Take Responsibility

TAKE RESPONSIBILITY

It’s time we all took responsibility for our actions. It time to stop dodging behind the words and actions of others. Stop hiding behind the illusion that our lives are more important than anyone else’s. It’s not. 

The laws of nature apply to everyone equally. There aren’t special circumstances for someone because they seem to have everything fall into their laps or they’re better or worse off than you. Nature doesn’t have discretion, it can’t choose one thing over another, it is bound by scientific law. It doesn’t have volition. 

Nature is a producer, it gives to whatever it is asked to give. We can’t plant an oak tree and have a redwood sprout. That would be against all the laws of nature. We can’t plant a tomato plant and dictate to nature how many branches, leaves, or tomatoes it’s going to produce, that’s nature’s job. Our part was planting the tomato seed. 

When we plant a calla lily, the soil, water, and sun conspire with the laws of nature to help that calla lily grow to its full potential. The only thing it is subject to is its environment--other than that the calla lily is bound by its truth. 

Same for all living things, including human beings. We are bound by the laws of nature. We are subject to our environment, and we will produce exactly what the laws of nature dictate. And if our environment isn’t healthy, everything that is conspiring for our highest and best good will produce the best of what it can in our unhealthy environment. And when I speak of environment, it isn’t limited to the physical. Our environment also includes our minds. 

We are thinking, independent, viable, beings with the capacity to make decisions based beyond our intuition. We aren’t subject to instinct, (although there are times instinct will rule over volition). 

We were born to make manifest the magnificence of our lives. If we never choose to take responsibility for our actions, we will live our entire lives subject to our environment. This is where we can use the laws of nature to create our heaven or hell. 

When we make the decision to rise to the occasion instead of kneeling to the condition, we put into motion the law of cause and effect and the law of nature must obey. Nature can’t play favorites, it doesn’t look at a situation with a consciousness, that’s a human trait. Just think of nature as the, yes man, it can only produce what is asked of it. It can't decide to help one person and neglect another. Nature works for all in the same way.

Our actions dictate our experiences, and our thinking creates the perfect soil to plant our seeds of love or hate, compassion or contempt, prosperity or poverty, success or failure, and our happiness or sadness. Truthfully, the only thing we can control is our reaction to the outcome. Other than that, we can’t control how others react, we can’t stop the world from suffering, and we can’t continue blaming someone else for our life and expect it to change. We want our lives to change, we have to look within and see where we keep stumbling. What old belief or idea that keeps us bound to the same crappy experiences. 

We have to dive deep into the uncomfortable, find that old crappy belief and uproot it. Thrust our hands into the soil of our lives, let the dirt get under our fingernails while we discover if the soil in our consciousness is the right type. If it isn’t, we must go out and get the right soil. Nobody is going to bring it to us, we have to work for what we want. PERIOD. Everyone is subject to the same laws. 

Maybe you’ll find a book that leads you to you, catch a lecture that empowers you, surround yourself with positive people who lift you up. Let go of those ideas that don’t serve your highest and best good, anymore. 

Listen, nobody can save you, you have to be the one to decide to rise up. You must determine if you’re done or not. Nobody can fix you. They can show you, they can give you the tools, but it’s up to you to build a better life or not. It’s an inside job, a change of consciousness, a makeover of your thinking, and a lot of work. 

Life is never stagnant, you can’t learn something new then think that you’ll master it because you did it once. You have to keep working on it, honing your skills, practice it until it becomes automatic, and even then, you will have to keep doing it so you don’t get rusty. Same with your thinking, same with your life--you must keep changing your consciousness so you can create a better life for yourself. Even if your life appears perfect, you must continue to work at that appeared perfection. 

So how do we do it?

It’s individual for each of us, but one thing I know for sure is to start seeing the positive in the world, focus on the good, let the rest go. Stop embracing the negative in the world, stop feeding the beast of judgment, hate, anger, and indifference. Be honest, and embrace your grace. Take responsibility for your actions and life. 

If you messed up, stand up admit it, and move beyond it. You don’t have to become yesterday’s mistakes by admitting them, and sure, you might be uncomfortable for some time, but in the long run, you will strengthen your consciousness and by strengthening your consciousness you’ll begin to see your life change for the better. You’ll have deeper more quality relationships, and you’ll experience your inner truth. You’ll be reminded every day that you are God’s greatest gift to this world. Because you are! You are the miracle the universe produced. A million to one miracle. 

Take today into your heart, sit silently for a couple of minutes and see what comes to the surface, that will be the first thing to look at and decide if this idea is serving your highest and best good or enslaving you to a life of discontent and pain. If it isn’t serving your highest and best good, come up with the opposite and start thinking upon that. You’ll be surprised how fast your mind can replace a negative condition with a positive way of life. 

