Finding Strength in the Unknown~

As I go about my day… the feeling of loneliness tries to creep in– but I ignore it knowing that something has changed in me these past weeks.  I am starting to feel the strength of knowing who I am again. The calmness and peace of truly knowing who you are in this world and what you have to offer is nothing short of a gift.  As I sit in the silence of my home sipping a glass of chardonnay and eating left over chicken salad for dinner, I listen to the sounds of spring; the melody of frogs chirping and croaking outside my open window brings an immense sense of peace and calmness. Not wanting for anything in this moment, I know that my true self is slowly emerging into place.

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It has been a long two weeks; I don’t ever want to feel even the remanence of emotions that my past has evoked, though it was a necessity for me to feel every last bit that had haunted me within. When you choose not to distract yourself with false monetary pretenses, it is then that the lessons you are meant to learn in life show themselves in the light that you need to see and feel them. There are times when you are amidst these lessons that you feel there is no possible way you will ever be whole again, but it is also at those most intense times that change is occurring deep within your being; it is important to know and hold on to the knowledge of this.

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Though my most recent changes have been the onset of this raw and all-encompassing  emotional state, it is these changes that have freed me to seek out who I am, where I belong and to accomplish in this life what I have been predestined to. –“Woman must come of age by herself. She must find her center alone.” – Anne Morrow Lindbergh

I do feel that the path we take in life creates who it is we are meant to be– though I can’t help but to wonder if some of the choices I made while traveling my path has prolonged the arrival of my destination. Destination – is there a final destination? I think I am now learning that there is not and furthermore, that there is not meant to be one. I have been on a search since I can remember, for something to grab hold of me and give me that feeling that I have arrived at the right destination. I am finally realizing and taking hold of the true meaning of a quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson, “Life is a journey, not a destination.” I find peace and excitement within these words. The fulfillment of not knowing what is going to happen and the endless possibilities that this notion creates is enough to launch me leaps and bounds ahead of where I was just one short year ago. I am grateful for my resilience and dedication to press on through all the discomfort and confusion and to be able to arrive at this very place.

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As the warmer weather has been ushered in by the onset of spring, I realize through the winter there was a sense of renewal taking place. Each year as winter approaches the trees shed themselves of their leaves so in spring their renewed beauty has a place to reveal itself and so it is with me, through this winter I was shedding my old self  to bring forth the renewed beauty of who I am becoming.

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So here I am as Memorial Day weekend is approaching, a time when families and friends gather to enjoy one another’s company. I have been on the pursuit this whole week to find a place to fit in so I don’t feel the absence of what this weekend is about to bring, a feeling of loneliness.  My Rebekah is with her father, my parents are out of town and my friends are preoccupied with their own life’s challenges. Having an evening alone is a welcomed thought, but enduring a holiday weekend for four days and nights without plans goes against my grain. I have settled into the notion that this is for a purpose; I am learning and practicing to trust the process of life. I have changed my mindset to embrace this time to have a more deepened sense of self- by myself. Becoming honest with me and trusting life’s process to guide me has been an incredibly difficult feat. My past has taught me the need to challenge and control- but within that there was a sense of responsibility that was exhausting and uncomfortable, like swimming upstream against the current. In letting go of this need to predestine my time, I am learning to feel content with not knowing. My openness to an unscheduled life is an olive branch extended toward learning to trust life, myself,others, and God.

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I will end with a quote from the book I am reading, A Year by the Sea – by Joan Anderson, “When one is freshly informed, has a serendipitous experience, one’s mood is changed. That is why taking time to see, hear, be present to images and language that arises from new experiences have the power to change one from one way to another.” – Clarissa Pinkola Este’s

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Live well xo

 

 

 

Running for Safe Harbors ~

Today I ran the 10th annual Safe Harbors of the Hudson 5k race! It was a chilly windy morning but it felt great once the race got underway.

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This race supports Safe Harbor’s mission which is, “Transforming lives and building communities through housing and the arts”. To read more about Safe Harbor’s work in the Newburgh Community check out the link provided…. http://www.safe-harbors.org/about-us/

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When I read about this race last year I knew I wanted to participate in this event, but unfortunately the timing was off so I was set on making it happen this time around! This course lends beautiful views of the Hudson River-  this plus the great cause it supports encouraged me to be a part of today’s event.

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Running along side such an intricate part of history is both awe inspiring and thrilling. I hope the richness this valley and river has brought from the past continues to be a motivating factor in restoring it to it’s fullest potential for the future.

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There were runners of all ages and stages involved in today’s event, including a 70 year old woman who completed the three mile run in just 35 minutes! Kudos to her; I sure hope I will be able to do the same when I reach her age!

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I want to encourage you to find something in your life that makes you smile, that helps others, and helps to inspire and encourage others in a positive way~

Live Well

xo

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The Jungle Book ~ What a Great Message!

What better way to spend a Friday night then with my best friend and our two best girls.

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I took my reluctant Rebekah and off we went to the movies. She wasn’t so keen on going to see the Jungle Book, she was convinced it would be boring- NO WAY! It’s a Disney movie!

