“Where there is great love there are always miracles.”  Willa Cather

I love this quote on this day of love.  It led me to do a little research on Willa Cather.  Willa is a winner of the Pulitzer Prize for a novel that she wrote entitled One of Ours, although it doesn’t appear that she became a published writer until after she was 40 years old.  Born in 1873, I wonder how Willa would feel knowing that she is an inspiration for over-40 women in the year 2014?

“Over the years we’ve buried many a precious dream under layers of soot and rubble.”  Sarah Ban Breathnach

I don’t know about you, but my buried dreams are many.  I am grateful that, at 52, I still have the opportunity to make those dreams come true.  One dream that I had for over two decades was becoming a realtor.  That dream came to pass last November, and I can see now that there wouldn’t have been another time in my life that would have been the right time.  It is a tremendous amount of work, starting a real estate career.  I don’t know how I would have done it while raising my children – having evenings and weekends to devote to them was too important to me.  I also needed the firm that I am part of to be created.  Olive Branch Realty stands for everything that I stand for – due to the nature of the real estate business, I think I would have found it very difficult to be part of a firm that is not based on the Christian principles that we are based on.

“…while I have learned that dreams need doing as much as they need being, I have learned that the being always comes first.”  SBB

God’s timing is perfect.  I held onto that dream of being a realtor for a very long time, and when I paid close attention to the message that I was getting from Him that the time was right, and I moved forward on that message, everything fell into place.  I am getting another message now, one that is telling me to write, write, write.  I am listening.  What about you?  What message do you get if you take the time to listen?

“The dream was always running ahead of one.  To catch up, to live for a moment in union with it, that was the miracle.”  AnaÏs Nin

Shalom!

“A sobering thought:  what if, right at this very moment, I am living up to my full potential?”  Jane Wagner

Yikes.  I don’t like the sound of that!  It is a sobering thought, and one to really put some thought into.  We are still early in the year.  We have a lot of time to make a big difference for our 2014 transformation, yet there is no time to waste.  When I read that quote, a light bulb went off in my head.  An aha moment:  if I am going to live up to my full potential in life, then I have to live up to my full potential every moment of every day!  I can’t keep living like I have a thousand tomorrows to reach that potential, to make my dreams come true!

“I’d gone through life believing in the strength and competence of others; never my own.  Now, dazzled, I discovered that my capacities were real.”  Joan Mills

I have been dreaming of writing a novel since I was a young girl.  I can’t tell you how many I have started but never finished.  I’m not getting any younger now, am I?  Yesterday, I picked up one that I started several months ago, and I read what I had written so far.  I really liked it.  I mean, if I had bought that book for myself, I would want the story to keep going.  So today, in front of you, I am making a commitment to finish that book in 2014.  No excuses, no I’m too busy’s, no letting my other commitments get in the way.  Writing is a big part of what I was put on this earth to do, and it is time to stop procrastinating.  I am going to ask for it and I am going to claim it.  Today.  You are my witness.

Shalom!

“Just trust yourself, then you will know how to live.”  Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

A few days ago, I mentioned how Brené Brown had inspired me when she shared how she worries what people will think when she chooses what to wear.  Oddly enough, just a day later I was chatting with two business women, and one mentioned how she worries about looking “stupid” due to her choice of clothing.  I laughed inside when she said it, because she was very attractive and well put together, and I realized that we are all so much alike.  Why do we worry so much about what people think?

“Try to contact the girl you once were.  She’s your authentic self and she’s waiting to remind you how beautiful, accomplished, and extraordinary you really are.”  Sarah Ban Breathnach

I try to reach back to my ten-year-old self as Sarah suggests, and I’m not sure that I was ever the child that she describes.  I have always been such a pleaser, I don’t know if I ever trusted my own instincts.  So how did I learn to trust them in recent years?  Is it the magic of turning 50?  Perhaps being disappointed too many times by trusting and following the wrong people?  Meditation and prayer?  Reading books like Sarah’s that teach me a lot about myself?  I think it is a combination of all of these things, and I am grateful for the wisdom that comes with middle age.  It is a wonderful place to be.

Shalom!

“Every time you don’t follow your inner guidance, you feel a loss of energy, loss of power, a sense of spiritual deadness.”  Shakti Gawain

Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you were unhappy, and you felt guilty for feeling that way because you knew how blessed you were?  A few years ago, while still working as chief operating officer of a wonderful Lakeland law firm, I felt that way.  I was so full of discontent, and I struggled for a couple of years over what to do about it.  It was a wonderful firm, full of wonderful people, and I was compensated very well.  How could I be unhappy about all of that?  But it wasn’t any of those things that were making me unhappy; it was the fact that I wasn’t where I belonged any more.  There was a time when I did belong there, but I had outgrown it.