Soon you'll discover that beneath what appears isn't what is. You are you, and you are enough, it's time to start believing in yourself again! 

With LOVE and COMPASSION, 
Gretchen de la O

STOP TALKING ... START LISTENING ... AND REPEAT AFTER ME!

We all face obstacles, moments where we wonder, "How am I going to survive this?"

We struggle to find out why, we fight for answers, and sometimes we just decide to give up. We come from the "flight or fight" mentality because it's all we know.

We all have those experiences where we either come out swinging or we bury our heads in the sands of denial. It's human nature, it's the way we've been conditioned.

It's hard to face criticism for things we wish would go away. It's hard to hear the truth when we want it to be false. And a lot of us become fatalists when we let our minds wonder into the future that hasn't even happened yet. That's right, we project an outcome before the event even takes place.

Why?

Why??

and

Why???

Because it's easier to kneel to the condition than to rise to the occasion. WE THINK, it's easier to expect pain instead of healing, chaos instead of peace, poverty instead of prosperity, failure instead of success.

We let the world's conditions dictate our outcome.

We are not the world's conditions, We are not our neighbor's story.

Our lives aren't written in permanent ink!

We are ALWAYS changing, events and experiences are never the same, and just because history has dictated certain outcomes in other people's experiences, doesn't mean that's the end-all-be-all story of our lives!!

People bend perceptions and expectations all the time. Things evolve and change because we do. Technology changes and we discover new and inventive ways to create, produce, and execute better more efficient ways of doing things.

There are so many moments in this life where we bend perceptions and make them a reality. Where facts that we thought were law become the stepping stones to pushing precedence and limited thinking.  That's right, just because a precedence has been set doesn't mean that's the be-all-end-all. It never is.

It's time we stop saying we've lost the race before it's even started. Stop looking at the hare and thinking because it has long strong legs it's going to win the race. <---we already="" how="" know="" out.="" span="" story="" that="" turned="">

We aren't limited by what has happened. We aren't the outcome of what appears to be. We are exactly what we decide we are going to be. It's time to let go of what the world thinks we are and start embracing the Truth of who we are!

First Person POV Statement....

(read aloud if you need to)

**************************

I am a mighty moving force. I deserve all the good, all the grace, and all the love waiting on my discovery. I am a gift living in the present. I am the miracle the universe produced and keeps producing with every breath I take.

I let go of my old ideas and embrace my new thinking today! I release the fear, guilt, pain, shame, and anger that doesn't serve who I am.

Today I let love, peace, health, abundance, compassion, happiness, gratitude, and grace fill my cup until it's running over. Today I recognize that I am a blessing not only in my life but in the lives of everyone I come in contact.

The goodness within me greets the goodness within everyone I interact with today.

I am worthy of living a positive life.

I am worthy.

*****************

You are worthy! You are the biggest gift to this world, no matter your past mistakes or accomplishments.

Today, the world is blessed to have you in it! Remember that.

With LOVE and COMPASSION,

Gretchen.

DOGS AND BEES CAN SMELL FEAR...

DOGS AND BEES CAN SMELL FEAR ...

Well, so can our thinking! Our minds react and produce from whatever thoughts we think. If we come from fear, then our actions and reactions will manifest from fear based ideas.

Hear me out...

We have within us the power to produce exactly what we want in our lives. It's how and why we react that creates our experiences. If something devastating happens to us, it's within our scope of how we react that will manifest our experience.

Tragedy strikes so many people, and why is it that some seem to handle it better ... scratch the word better ... how about differently than others?  How come some people can find peace in the most tragic moments of their lives while others simply can't?

We are born without baggage, without fear, doubt, and conditions. We are an empty slate, waiting to be filled with all the wonders of this thing we call life.  We enter this world and are born to parents that are conditioned to living in a world or chaos, constant change, socialistic pressures, and demands put upon them that they must believe, act, and become conditioned to the world.

Without malice or hate, but out of love and compassion, most parents rear their children to fear actions of others, bend to the beliefs of others, and give into the conditional thinking that they have been brought up to believe is the truth. WE ALL DO IT. We aren't wrong for doing it, we can't live in guilt or shame for doing it, it's in our nature to protect, teach, and control those beings we've brought into this world.

But as we grow up, and we learn that we are separate entities from our parents, we begin to discover we were brought into this world already possessing everything we need. We are powerful beings, we are the only living things on this planet that actually has volition and are self-aware with a consciousness. We can actually rationalize our actions, and reactions, and we don't have to rely upon just instinct.

