Listening

Hi, Everyone and a Good Day to you All! Can you believe it -- we're 2/3 of the way through January!?! I've been busy with my new adventure in helping people look at their beautiful lives and see where they can insert Healthy Habits. I'm also involved, as an RN, in the response to COVID -- both testing and with vaccine delivery. Everything I've been doing lately has reminded me of a role Kelsey Grammer played for more than 10 years. Originally featured on the tv show that took place in my hometown of Boston, Cheers, Dr. Frasier Crane moved on to his own series where he was a psychiatrist on the radio in Seattle. As he answered calls he would say, "I'm listening". What a lovely phrase to hear! Lately, I've been reminding myself to listen more than ever, especially when I'm tempted to simply blah, blah, blah. I've always been a talker and I can carry on a conversation anywhere with anyone. However, when I close my mouth and open my ears, the world slows down a little and my heart and soul come to attention. If you're feeling a need for conversation or to be heard, send me a note via email, cummingsbarbara@gmail.com, or Facebook Messenger. We can set something up and I'd love to connect. In the meantime, I'm going to do a little "talking" with this week's blogette ...

On Monday I asked a question,

"When you're happy or satisfied,

does the world feel like a better place?"

I suppose the answer to that seems obvious unless you don't take the time to check in on the big picture. It's great to feel really good and taking it one step further into a sense of the world being an awesome place is important. Sometimes, even while feeling cheerful and content, we can fall into a future fear that something bad is going to happen. We can be afraid to get too excited because the world, "out there" can't be trusted. The main problem with this, as I see it, is that we feel powerless and at the mercy of everything outside of ourselves. As long as we keep looking beyond and not within, we will feel scared and untethered to anything in which we can put our confidence. Do you know what it means to be centered? I found one of the best definitions on Google:

"Being centered means that you have a reference point or a place to come back to when life's challenges and emotions push you off balance. The center is the place to which you know you have to get back."

Have you ever visited that center? The best way I know of to become acquainted with it is through meditation or simply getting quiet and finding your way into your heart and soul. It's listening for the comforting silence within and it's not really hard to do, just unfamiliar and a little awkward at first. I also wrote a few paragraphs ago that we can "fall into a future fear". Another benefit of getting to know our center is learning that we only have to deal with the now. That's what is real and the past and the future are constructs from our minds. They're not happening anymore or yet. When we get caught up in them we can feel sad and despairing. At the beginning of this blogette, I mentioned my work around Healthy Habits. One of the best ones I can recommend for getting in touch with your center is to turn off the outside noise. It's ok to check in with the news, briefly, but it's not a good idea to have CNN on all day. If you've been with me for awhile, you know I often recommend a media fast. Once you've quieted things down in your head, get involved with local groups where you can feel like you're actually able to help and make a difference. Hearing about all the problems in the world will only overwhelm you but listening to your inner guidance will serve you well. Find your center -- this is what I wish for you. If you want to talk about any of this, I'm listening and I invite you to get in touch.

Sparkles and Love,