“What is going on is part of the process.  I call it Divine Discontent.  It is the grit in the oyster before the pearl.”  Sarah Ban Breathnach

I have learned that there is a difference between being grateful and listening to your inner voice when it is telling you that it is time to make a change.  If we were always happy about our current situation, we would never grow.  Without that “divine discontent,” we would not move on to the next chapter that life has planned for us.  Had I not felt that discontent while I was living in Upstate New York, I would not be in beautiful Lakeland, Florida right now.  I shudder to think of it!

“Be very careful to safeguard your newly recovering artist.  Often, creativity is blocked by our falling in with other people’s plans for us.”   Julia Cameron

I am very blessed to have a husband who supports whatever my inner spirit is leading me to do.  That is why I am able to be a realtor today.  What is your inner spirit asking you to do today?  Will you ask for it and claim it as Sarah suggests?  Your fellow readers are here to support you.  Let us know how you make out!

Shalom!

“Turning away from the world and toward your own happiness is the path of authenticity.”  Sarah Ban Breathnach

Oh, how I wish someone had made this book a requirement for ninth grade English.  Can you imagine learning these lessons about being your authentic self when you were a young teen?

“When you learn what you can live without, you are able to ask life for the very best because you possess the gift of discernment.”  SBB

I agree with Sarah’s quote.  Like many people in the last few years, my financial situation has been less lucrative than it once was.  I have learned so much through the experience.  I am so much less wasteful today than I was previously.  I am almost embarrassed to admit some things, like how I would replace a pair of mildly worn shoes without even trying to scrub them clean first.  Eating out more times than not with no thought to what we were spending.  We were frivolous in so many ways.  Having to pay attention to our spending has taught me so many lessons.  I like myself better now.  I am proud of being more fiscally responsible.

It may seem like a simple thing, but I think we live in such a wasteful society, and I am ashamed to say I was very guilty of being an active participant in that improvident culture.  Living with less has definitely given me the gift of discernment.  Today would be a perfect example.  I needed a new camera for my business.  In the past, I would have gone to one store, bought the best one they had without a blink, and left the store without any comparison shopping.  Today, I researched the cameras available and decided on the one that would provide what I needed within a certain price range.  I then left the store, researched reviews online to ensure its quality, and checked pricing for that camera at multiple locations.  It was $30 cheaper if I drove a few miles north to Best Buy.  I humbly admit that in the past I would have convinced myself that my time was worth more than the $30.  Today, I drove to Best Buy.

“It’s a funny thing about life; if you refuse to accept anything but the best, you very often get it.”  Somerset Maugham

Developing patience also allows you to truly enjoy the rewards when they come in a way that you can’t appreciate when you live a life of instant gratification.  Last week I went shoe shopping for the first time in three years, and I cannot tell you how much I enjoyed it.  I made a day of it, taking my parents with me on a road trip to DSW in Tampa, followed by lunch at International Mall.  I have wanted to take them there for years, but I never made it happen.  Suddenly, through the beauty of this transformative experience, life is becoming more meaningful.  I hope it is doing the same for you.

Shalom!

“Today, don’t rush through your inner preparations as you get ready to set down a piece of your soul on life’s canvas.”  Sarah Ban Breathnach

Sarah talks about all of the preparatory steps necessary to live our lives authentically.  Quieting our minds in meditation, using the discovery journal, and becoming aware of our true preferences are some examples she gives.  The other day I spoke about how I was able to calm myself from becoming stressed when rushing in fear of being late.  Recently while sitting in meditation, I realized that I was wound up so tight I would spin like a top if you let me loose.  My shoulders were hunched up around my chin, arms tight and hands in fists.  What was that?  By taking this time, I realized there were some things going on that I needed to pay attention to.

“…our preparation won’t have been in vain.”  SBB

I realized after that day’s meditation that I am allowing the world around me to infiltrate my peaceful existence.  This led to the realization that I need to figure out how to be in the world without the world being in me.  Everyone is in a hurry.  Everyone is stressed.  They are not with me on this transformation journey.  It takes a constant awareness and being present in each and every moment to keep their negative force from penetrating my soulful state.  With some people, their presence is so intense it requires a lot of effort on my part to keep that undesirable aura at bay, but I have learned that it can be done!  Not only that, but often my peaceful state can penetrate and effect change in their stressed out being.  How wonderful is that?  As I continue on this journey to discover my authentic self, I have learned that this is another reason for my being, to bring peace to others and make them smile.  I am working on making that happen, one beautiful spirit at a time.

Shalom!