When we set out to discover the limitless power that resides within us, we begin to see how our actions, reactions, and inaction effect the situations in our lives. We learn that the law of Cause and Effect is real, powerful, and nobody is immune to it. The Law of Reciprocity, within our thinking is a very real and powerful thing. What we put out into the world, the thoughts we think, the actions we take, will produce a result. It's a 100% non-negotiable law of nature.  

Think about it ... how many times have we feared something was going to happen and boom, it happened? Sure, we can say, "well, I've had that happen before, so I knew it was going to happen again." But see, there is the challenge. Why did it happen in the first place?

Let's look at precedents... Yes, precedents, something that sets the bar of what to expect the next time... We are taught to believe that if a precedent is set, that is all that we can expect to happen. We reach for that bar and when we get there we believe that's the best we can achieve because nobody has gone beyond that... until someone does.

It was believed nobody was faster than the 4 minute mile until someone broke the record. It was believed that we couldn't break the sound barrier ... until someone did it. And it was believed that a human being couldn't survive jumping out into the stratosphere in just a spacesuit and float back down to earth ... until someone did it.

We are all conditioned to believe we are limited in our actions, that we can't stand on the edge of what was done before and leap into what can be done now. We are conditioned by fear, by lack of belief, and by the conditional thinking of the world.

When we react or act from a fear based belief, we are giving into the idea that we aren't worthy enough, that we aren't good enough, that we don't deserve the best that life has to give us.

Truth is ... you deserve the best of everything! You deserve happiness, you are worthy of love and compassion, you have a right to live the best life you know how to live. It is within your power to challenge that which has been done before and work to reach beyond it. If everyone lived within the belief and fear of the world, imagine the world we would be living in.

I'd be pissed if some dude was still dragging my a$$ around by my hair. We wouldn't be communicating with people from around the world today, and we would be stuck in the conditional thinking that innovation didn't exist.

It's easy to say, don't let fear rule your life, don't let the feelings of inadequacy plague your thoughts, and don't let the words or actions of others steal your voice, but it's another thing to act upon it.

So, what I'm saying is, take baby steps. Take one moment at a time and ask yourself, do I really need to fear this? Are the sharp, painful words of that person really the truth of who I am? Why am I allowing the conditional thinking of those around me, define my experience?

Because the truth is, you are the most important person in your life. Without you, you wouldn't be here... your life wouldn't exist, and that wouldn't be acceptable. So take the time and learn to love yourself, honor who you are, respect yourself, and change your self-talk, your limited thinking, and your unworthy thoughts. You are the miracle of life. You are the prize the universe gave to the world. Take a moment today to discover the limitless potential you have within you, waiting on your discovery of it. You'd be surprised what you are capable of, when you give yourself a chance to believe in your inner strength and limitless power.

May PEACE and LOVE be yours today!

Love,

Gretchen

#BigO #O #OlongOLongPost #PowerToYou #PlugIn #BeTheChange #YouAreAwesome #DontGetDerailedByLimitedThinking

Today is the Day!!!

TODAY IS THE DAY!

If we keep putting off our good until tomorrow, nothing will ever be good enough.

We do this all the time. We save the good china for guests and special occasions. We hold onto that thingamajiggy for the day we feel worthy to use it. But all we end up with is lots of wishes for tomorrow. We push our good out to the future because we are afraid if we give it to ourselves today it might not be as special, or as good.

Isn't it time we all came to the realization that life is right now. That there aren't any tomorrows that are guaranteed. You are worth the fine china, even if it's only mac and cheese being served up! You are worth using that thingamajiggy today! Don't put off for tomorrow what you can have today. Is it living if we are always looking outside of where we are? What are we doing to ourselves when we look to yesterday for today's answers and how much power/time/energy are we giving away by pushing our good off until tomorrow?

You are living today. You're the miracle waiting to happen right now, not tomorrow, not the next day or the day after that. Give yourself this daily bread, carbs and all. Living in the moment is being present in your life. No more unconscious living. No more scarfing down the robust and plentiful dinner without tasting it. Take this moment now to feel the air brush across your skin, the smell of the rain as it dissolves into the sidewalks, listen to the sounds of your life with a new ear.

I'm not saying we won't have days where comfortably numb isn't welcomed. We all have those days. They are valid because your feelings are valid. But to live every moment comfortably numb isn't living, it's just existing until the next tomorrow. Take up thy bed and walk. If you're like me and have days where you look up and wonder what happened to the last week, month, or year, it's time to take a deep breath, be grateful you came to the realization that you deserve more. YOU DESERVE MORE!  Take a second in the day to find one small thing to be grateful for. Find a sliver of something beautiful in the heap of comfortably numb.

