Find Your Diamonds!

Being Authentic is really important to me. Anyone can walk around being something they aren’t; living under a persona that chalices their ego and indulges their psyche. When people don’t come from their authentic self they appear to have a soul that doesn’t bruise or a second thought that doesn’t stick to their mind. But what they don’t realize—people can see right through it.

To come from your authentic self doesn’t mean you lose your privacy, or become weak. As a matter of fact, you become stronger, more confident, and yet unassuming.

You’ll know when you are acting from your authentic self. You’ll notice nothing seems forced, laborious, or fake. You will live in the exact moment you breathe in and exhale. Storms of yesterday will be distant clouds and the currents of tomorrow will be calmed.

I have such a deep connection when people come up and tell me how much they loved reading Wilson Mooney. Each and every word that pours from the people who have fallen in love with Wilson and Max has been etched in the deep folds of my heart. Every person has created a ripple in the patterned waves that increasingly have become my gratitude.

I don’t know why I am still amazed when people tell me that they loved the story or that it was well written. Sometimes, I become intimidated by other people's expectations. See, some people can’t believe I have a natural ability to tell a story. Hell most of my life I didn’t know, until I tried. Because let’s face it, that’s all I am doing. I’m not curing diseases or saving baby whales. I am writing stories that people can escape into. I am giving people the opportunity to leave their day behind them, and shelf their worries of tomorrow to become someone else today. I am giving them permission to experience a different life without guilt.

That’s all I am doing. That’s all I want to do. I want to write stories that allow my readers to become someone else for a couple of days, and if they are thinking about the characters a week after they’ve finished the book, I’ve done my job!

Being authentic isn’t about money, fame, or ego. It’s never about that. It can’t be. See if you are doing what you love, you can’t help but be authentic; because authenticity comes from a deep unconditional love that bubbles and swells within your soul. It isn’t something you can buy or pretend into existence.

You become authentic when you learn to live in the moment. It’s when you give of yourself selflessly; become open to the love of the human race, and find all the reasons you are grateful to be breathing today.

It is the moment you find the spark of life waiting to ignite every experience. Even the silt of the ocean floor has the potential to become a pearl. Hidden amongst the dirt of the mountains are perfect diamonds.

What potential is buried deep within you? What is it that sparks passion, and evokes unbridled zeal in your life? Go within, search within your own house; your own authentic self; within you are all the diamonds you desire and all the pearls you want; all you gotta do is dig deep enough!

Thanks for reading!

Cause and Effect

I had an epiphany today and realized that sometimes what we are looking for isn’t what we see. Funny enough it was during a conversation about how we can be looking for something, expecting it to be a certain way, and poof, it shows up totally different.

Case in point; my husband was looking for the creamer the other day. Cuz God knows French Roast black coffee just doesn’t go down as easy at when you turn it milky brown. I had just put the creamer back in the fridge directly at his eye level; but because he was looking for a blue container instead of a yellow container, he totally didn’t see it.

It was right in front of his face, and yet he searched and searched but couldn’t see it. Only after I told him it was on the top shelf and he came to the realization that he had bought a different brand this time, did he finally see it.

Too often this is the metaphor of our lives. We spend so much energy and time looking for something that happens to be right in front of us. Or we get mad, frustrated, sad, or disappointed because we keep looking for something that isn’t there. We keep thinking it is supposed to be one way, and when it shows up looking different we don’t see it. No, that can’t be! I wasn’t expecting it to look that way! When did that show up?

Why waste the energy and time trying to find something that just isn’t working? Why do we keep trying to fit that square peg in the round hole? Could it be that we are so concerned with what it looks like that we haven’t been able to really understand why it showed up?

Why are we so focused on believing in financial lack? Why do we shrivel in fear when success comes knocking on our door? What is it about being sick and tired that has become barometer of what’s normal?

I think it is because we have allowed ourselves to overlook the law of Cause and Effect. Too many times we look to laws as tangible things; scientific laws that allow us to cling to the earth and harness electricity, but rarely do we look at the law of Cause and Effect and correlate what we see and experience is a direct reflection of our consciousness.

We all must understand the law of Cause and Effect. It was taught to us every day of our lives as children. You touch the flame, you’ll get burnt. You hit someone, they’ll hit you back. You do such and such, so and so will happen. We’ve learned there are consequences to our actions; because for every action there is an equal and measured re-action. Basically it is Cause and Effect.

Now we must apply that to our lives now. Look at what we are thinking. Is it constructive? Productive? Worthy of our time? Is what we think, producing a healthy experience? Are we putting out to the world exactly what we want back? These are the questions we need to take a moment at a time and ponder.

Are we looking at the Law of Cause and Effect with the same seriousness as all other scientific laws? Because once we do that—once we embody the difference that shows up in our lives, then we will truly be free to live a life of totally prosperity, complete peace, and unlimited possibilities.

You Have the Power to Choose

The other day I goofed and let someone define me. Yeah, don’t say it. I already know I did exactly the opposite of what I know I’m supposed to do. So I guess I’m here to be the voice of reason. It’s all about recognizing that when we veer off course we must recalculate the direction the ship is sailing; because let’s face it, nobody knows your course better than you. 

Our lives are designed to be lived to the highest and best potential possible. We exist to experience life. So when I allowed someone to make me feel less than—I gave away my power. I gave away the one thing that is given to us the moment we take our first breath. Freedom of choice!

We have the freedom of choice. I know what you’re thinking, “Gretchen, that is a pretty broad statement. Who are you to say such drivel?” Well I’m not too far off of the mark here. Let me tell what I mean. Let’s look at the act of making a choice. 

What is a choice? A choice is the right, power or opportunity to choose; a decision. So, with that in mind, let’s look where we can use choice. Because whether you know it or not, every nano second of the day, we are making choices. AND YES, by not making a choice you are choosing. See the irony in that statement. Sometimes we are so terrified to make a choice in our lives that by NOT making a choice, we are choosing to NOT to choose. Whew—One fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish. 

When we decide to react to people—good, bad or indifferent, we are making a choice. When we create relationships filled with pain, hate, and anger or love, joy and trust, we are always in the driver’s seat! We choose to let that person under our skin, or let them love us unconditionally. We choose how to react to events in our lives. We choose to stay stagnant in a job or accept growth. Everything we do is based on our freedom of choice. Nobody is standing over you telling you what to think, how to feel, or how to react. The only person in control of your thoughts and your decisions—is you.

I’m not going to sit here and beat myself up for missing the mark; I’ve already adjusted my thinking and let that limited definition dissolve back into the powerless, nothingness it came from. I know who I am and where I am going, and so do you. Don’t let anyone…ANYONE define who you are. Remember you are a mighty moving force to be reckoned with in this world. You hold all the power in your life by the choices you make. 

Remember this—every minute of the day is a new moment to make a different choice. Leave the past where it belongs; stop worrying about the future, it hasn’t happened yet; and just live for today, this moment now! 

Thanks for sticking around and reading my ramblings!