Life is a constant ebb and flow.  It is movement.  Sometimes we get smashed across the rocks, and sometimes we land on the shore with ease and grace.  I hear a lot of people getting stuck in the “why me” mode of thinking.  Then binding to the moment as if it will never end.  When we take ownership of the struggle as much as we take ownership of the joy, we open a door to the experience.  We are not longer distancing, or holding onto.. but acknowledging what is happening.  Sometimes when we are eating, the food goes “down the wrong pipe”… we panic, grab for our water, slow our breathing, and calm begins to present itself.  Life is like that at times.  We struggle, but calm follows the storm.  We have to be careful to not bind to victimization.  We have the power to move through our situations, and this process opens up when we learn to trust our intuition.  When we are able to take a step forward into the struggle we are able to move through it.  We also have to be careful how tightly we hold to joy.  Holding onto joy can often ignite comparison.  “That cupcake is the absolute best cupcake in the world, it brought me so much joy… no other cupcake will ever compare”.  We do this in relationships, situations, and even in friendships.  This robs the moment of presence and binds us to the past.  It is important to acknowledge those moments that have built us into who we are, but we can’t hold so tightly that we do not allow new experiences to be experienced fully.  If we were to hold onto the love of our lives, who may now be an ex, and then do not let anyone else have access to our hearts or compare all those that enter into our lives as less than.. we are denying ourselves the beauty of a new experience.

Take this moment to offer thanks to the joy and the struggle.  Each are teachers that will present themselves to us, how long we stay with them is often up to us.

And remember You are loved.  You are Beautiful. You are Divine.

Mike