When you discover that there is beauty around you, that there are moments to celebrate even if they are the most ridiculous things, you'll begin to see that the outcome of your experience isn't in the hands of the world, it isn't perched in tomorrow's ideas, but in this moment now, right where you are. It's time to celebrate the fact that you are important in the scheme of your life. YOU hold the thoughts that power your experiences. HUGE. You are the creator of your day, the maker of moments, the only person who can decide how you're going to react and interact with people, places, events and things.

I understand it's not the easiest thing to do when you've spent your life looking at the glass half empty. You don't want to feel the pain of being let down, you'd rather rely upon the reality of the world around you. I get it, we all reside there sometimes. But, what's life if we don't give ourselves moments to experience the breath-hitching wonderful. What are we robbing from ourselves by numbing ourselves to the grandeur that is waiting for our arrival? You're created out of the same substance that created the stars. That's no joke, look it up. Every element they discovered in the creation of stars are all elements found here on earth. Therefore, you're soaked through and through to be a STAR! You knew it, there is that burst of brilliance at the center of who you are. Find it, make that your next adventure, discover that tomorrow is nothing more than more of today. You are a mighty moving force in your life, no matter how it may appear. YOU have the right to a do-over, a restart, a re-boot. Find your star and burn brightly my loves!

LOVE and PEACE be with YOU today!

#BeTheStarYouWereMeantToBe #BrandYourStand #FindYourSpark #YoureNotAlone #YouAreBeautifulJUSTtheWayYouAre #BeTheChangeYouWantToSeeInTheWorld #Love #Peace #BigO #O

Take Your Life By the Horns

Your strength doesn't rest in an outcome, or a result, rather your strength resides in the power of your decision to do something.

You hold the key to your own happiness, nobody or nothing has the authority to take your power of decision away. We often find comfort in blaming others for the results in our lives. It's so much easier to look outside of ourselves for how f*cked up our lives are.

We walk around casting blame for what's so wrong in our lives and yet, when something goes right, we find it easy to look within. Take credit for the good and blame others for the bad. Isn't it time to discover that the outcome of our lives is measured by the responsibility we take for it?

If one person ... ONE person can prove to rise above the disharmony and discontent in their lives, then it shows that any one of us can. It's in the decision to do something. People that over come horrific events in their lives do so by changing their way of thinking. They don't blame past pain for where they are in their lives. They move beyond the pain, suffering and anger into a state of consciousness soaked in forgiveness, peace and love.

Everyone has been a victimized in this life. I'm not trivializing the event that has caused you so much pain. TRUST ME, I know what it feels like to suffer at the hands of someone else. But if we don't find our inner strength through forgiveness, through empowering ourselves, through taking responsibility for how we act NOW, we will live out the rest of our lives tortured by events that can never be changed. If we keep residing in our painful past, how can we embrace a greater future?

Events of your past shape who you are, I'm not one to argue that. I'm also aware that in order to overcome the tragedies in your life you have to work through your anger, fear, guilt, shame and doubt. Some people have more work than others, that I will not discount, nobody can tell you how to grieve or heal. All I'm saying is once you decide to move beyond the pain, you find there is an entire life waiting for your discovery of it. A life filled with love, peace, harmony and compassion.

Sure, you'll have days where you're mentally stronger than other days. You'll have setbacks and spring-forwards, we are human. However, as you learn to look within for your answers, look within for your strength and power, you'll see that blaming others, or looking to others to make you happy is a dead-end road.

YOU are MAGNIFICENT, you are the result of a miracle made manifest! You were created out of the goodness and grace of a Infinite Power seeking to know life. In seeking to experience life, this Infinite Power, (call it what you feel comfortable calling it), gave you volition, emotions and consciousness. You're equipped with everything you need to be empowered in your own life. It starts by recognizing that you are a mighty moving force that is worthy of love, peace, forgiveness and a limitless abundance of goodness.

I'll be the first to tell you, it isn't the easiest thing breaking the bricks which have created the walls that imprison you. It isn't fun working through your past, it's uncomfortable, tiring, icky, painful and downright debilitating at times, BUT when you decide to take back your life, eventually there will be more good days than bad, more moments of triumph instead of defeat. Take the time you need, a little each day is better than trying too much at once and giving up.

I'll leave you with this, "You can't fix a problem using the same consciousness that created it." Albert Einstein.

Keep changing the way you've been thinking about or approaching a problem, and eventually you will find a solution.

May LOVE and PEACE by yours today.

Love,

Gretchen

Truth is When You Are Done Proving Yourself

You don't have to sacrifice yourself in order to be brilliant, you just have to be willing to do the work.

