1. Today’s circumstances are yesterday’s “What’s next?”
Many times, we send out messages to the Universe and don’t even realize we’re doing it. Take a look at what is present for you now, for example. Is it that work has slowed down, leaving you ‘too much free time’? What is it that you asked for that would create this? Sometimes, we clearly put out the message that we want a break, we need some down time, we need to just stop moving so fast for a while. When that is what we’re asking for, or what we’re declaring to the world in our kvetching or in our conversations with friends, it isn’t surprising that work slows down, clients stop calling and we receive the gift of being able to just stop moving so fast for a while. Take a close look at your words, your conversations of the recent past and figure out what it is that you have asked for. Too much work and not enough free time? Perhaps you prayed for success, for an increase in income or for better knowledge of how things work in your company. If you dig a bit, there is usually some great gift in the situation in which you find yourself- a gift you happened to ask for! The goal, then, is to be very specific with what it is you ask for, and to be explicit in what you declare to the world.
2. It’s always darkest before the dawn.
For years, this phrase aggravated me, as it appeared to be trite and cliché and was often used as a palliative that offered no real help if you were in the pit of frustration with your circumstances. However, if you look at the cyclical nature of all things, it is actually true that it is darkest just before the dawn. Before the sun is makes its way over towards our little corner of the Earth, it is dark. Really dark. Yet, even in the depths of the darkness, there is the comfort is that the sun is coming to warm us and to light our way. The sun will be up in the East, as scheduled, every single day. That’s a really nice metaphor for life, because just as the world cannot stay dark forever (the sun will come up tomorrow…) our lives and our life circumstances cannot stay dark forever. And, the beauty of this is that the sun is on a specific schedule for when it rises and when it sets. The sun, presumably, has no independent control over when it will rise or set. We, on the other hand, have total control of our ability to rise or fall, and in each and every single moment we can choose differently if we don’t like the results that our past choices have gotten us. Rise and shine!
3. Take stock.
Just as every shop owner knows, it is imperative to take inventory regularly. Times of slowing down, of turning inward, are wonderful opportunities to do just that. What is it that you have in your life that serves you, and how does it serve you? What is it that you don’t have in your life that you’d like to have on your store shelves? This is a good time to take a good look around, figure out where it is that you stand in relation to where it is you would like to be standing. If your goal, to use the shop owner example, is to have a store filled with fine linens, beautiful tea sets and china dolls, yet you look around and all you see is hunting equipment and fly-fishing reels, you know you’ve got some re-ordering to do! (This is a good time to revisit #1 above and to get clear on what it is you’ve been asking for from the Universe.) So, take this time to take inventory, take stock of what you have and what you don’t. And be sure to look at everything that is present in your life right now and ask yourself: How is this serving me? Invariably, if something is present in your life, it is serving you somehow.
That’s it for today. Wishing you a beautiful journey and the ability to enjoy each moment~
Counting Blessings,
Cynthia
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