This morning I was hanging out with one of my dear long-time friends. As we reflected on how life has unfolded for us, and especially the astonishing synchronicities that brought us into each other lives, I was overwhelmed with gratitude.  I never could have imagined such a magnificent collaboration of events.
 
What tickled me; and then humbled me; and then lead me to astonishingly deep gratitude, was the realization that I barely have the most minuscule inkling of all that has transpired to bring me to this moment. (And “most minuscule inkling” feels like an exaggeration.)
 
I practice cultivating gratitude for my life.    I practice gratitude for things, people, experiences, lessons. I practice gratitude for the grace of how life’s blessed me.  I practice gratitude for the “good” and the “bad” of it.  I practice gratitude for the “wished-for” and “un-wished” for.
 
I even practice pre-gratitude … gratitude for the unknown future that has yet to reveal itself.
 
Now I’m adding the practice of seeping in gratitude for the myriad of unseen, unknowable, synchronicity of circumstances and events that I’ll never know about, but that have conspired to bring me right here, right now, with you. 

With THAT kind of gratitude,
Sharon
 

You might remember that my birthday gift to myself last month was the intention to bring more laughter into my daily life.  What a wonderful gift. What a great mission!

Here’s my greatest laughter lesson so far… 
      Laugh at myself! 

Being able to laugh at myself seems to be a good foundation for true lightheartedness and presence. 

So I’ve been …
laughing at my quirkiness
laughing at the parts of myself I wish were different
laughing at my compulsions and revulsions
laughing at my blunders
and laughing at my “me-isms”

One practice to foster that laughter is to take a few minutes to really exaggerate a part of myself I’ve been taking too seriously.    I’ll shift things up by talking in the voice of a cartoon character or with a foreign accent.  I’ll exaggerate a quirky habit until it seems ridiculous.

And I’ll laugh at my notion that I should be any other way than how I’m showing up in this moment.

Of course, laughing at someone else can also be good medicine!  Here’s a good place to start …

Here’s a simple practice that can be extraordinarily potent.  It’s a beautiful way to start and end your day.  Give it a 7 day test-run, for the love of you!

Sit, stand or lie down ….

Bring your awareness to the center of your chest… to the energy center of our heart.
Bring your hands to touch over the center of your chest and more deeply connect with the energy of your heart.

Feel the love, attention and nurturing that you bring to the world. Feel the way you are with the children who are dear to you; the way you are with those most precious to you. 

Remember a time when you felt absolute unconditional love flowing through you and invite that feeling to permeate you.  Feel the love that was there then, as if you were in that situation right now.
Feel that quality in your heart; unconditional love going out to this other person or situation.  

NOW turn that love-feeling back toward yourself. 

Continue to tune into this love and fold it back into you while you focus on deeply receiving yourself.
When you feel your practice is complete, take a moment to sit in stillness and then take self-love into the rest of your day.

With that kind of love,
Sharon

A couple days ago I celebrated my 63rd birthday.
I’m thinking that the greatest gift I can give myself is to let this be The Year of Laughter.

Happy Birthday to me! 
Lightening up with love,
Sharon
 

“What does exploration mean to you?”  That’s the question Ranger Katie, our guide at Wind Cave National Park, asked our group at the beginning of our cave tour.

Deep in that astonishing cave, the answer that came to me was, “To meet an experience, place or person with curiosity and openness; not having pre-conceived ideas of what I will find.”

Since that cave-day, “What does exploration mean to me?” has been a good question for me to ponder.  I’ve come back to it quite a few times over the past two weeks. 

That question was followed by “How do I untangle my explorations from my tendency to fit what I’m experiencing into something I already know?”  It’s easy to jump to  “These trees remind me of the aspens in Colorado” … “This would be more beautiful if the sun was lower in the sky”…  Comparisons and judgements are often my traveling companions. They can get in the way of pure curiosity and openness to see something as brand new.

 In the spirit of exploration I’ve been experimenting with some fun practices:
~  On a walk, I’ll take in my surroundings and experience them without labeling them with a name or story.    Can I see “this” as if for the very first time?

~  Another practice is to turn up the volume on one of my senses and give myself totally to that sense. Deeply listening to the surrounding sounds or putting all of my attention on the smell of a scent.  And, similar to the first practice, experiencing these without naming, “traffic, birdsong, wind, rose”.
 
I’m captivated by exploring the world of new locations, cultures and experience, but the complex exploration of relating with another person, or exploring my own quirky and unpredictable inner terrain, also intrigues me.  

 It’s not as easy to direct those two practices toward another person or toward myself, but there has been rich value for me in that reflective exploration. 

Here’s what I’m asking of myself ….  Become curious.  See with new eyes. Don’t make assumptions. Remember, this moment has never been here before.  Open up to being surprised and astonished by this precious life, just as it’s showing up.

So, Dearheart …Ask yourself, “What is exploration to me?” and see where that leads YOU!

It’s a delight exploring life with you.
In love,
Sharon