Be willing to be vulnerable, be willing to let go of being right, or being something to everyone. Be something to yourself. This isn't self-indulgence, it's self-reliance, self awareness, self-fulfillment. It's diving so deep into who you are, that when you come up for air you gasp at what you discovered. You marvel at the idea that you are not the body you are housed in, or the material things you accumulate. You discover that within every experience you've had, there was something greater at work than your own ego, ideas, beliefs or wishes. You discover that your connection with others is a stronger bandwidth than you anticipated.

Your Truth is complete abandonment of your ego and need of having to be right. It’s letting go of the idea that you must be heard, or be proven. What in the world do you have to prove? Stop talking and people will suddenly listen. Stop arguing and people will take notice, stop the riggers of discontent and people will stop feeding that monster. 

When you let go of your need to be right, be heard, or be proven it can be scary. Suddenly you're floating in an ocean of uncharted territory. Instantly you have to tread water where before you swam a strong stroke. You have to float on your back and not foresee where you are going. But in doing that, it begins to create an understanding that what is happening to the world outside of you, isn’t what is happening to the world inside of you. You will discover that you are more than enough.

But, you have to learn how to silence the voice inside your head. You know the one that tells you, “You must fight to be right!”  

Let me clear something up for you, YOU DON’T HAVE TO FIGHT TO BE RIGHT. 

Your Truth, who you are will be revealed the second you stop trying to prove who you are. Truthfully, the mere fact that you were born is proof enough that within you is a power at work greater than anything you feel you need to prove. There is nothing more to prove, nothing more to argue about. How you live your life, how you cooperate, coordinate, facilitate and participate is nothing more than a reflection of what you’ve been taught to expect or believe to be facts. Well, and we all know facts can change.

Your Truth is unchangeable, it’s non-negotiable, it isn’t fiction or woo-woo. Your Truth is irrevocable, it’s dynamic and never stagnant. It is who you are when the world turns away, it’s the Divine spark that never stops burning, it is your creative process, it’s the connection you have with nature. Your Truth is love. Pure, unadulterated, non-sexual, unconditional, irreplaceable, bigger than child/mother connection, LOVE. It’s not explainable, it’s undefinable, it’s limitless in its totality. Your Truth is the omnipotence of God acting through you.  

When we see our Truth for what it is, we begin to understand why we don’t have to waste our breath explaining who we are or feel the need to prove anything to anyone. We don’t need to because the Universe is doing it for us by acting through us.

So today, I stop trying to prove I’m right. I stop arguing for the conditional when the unconditional is at my fingertips. I let go of the idea that limited definitions, or the human condition creates any part of my Truth. I am a child of God, carrying out my life the best way I know how to. I let go of the need to fight to be right. I let go of those people who feel the need to fight to be right. I embrace the Truth of who I AM and I approach everyone, (and I mean EVERYONE) with kindness, compassion, empathy and understanding. How freeing it is to know I don’t have to play in the muck and mire of discontent. That my Truth is ultimately their Truth too.

It’s so empowering to know that there is a greatness in each and every person I come in contact with, and I have the ability to connect with them at that level. Even the people who hate me, even the people who hurt me so deeply. Everyone has this capacity, and it’s in our willingness to discover it, nurture it, come from it, and embrace it that will give us the most freedom. Freedom from the bondage of pain, suffering, hate, anger, jealousy. It is an evolving process, a life’s work that will never be done. It’s a forever process of enlightenment, unfolding discovery, involvement, evolution and continuum of growth.

Today, if I have a millisecond of clarity and experience a sliver of my inner Truth, I know that I have moved closer to the pinnacle of my life’s work. It isn’t the instant we hit the ground that we are searching for, it’s the thrill of flying through the air after we've jumped.  That’s where we find the most growth in our humanity, and our spirituality. It isn’t about sticking the landing, but what we do while we are flying through the air that matters.

Thanks for hanging out and reading my ramblings!

Love,

Gretchen

No Matter a Mountain or a Molehill, The Outcome is the Same

When you stand at the base of a mountain and look up, it can appear to be insurmountable. You can feel insignificant and too small to climb the face of something so massive.

Life can feel that same way at times. But if you lower your head and face forward, you will see the ledges, roots, rocks and crevices you can use to pull yourself up. When we give our attention to that which is right in front of us, the mountain that towers above us, doesn't seem so huge.

Every once in a while, you can look up and see the magnitude of work ahead of you, and in the same token you can look down and see how far you've come. But your resiliency isn't measured in where you came from or how much further you have to climb. Your resiliency and strength is measured by how you move forward from where you are.

