Fragile, yet powerful.

 

This first week of April offered a reminder of this truth about life. Our lives, that is, are spectacularly fragile, but what our lives hold - our full life journey - can be supremely powerful in ways we may never realize. 

 

How to recognize this awesome gift often takes time. For each of us, when we fully appreciate the gift of our life will take place at different points in each person’s journey, but most certainly memorable. It could be the loss of a friend or a loved one regardless of age, or it could be a wildly uplifting experience that opens our eyes to all that is possible, more than we had previously realized. Whenever it happens, it changes us, and some may say, it awakens us. What I can say for myself is that when this happened, it was a recognition of choosing to soak up the present moment as though it was gold that would never be seen again. In other words, oodles of snuggles and kisses with my pups each and every day, dancing for the simplest of reasons each day in some way (for example, the roof over my head is still up - yeah!!!! Happy dance! or I just slept eight hours without waking up once - whoop, whoop!). These types of moments may sounds silly to celebrate, but doing so keeps us present and thus reduces the stress (as shared in this Wednesday's post in detail) and improves the quality of our days each and every day. 

 

I shared in this Wednesday's post that Eckhart Tolle's A New Earth was my inspiration, and I cannot share enough how reading this book was a profoundly positive experience, insightful, reassuring and course-correcting in small, but significant ways. With that said, it was also helpful for offering insight into moments that previously would be difficult, unwanted, but sometimes inevitable - events that are out of our control and sadly are not what we would want. But again, our lives are fragile, yet powerful. And it is in our everydays that we can elevate the seemingly everyday, mundane situations as well as improve what once were unwanted situations into more tolerable, soon-this-to-shall-pass, there is good-to-be-seen-and-discovered-and-even-experienced moments with simple shifts of our focus and how we utilize our mind. 

 

Immediately after reading Tolle's international bestseller, I read a new book titled Limitless which explores the idea of changing the understanding of what success is for each of us, carving our own path and thus, discovering our best life. What was reaffirmed was the idea that we must live consciously in order to discover true success and bring with us the knowledge of ourselves (or commit to getting to know ourselves until we do fully), and the success we eventually discover will be something we applaud for ourselves regardless of whether the outside world knows what we have accomplished. This is enough, and this is how we elevate our everydays. This is how we embrace the power that our lives offer, and thus we can then share with the world in wonderful ways. 

 

Now I am reading The Gown which came as a recommendation from a TSLL reader, and to her I cannot be more grateful. Slowly, I am savoring each chapter as I get to know each character, step back in time to England in the 1940s and then skip ahead to 2016 in Canada. Needless to say, I have a feeling you will see this book reviewed on the blog very soon, but if you too are looking for a wonderful novel that more than dips its toes into the history of Queen Elizabeth II's wedding gown and all of the world events that surround it, as well as step behind the scenes of talented artisans in the field of embroidery, then you will thoroughly enjoy this novel. It is often when I read such books and am reminded of the struggles of others that I become more determined to appreciate all that is going well at the moment in my life and not let the little things be the hiccup that disrupts the day needlessly.

 

Fragile, yet powerful. We will never know where our life journey will take us, but if we give our full attention and best selves to each day, they will inevitably lead us along a journey that will be memorable and full of many wonderful experiences. 

 

In today's newsletter, the annual Spring Shopping Guide is included which was released this past week. I have done the heavy shopping for you and do hope you find something that catches your eye, even if it is only to save it until the price drops later this season. As well, escape to the Oregon Coast with me as I share a handful of pictures from my recent trip to Gearhart as well as a few gifts the visit provided. And of course, the weekly readers' favorite post This & That is full of books, a Broadway play and much more to enjoy. 

 

Thank you as always for subscribing and have a wonderful weekend. Until next Friday, I'll see you on the blog.