can’t find the words. You’re not sure where the conversation is going or what’s actually being said. Though it’s often the most cryptic of sentences have the most meaning. Those you don’t fully understand but once the point is made, everything makes sense. As life, sometimes the most obscure events and challenges are the ones we need the most for everything else to make sense.

And generally, if it’s a good conversation, one where you feel on top of the world, connecting with the energy of the moment, you don’t want it to ever end.