You can't look up or down the face mountain and at the same time be successful in placing your hands and feet in the best positions to climb. You must focus, be aware of the moment and make the choices that will keep you clinging and climbing that mountain!

In other words, you must be consciously aware of what you're doing. It's a matter of life and death, success and failure, and eventually reaching the crest of that mountain.

If you are too busy worrying about what's to come or what you've already been through, the significance of the moment you have right now will be lost on your past and what hasn't happened yet. You have an opportunity right now, to either reach for that ledge and pull yourself to the next phase of your climb, or keep clinging to the edge until your hands and feet become tired. You know what to do and how to do it. It's time to start trusting your intuition and let go of the needling fear that's like weights around your ankles.

You have been given the best climbing equipment, ever, it's state of the art and it costs you nothing! You have been trained and equipped for climbing those proverbial mountains your whole life.

You've always possess the ability to think, reason, deduce, and understand. You've always have had the ability to choose, to love, to forgive and to forget! You have everything you need right where you are to reach up and pull yourself to the next section of your climb.

YES, sometimes you'll lose your footing, or grab a rock that's loose, you'll slide and have set backs, but guess what? That's part of being alive. Who doesn't have experiences that seem to kick you when you're down? But it's important to remember that you have a safety rope, a lead rope, and that rope is the one thing that's strong enough to keep you from falling to your death. That lead rope is called faith. It's that faith, in which you have for yourself and others. Faith allows you to start again, keep going and reach for your potential that resides within you. Faith's that still small voice inside of you, faint as a whisper which tells you, that you're worth it, that you can do it, and that love, compassion, peace and strength resides right where you are.

You're a child of God, a reason why life is happening. You are the most valuable person who's climbing the massive mountain called, Your Life! Don't you think it's time to start embracing your strengths and finding the strongest rocks and roots to grab?

Listen, it's not what you were, or what you can be that defines who you are in this moment, you are not yesterday's news and or tomorrows headlines; you are the decisions you make right now, at this moment of your life. Empower yourself and know that you are love, life, joy, peace, compassion, harmony, light and abundance. Know that you are the perfect expression of life, living life to the best of your ability, right where you are.

Thanks for hanging out and reading my ramblings!

Love,

Gretchen

There's No Place Like Home (Wizard of Oz Pt. 2)

 There's No Place Like Home. (2nd Installment)

Dorothy Meets the Scarecrow...

(Highly recommended you read the 1st installment--- here)

There are moments during Dorothy’s journey where she finds herself walking or skipping along the wide winding road laden with bright yellow bricks of promise without issues. Her journey is a peaceful one with Toto (her little dog), scampering at her feet. And yet, just as the moment where comfort outweighs her fear, she comes upon a fork in the road. Undecided on which way to go she talks to herself out loud, and that's when she's startled by a talking scarecrow in a field of corn. The Scarecrow tries to direct her the best way he knows how, but in the end comes off as confused. However, Dorothy listens to his story, and shows empathy for him by bending the nail down on which he is hung and frees him from his paltry existence. The Scarecrow asks if he can join her on her journey to see the Wizard, his hopes pinned on the idea that the wizard might give him some brains. It’s the perfect situation which allows her to express her compassion for something unlike herself. She tells him that she has a wicked witch after her and shows concern for his safety but when he tells her he’s determined to go with her, she agrees to his joining her and Toto’s journey to Emerald City.

I believe miracles show up in all different ways. Now, I’m not saying on your journey down your ‘yellow brick road’ you’ll come across a talking scarecrow that only wants a brain, I believe in a lot of things deemed miracles, but that ain’t one of them. What I am saying is, you may come across someone during your life's journey that may need your help, or need your attention, or someone who may not be as fortunate as you. It's wise for you to remember, it isn’t the work of your hands that makes you memorable, but how wide you open your heart.

Like the scarecrow, there will be people in our lives who feel dumb, they believe or have been told they aren’t worthy, or they’re stupid and have no business doing what they are doing in life. It’s a sad fact in which the words flung upon the young and innocent leave the deepest wounds. For all I know you could be reading this and blurt out, “Gretchen, Oh.My.God, I’m the scarecrow!”

But let’s make something clear, something we should all be aware of … people come into our lives for a reason … PERIOD. Sometimes they are fleeting, sometimes they come in and stay for a short blip of time, and sometimes we meet people and they’re in our lives up until we take our last breath. It’s my belief that everyone’s brilliant and life affirming and intelligent with a special place in this universe. I know, I know, we’re all measured to a standard that for some is unobtainable, but let me say this, some people are book smart, while others are street wise, some may have mastered how to run a household, while others are better building things with their hands, but the fact of the matter is, we each have something to contribute to the betterment of this world. Each and every one of us possess this capability; it’s just that we’ve lost our confidence along the way. As a society, we’ve lost the ability to connect with the potential which resides deep within each and every one of us. We’ve been told not to be vulnerable, or show weakness, we’ve been told we shouldn’t be too confident, or come across arrogant. We’ve been “shoulded” on our entire lives! 

