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“Perfection is the enemy of the good.”
-Voltaire

How many times do we quickly judge ourselves when we have made a mistake or failed to reach our goals when we intended? When we judge ourself we live in fear of not being good enough, smart enough, liked enough, etc. When we love ourselves, we acknowledge our strengths and weaknesses, and do our best to give our love and make a difference in the world. Please know, you do not have to be perfect to give of your love. Nor do you have to be perfect to be lovable. You are lovable just as you are. You can give right from where you are. Start by loving and accepting yourself as you are right now. When you feel ready, ask yourself what you life’s purpose might be, why you are here? If an answer does not come immediately, be okay with this, and just keep asking the question. The questions you ask will determine your life. It is interesting to note, that the people who are the most productive, creative, and happy are the least judgmental and most loving. They understand that life is a process, and being so, they allow themselves to unfold naturally, and their goals and dreams to do likewise. They enjoy the many twists and turns a life’s journey brings, and being motivated by love, and a meaningful life purpose, they give of themselves in ways big and small. Live from love, and give your love to the world.

From Huffington Post article by Dr. John Izzo: “All the spiritual traditions throughout history have told us that the secret to happiness is to give, to be of service while we are here.”

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-izzo/a-culture-of-fame_b_73366.html

And we all can serve! Right now, immediately. The world needs your love. Whether you give love through listening, comforting, uplifting, clarifying, strengthening, courage, your love makes a difference. Martin Luther King, Jr. says it best: “Everybody can be great, because anybody can serve. You don’t have to have a college degree to serve. You don’t have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love.”

As we approach a new year, it is a time for reflection on the past year, and for many a recommitment to the visions, goals, and dreams we wish to make a reality in our lives. As you reflect on this past year, acknowledge your accomplishments, big and small, and most of all accept yourself as you are right now. Deep change only occurs when we love and accept ourselves and then from that place seek to create change with no need to prove ourselves, but just out of a desire to do something different or differently. Give yourself this gift as we enter into 2012. Support yourself in creating the changes you desire for the new year. Fully love yourself and open the door for an abundance of possibilities to arise.

Wishing you a glorious 2012, and may all your visions become a reality!

Susan

Just read a wonderful article on the New York Times “A Serving of Gratitude May Save the Day,” which provides some easy-to-use tips for bringing forth a feeling of gratitude. Read here >> A Serving of Gratitude May Save the Day.

Have a very Gratitude-filled Thanks Giving!

Susan

Have you ever felt trapped, whether by situations in your life you feel are unfair, or perhaps your own inner doubts and limiting beliefs. Watch this video. Gratitude frees us to be our best self.

LINK >>>  http://www.karmatube.org/videos.php?id=2568

Read more about it >>> Dewey Bozella was locked up for 26 years - a lifetime - for a crime he did not commit. This story is about the triumph of human spirit and living proof of the maxim: “never give up”. One man’s journey to reclaim his life, against all odds; a man fighting his biggest fight outside the boxing ring without any hatred or bitterness towards the system. Dewey Bozella - courageous, persistent, human and finally…free.

Finding Joe, a new documentary based on the wisdom of mythologist Joseph Campbell, will be opening this Friday. I highly recommend it to anyone seeking to discover their life’s work, and “follow their bliss” as they express their talents in meaningful ways that serve the planet. Playing at Riviera Theater in Santa Barbara. Read about it below (from their website):

Finding Joe is an exploration of famed Mythologist Joseph Campbell’s studies and their continuing impact on our culture. Through interviews with visionaries from a variety of fields interwoven with enactments of classic tales by a sweet and motley group of kids, the film navigates the stages of what Campbell dubbed The Hero’s Journey: the challenges, the fears, the dragons, the battles, and the return home as a changed person. Rooted in deeply personal accounts and timeless stories, Finding Joe shows how Campbell’s work is relevant and essential in today’s world and how it provides a narrative for how to live a fully realized life - or as Campbell would simply state, how to “follow your bliss”.

Featuring: Deepak Chopra, Mick Fleetwood, Rashida Jones, Tony Hawk, Catherine Hardwicke, Laird Hamilton, Robert Walter, Akiva Goldsman, Sir Ken Robinson, Robin Sharma, Lynne Kaufman, Alan Cohen, Brian Johnson, Joseph Marshall III, Rebecca Armstrong, Chungliang Al Huang, David L. Miller, Gay Hendricks, David Loy and Norman Ollestad.

“The hero, in living her own life, in being true to herself; radiates a light by which others may see their own way.” —Laurence Boldt

In the 20+ years I have worked with the principles in Zen and the Art of Making a Living, guiding career coaching clients on the quest to discover and actualize their life’s work, I have seen firsthand the power of questions in shaping our lives. As Laurence Boldt says, “For all of us, the question is the Quest-I-on. In other words, the questions we ask or fail to ask shape the journeys of our lives. While most blindly go where the conventional questions of their society take them, heroes consciously choose and earnestly pursue the questions that shape their lives. . . . Will you live your life spontaneously from the heart and its pathless call, or conventionally from prescribed role?”

Many clients come to me full of questions, and almost immediately within the first session, they become aware that many of the questions they are asking are not taking them where they really want to go. For some this process is a big wake up call, for they realize they have not been listening to their hearts or being true to themselves. What questions are you asking? Do you like the direction your life is going in? If not, change your question and your life will change. Go on a quest for your best. The world needs your love.

Was pondering a discussion I had with a client about being guided from the heart, believing in ourselves, and recognizing our gifts. These excerpts from How to Find the Work You Love by Laurence Boldt sum it up:

Love gives us the courage to believe in humanity and in ourselves. The word courage means, literally, “with heart.” It takes great heart—great courage—to believe in humanity in the face of what sometimes seem like overwhelming problems.

It takes courage to affirm that the possible world that many of us have experienced in glimpses, moments of imagination or spiritual insight, is more than an idle fantasy. It takes the courage to say, like Martin Luther King, Jr., “I have a dream”—to affirm against all evidence to the contrary that one day, we shall overcome our fear, doubt, hatred, violence and pettiness.It takes courage to commit yourself to building bridges between the world that could be and the world that is—the courage to say that you believe the world will one day be a better place and that today you are ready to do your part to make it so.

There is nothing wrong with putting some of our cherished dreams and goals on the shelf to support another goal’s accomplishment. It is making sure that they do not remain on the shelf!

To keep your dreams alive, make time each week (preferably the same time and day) to nourish them with your loving attention. (Whatever you focus your attention on grows.) This can be done through Visualization: seeing your dream as a manifest reality, Affirmation: Declaring with clear positive statements what you want to be, do, or have. The important thing is to check in with yourself and make sure you are listening to your dreams, and giving them voice. It does not even have to be that much time - a good 10 minutes devoted to reflection can go a long way in keeping the inspiration flowing!

In the end, it all comes down to making sure we honor the inspirations that come to us by giving them tangible form where others can be moved, touched, and uplifted by them!