I haven’t been to our local mall’s theater in quite some time and was pleasantly surprised to see we had recliner seats! We settled in, reclined back and started shoving fists full of sodium loaded kernels into our mouths. As the movie began it felt as if Mowgli dashed right past us in attempt to keep up with his wolf pack family, “I know you are not a wolf Mowgli, but you MUST try to act more like one, you must stay low to the ground.”

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From that point on the breath taking scenery brought us straight into Mowgli’s world making it easy to forget about the world that lies right outside the theater doors; we traveled through beautiful deserts, the rain forest and to a waterfall. This movie brought the once animated characters of the Jungle Book to life on the screen right before our eyes. At one point I found myself wanting to jump into the screen onto Baloo’s belly along with Mowgli as they floated down the jungle river singing ~ Bare Necessities ~

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I don’t want to give away the most spectacular parts so I will go straight to the ending which left us with an amazing message, not only for children but for adults as well.

Be yourself- be who you were created to be. When you are true to your genuine self, the person God made you to be and listening to the whispers of your heart allowing them to guide you in life, you can accomplish amazing feats.

This movie truly touched me in a very special way and Rebekah didn’t think it was boring one bit!  She loved it as well~

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“What You Resist Really Does Persist”

Learning to ~Trust~ Myself and Life

 

My last excerpt in, My Personal Journey, I spoke about discovering my inner child and the importance of her having trust and faith that I would take care of her. I have been working diligently on this, though I did encounter some road blocks and it took me a little while to find the next important path to travel.

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As I mentioned in previous posts, when the decision was made to end my marriage, my initial feeling was that of relief – I was ready to surrender, claim my losses and move forward. After moving past the emotions equated with loss, I quickly moved onto dealing with unresolved emotions that were buried deep within and that was the fruition of ‘Meeting my Inner Child’. Then came about those road blocks I mentioned above. Through a brief relationship I had, I was able to shed a tremendous amount of light on areas that are of great importance in order to move forward toward a happy, fulfilling, and successful future.

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“It is important to trust what your life is trying to communicate”

I sought to dig deeper within myself to uncover and expose what I felt had a huge grip on my spirit. I started reading the book ‘TRUST’ and my entire world felt like it began to unravel as I realized I had no trust in myself – in life – or in others. As I continued reading I began to pick up the pieces that were scattered about and started slowly reclaiming the loses that I had allowed my negative ego to devour.

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A few months ago I had been introduced to my inner child, now I have been introduced to my negative ego and am learning how I have allowed this part of me to affect so many aspects of life.  I have sought to control my circumstances and everyone involved in them, I wanted an outcome of guaranteed results, the ones that I had pictured in my mind. I deceived myself for many years carrying on this way because I didn’t trust myself or life to take care of my subsequent needs.  I was the master of my own deception.

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Somewhere along the line I learned to place my trust in things and people I should not have and ignored my own inner voice. In lying to myself, ignoring my inner voice and acting upon pure emotions, I had invited others to do and act in the same respect within the parameters of these relationships. I had no Boundaries thus making it very difficult to understand how to respect the boundaries of others.

“In life we always get what we expect”

 “You will find it easier to trust if you understand what you put out will come back”

 

It is time to take accountability for the choices I had made and their consequences, otherwise I will “continue to chase peace and joy.” It is now time to learn to trust myself – trust in God- trust the process of life and others.

  • First up is to get my negative ego in check, to quiet it down to a voice that is unrecognizable and replace it with positive affirmation.
  • Then I must start making healthy decisions that will build reliance, creating self-trust.
  • I must develop some healthy boundaries for myself, knowing where I am willing to be flexible within them and in return this will help me to respect the boundaries of others.
  • I need to re-program my thoughts and behaviors so when a challenging moment arises I do not latch on to the feelings and actions I learned to use out of fear.
  • I will learn to value my “self-affirmation” more than “external validation”
  • and to know, no matter what – above all- I will be ok.

“What we hold in our hearts determines how we move through life”

As My Personal Journey continues on I become more in touch with whom I really am. Until we can see clearly and be completely honest with ourselves – self-trust is not attainable.

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Maureen xo

 

What I Learned this Week~

JUST BREATHE~

As my mind drifts throughout each day, sometimes I get fixed on something that’s not so positive or uplifting to my spirit. It may even be a thought that hasn’t had a chance to reveal itself in actuality and I am already playing the scenario out in a negative way.

This weekend I found myself doing this and I immediately thought, I need to  focus on each moment and stop worrying about the hour ahead, the next day, or even the next month.

When your mind begins to focus on events that are out of your control and you start projecting negativity, it’s time to take a deep breath and just think about the task you are doing at that moment and the rest of the day will lend the fruition of itself in a much more positive manner.

So, I did my very best to do just that, focus on each moment. By the end of the day I looked back and I was more than satisfied with its outcome. I had no expectations or worries about what may or may not be- it just was and it was a great day!

Welcome each day like a good meal”  ~Joan Erikson

Live well  xxoo

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