It's time to STOP “Shoulding” on yourself and others. It’s vital when people come into our lives to remind them of how brilliant, loving, dynamic, joyous, and smart they truly are. It’s imperative that we keep reminding ourselves of how brilliant, loving, dynamic, joyous and smart we are too. Dorothy, never once agrees with the scarecrow! She heard his woes-me story, gave him her ear to listen , and then when he invited himself into her journey, she agreed to his company, wholeheartedly.

Every answer to every question we’ve ever had lies deep within us. Either we’ve never been told about our potential or or we keep forgetting about it because we are constantly bombarded with definitions and phrases that convince us or train us to believe we are limited, less than, or weak. When Dorothy asked the scarecrow questions he answered, when she couldn’t free him from the post he was nailed upon, he told her what to do. Maybe it’s the simple fact that we’ve never been taught how to stop and listen, or we merely forgot the mechanics of becoming still and knowing. Self confidence, inner peace, love, harmony, and personal strength can’t happen so long as we keep building soundproof walls that continue to isolate us in a self-induced prison of shame, guilt and blame.    

Why do we look upon the less fortunate as “less than”? Who wouldn’t fall in love with a singing scarecrow without a brain? Why must we define others by what they don’t have or what they are lacking in their lives? When our actions speak louder than our words we will truly understand the dynamics of reaping what we sow. When we celebrate the strength in those around us, we are uplifted in our own lives. Dorothy’s heart was large, bigger than those whom she met, and yet never once did she make anyone feel inadequate.

You see, even though the scarecrow thought he didn’t have a brain, he sang about all the things he’d do if he had a brain. The scarecrow had his entire existence all “plotted” out if he ever “got himself some brains”. What he didn’t realize was he already possessed the abilities he sung about. He had within him the potential to do everything he wanted, if he’d let go of the idea that he wasn’t smart enough. Could it be that we too, have our own ideas of what we need or should be in order to be, successful, happy, healthy, loving, abundant, and joyous? We, like the scarecrow believe we don’t possess the potential to be greater than we are right now. Doubt aside, how often have we talked ourselves out of something because we believed we weren’t worthy enough, strong enough, intelligent enough? If we keep following the same patterns that got us to where we are, we’ll never embody our true potential.

It’s time to bend the nail that pins us to the post of our past beliefs and slide off the splintered beam that keeps us bound to our old ideas of who we used to be. Stand with those people who believe we possess the capability to be whatever our heart’s desire.

You and only you know what’s right for your life. You may start your journey heading one way on the, ‘yellow brick road’ and find it’s not the right path. That’s okay, because at least you’re starting to recognize what you want and what you don’t want. You’re beginning to live life consciously! Strengthen those legs you thought weren’t strong enough to carry you through, start believing that within you lies infinite possibilities in which you have an all access pass dangling from a lanyard for all to see. You are the believer that creates the beliefs in your life. You have the ability to change your mind and dance on the ‘yellow brick road’ of your journey.

It’s your life,and your opportunity to be anything you want to be. When you stop allowing others to define who you are and what they think you should be, you begin to embody your true potentiality. When you discover the limiting ideas, which have been seared across your brain are nothing more than a false belief you’ve unknowingly allowed to be planted there, you can begin to uproot them, weed them and replace them with the fruit producing positive ideas that strengthen who you are.

Dorothy never once believed what the scarecrow told her about his plight of being brainless. She heard him out, disclosed to him the struggles he may encounter if he went with her, and then let him decide for himself if he was going to join her or not. It’s time to have someone in your corner believing in you, telling you, you can do whatever you set your mind to; it won’t be the easiest thing you’ll ever do, but what’s gained if nothing is tried? You can climb back up on that rusty ol’ nail and hang from that splintered post, or you can tread along the ‘yellow brick road’ of your existence and see what happens. The choice is yours.   

Thanks for hanging out and reading my ramblings. 

***Stay tuned for the 3rd installment when Dorothy meets the Tin Man.

Are You Ready for This?

What does it mean to you … to be grateful?

Gratitude is one of the most powerful abilities we have.

