It is amazing to me where gifts of wisdom show up in our life. It could be on the road, at the gym or even in the shower!

For the past 5 years or so, I choose a theme at the beginning of the year. This concept works best for me, better than resolutions-imagine that! I think of my theme as a touchstone for what I want to create  this year.  I love touchstones-I have quite a few of them. As an earth sign, they keep me focused and grounded.

This year my theme is Allowing. The essence of Allowing for me, is to keep my Joy Factor high,  receiving what it is I desire in my life. In order to do this, I focus on loving myself and others unconditionally. I put my attention on the qualities that are present in the people I care about, not what is missing in them.  It is a  fun game that I get to play each and every day! Most days I do really well.  Some days I have to roll the dice again. I am enjoying the journey,  knowing  that I am paving the way for more yummy things to show up each and every day.

When I go to spin class, I pay attention to my body in class. What reminds me to pay attention is watching other people. Today I was directly across from a woman that was clearly struggling through the session. I could feel her fighting her body to get it to do what she wanted it to do. I sent her some of my allowing energy. When I did that, it came right back to me. I felt my body release and get into the groove of the uphill journey. What was feeling hard, all of a sudden felt easier.

What is the point in working hard to get the results we want? Unless you really want to work hard, then go for it. Self-Care is about taking care of the self, for the sake of feeling good. Work easy, that is more in alignment with this component of The Joy Factor. When you can raise your Joy Factor, then you attract with ease-yummy!

How many times do we struggle along, because we forget to allow? Because we forget to give up resisting and just go with the flow. I take this reminder with me through today and days to come. One smooth pedal stroke at a time, will get us up the hill, so we can first enjoy the view and then cruise down for a bit.

Enjoy the ride of allowing my friends-I am off to the shower-what will show up there?

Feelings of gratitude have been washing over me in waves; it takes my breath away. It is overpowering at times, bringing me to tears. They are those good, yummy tears;  yet tears nonetheless.  My intention to express my gratitude, every day when I wake up and right before I close my eyes at night, is becoming as natural as breathing. Lately, these feelings of gratitude have also been more present in my daytime hours.  I like it. It has the quality of slipping into something silky and soft. When this feeling shows up, it adds a smooth edge to anything else I am experiencing.

I can’t help but wonder why the increase of gratuitous feelings each day. The answer is multi dimensional. As I have been honoring the components of The Joy Factor, my life is shifting into a gentler flow. I honor myself and that flow more than I ever have. Self care is first for me, without excuses. I choose to have optimism be a huge part of my life. By noticing the things that take steal away the happy moments, I can gently shift them again and again. Today I celebrate the feeling of what it is like to walk my talk. It is my quest to capture these feelings of gratitude and use them to support me in loving my life and sharing that love and gratitude with the world.

Gratitude is my magnet. It is the essence of the wisdom that allows me to share what I can, to add value to my life and to others. Today I speak from a place of love and gratitude for all that is and will take nothing for granted.  

The disasters that people are experiencing in Haiti also increase my feelings of gratitude. It is hard to bear witness to this type of tragedy and feel sorry for myself.

Take a minute and grab some gratitude. Notice how it shifts the energy of whatever you are experiencing now. It enhances the good and softens the not so good. It is one of the most delicious things I know and I am thrilled to share it with you. Here is a beautiful song and visual that says it all-click here and enjoy.

Namaste.

At this point, we are half way through the first month of the new decade. If we look at the year in 2 week increments, we are approximately 1/26 through the year. Calculating like that is enough to lower your Joy Factor. Looking at it that way has me ask, “what have I got done so far this year?” Before I answer that question, I am going to tell you that where I am and where you are is perfect!
2010 started with us having Mars and Mercury in retrograde. I know this partly because of my theme for this year: Allowing. Part of allowing is asking for help, from seen and unseen sources. Seen sources are my marketing team, bookeeper, assistant, etc. In the unseen arena, I am learning more about the planets and how they support us, or not, in manifesting what we desire. Simply put, when a planet is in retrograde, whatever the energy of that planet is, it is going in the opposite direction. That makes the energy wonky. Mercury rules communication. That is why my computer crashed right around the holidays-joy, joy!
Retrograde also points us to slowing down and being more intentional. That was very challenging for me to be with at the beginning of the year. Easing into 2010 has been very different than the “full steam ahead” energy I have put out there in the past. I cried myself to sleep Monday, January 4th, wondering if I was ever going to get my drive back for the work I am so passionate about. Taking the week off between Christmas and New Years, partnered with a shift in planetary energy, can mess with your groove. I am so thankful that we get a new start each day; Tuesday, I was back in my groove, slowly, yet surely.
The essence of this message is, if you are noticing that even though it is the beginning of the year and you feel like you should be doing more than you are and you are not, be gentle on yourself and ask yourself these questions:
1. Are you focusing your energy on things that you are most passionate about?
2. If you are, where can you acknowledge yourself for what you have done, rather than beating yourself up for what you have not done?
3. What is one thing that you can do today that will move you closer to honoring what you want to create in your life?

As you focus on creating alignment with your theme, intentions or goals for 2010, remember to honor the components that support you in raising your Joy Factor.
What we are speaking to today is a combination of self-care and authenticity. Take care of your needs first and you will be able to express yourself authentically. If that means you need to spend more time marinating on an idea, before you move forward, so be it. Hold the intention that you are going to move forward. Set up the support and accountability you need and tap into that inspired action. It is from this place that you will fall madly in love with the life you lead and manifest all that you desire.