To give thanks for ALL that’s in your life is one of the most empowering actions you can do. When you give thanks for what you have, or what others have done for you, or even the smallest of miracles that grace your life, you learn to recognize the strength that resides deep within your soul. When you come from a place of gratitude, an authentic space where you’re truly grateful, it gives you the ability to strengthen your connection to the universe. It’s your purpose, your birthright  to experience life, to use the manna poured upon you from the heavens in the most loving and unconditional way. You’re the light that overcomes the darkness, you’re the love that’s waiting for a place to show up. You’re the epitome of life that should be living out loud.   

I’m totally aware that life can be tough, scary, sad, painful, and dark. I understand the inequality and injustice of people who have been victimized, who struggle to live, who look at everyday as a burden. Believe it or not, I have scars that run deep, betrayal that’s formidable and experiences which have shaped who I have become. There was a time in my life that I was voiceless, sad, burdened and broken. But I learned at a young age that the more I focused on my sorrows, the less power I felt I had. The more I clung to what was wrong, the deeper I would fall into the definition of who I didn’t want to be.

We’re all living the best life we know how at this point. We can’t blame or shame people for who they are or the limited belief they have in themselves. We’ve been taught that we are powerless. From the cradle to the grave we are taught  to believe that we’re a product of our environment. Well, in some cases that appears to be the case … but that’s only because we were never taught how to change our thinking.

All of us have been suppressed by the consciousness of disease, doubt, worry, fear, anger, frustration, and jealousy. We’re exposed to the darkest part of humanity on a daily basis through the media, and yet, we’re expected to rise above the very noise which suppresses us. We’re bombarded every second of our lives with the world telling us how insecure, inadequate, and uneducated we are. We’re told that we are limited people, living in a limited society where only the righteous few have been kissed by enlightenment.  

We’re handed life with the expectation to make something of it, and yet we’re never given the proper tools to build it. We’re told to make a difference in the world but never shown an instruction manual. We’re trained to live our lives on the surface of who we truly are! Words are carelessly tossed our way without forethought of how they will be interpreted. We’re told we are too fat, too thin, too smart, too dumb, too ugly, too beautiful, too this and too that, each and every word finding a place to soak into the fabric of who we are and with every interaction it becomes the dye that colors our existence.

I’m not writing this to give excuses or judge people who are living the best they know how at this point in their lives. I’m writing this to tell those of you ... who are feeling stuck, feeling overwhelmed, and burdened, that you’re not alone. I’m writing this in the hopes that someone will read these words and find their inner strength of who they are and what they mean to the world.

Your life isn’t meant to be stagnant. It’s always moving forward, always expanding, always changing at every moment of every day. Even if life feels like it’s moving at a snail’s pace, it’s always moving. It’s your responsibility to find your place in the world, your job to recognize the small moments where you can celebrate who you are. Nobody’s going to do it for you, and BOOM, that’s where gratitude comes in to play. When you live from a place of gratitude, the world opens up and pours blessings onto you. When you let go of the anger, frustration, jealousy, pain, hurt, and sorrow that has rooted itself into your soul, you clear the way for your inner spark to burn bright. Suddenly, you’ll begin to see that those experiences you called miracles are nothing more than everyday moments you let yourself shine.

It isn’t easy, letting go of past stories, definitions you’ve been saddled with, or the alter ego which keeps convincing you to believe all the bullsh*t you’ve been fed. It’s a lifestyle change, a way of thinking that will change the way you view the world. It’s empowering to know you have total control over how you view the world. Because, nobody’s in your head policing your thoughts, controlling your ideas. You’re the only one who has access to your head, so begin there! Change the self talk that fills your thoughts. When you say the words, “I am” decide to put something meaningful behind it. Make it a habit to find something in your day to be grateful for.

Find a moment where you would have had self deprecating thoughts, and praise yourself for resisting that negative pattern. You’re the most amazing, dynamic, beautiful, wonderful, worthy, intelligent, loving, compassionate expression of life there is! You just don’t feel that way because you’ve been told your whole life that you must be meek, humbled, guilty, poor, limited and small. Well, guess what? I’m saying you don’t have to be that way anymore! If you need permission to be happy, well, then I’m here to give it to you! You’ve always had the right to be everything you’ve ever wanted to be, don’t let the past transgressions of others be the deciding factor of who you are today! Today’s a new day, a brand new moment to find something to be grateful for.

So, I say to you, embrace your inner light, let it shine around you, remind yourself that you are the miracle that shows up every moment of everyday! You deserve to be happy, you deserve to live a gracious life. Start small, give gratitude for the littlest things, and I promise you, if you make giving gratitude a habit every day, you will see those things you're grateful for, and they will continue to show up in your life! 

Have a fantastic day, and I am grateful you stopped by and read my ramblings!

LOVE,

Gretchen