"Success is liking yourself, liking what you do and liking how you do it". -Maya Angelou For some of us, this comes naturally. For others of us, this is a tall order. It could feel impossible. For all of us, it is not only possible but the whole premise of life. It seems we go through life seeking the holy grail of "success". The truth is, success is subjective. Your idea of success might be to create and build a company, go public, make millions, and be famous. Others find success to be seeing your child graduate high school. And yet others are successful if they can just coax themselves out of bed every day to live a "responsible" life after years of self-medicating with drugs and alcohol. The common link in all of this is coming to a place where you feel you're meeting a meaningful goal; you're accomplishing something that takes inner strength, courage, and great effort. It is also about integrity. Some may accomplish a goal that seemed like "what they wanted" only to be unsatisfied, finding out that it was filled with inner conflict, guilt and/or shame. Integrity is key. These common links basically come down to: liking yourself, liking what you do and liking how you do it.
With that foundational, simple yet profound goal or mantra in mind, make choices in life that help support this measure of success. Use it to discern what matters to you and how you can support yourself to focus on those things. What activities, practices, ideas, beliefs, steps, connections, intakes, and other uses of your time and energy help you live in this success. Yes, LIVE IN IT, not reach for it. The mastery is within your NOW and living with Presence. It will get progressively easier and more automatic with the commitment or it can be a struggle each day until the switch flicks. You may slip back and forth into self-sabotage and self-esteem until its more esteem, less sabotage. This process -- if you can recognize that you are in it -- is part of that success. It is YOU living the journey itself conscientiously that can be liked and loved. What an adventure you are living! Keep going with compassion for yourself. BE in your success. Like yourself for living all your ups and downs. Own it. Feel full within yourself. Be success-full.
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I AM MY OWN BEST ALLY, ADVOCATE, AND ACTIVIST. Repeat, repeat, repeat.
As an ally, I support me. As an advocate, I talk me up. As an activist, I am actively nourishing, profoundly understanding, and pounding the pavement for me. Lest I forget, at times the vehicle does seem to sputter or breakdown, I need only remember the hotline for my AAA servicing.... I AM MY OWN BEST ALLY, ADVOCATE, AND ACTIVIST. I AM MY OWN BEST ALLY, ADVOCATE, AND ACTIVIST. I AM MY OWN BEST ALLY, ADVOCATE, AND ACTIVIST. Believe in yourself. You are enough. In yoga we often talk about elevating our consciousness. We know that throughout our lives, there are moments when we have become more aware of things going on in ourselves or in our world. Those Aha! moments. There is a yogic concept that has meant alot to me-- a definite Aha moment... The idea of a seed containing all the information that it needs to become what it was meant to become. Think about that. ![]() Take a moment to look at an apple (or other) seed. Consider how this little seed will become a full-grown tree producing delicious apples simply because it is written or coded within that seed. It isn't trying to become a lemon tree or a pine tree or a Sequoia. It couldn't! If it had our human capacities to try to change itself, it would be a miserable little seed going after a futile, ego-centered goal. Think about this as a human being and that we also have a "seed"-- it is our creative source. When we go against our soul's purpose, as is coded within our seed, things do not flow, things come out sideways. Even our cleverness cannot fool the soul, although it might fool others and even yourself.....for awhile. This is when dis-ease sets in-- physically, mentally, spiritually. The reason this is so remarkable is if you consider all the struggles we go through in our lives to find meaning and direction, to get out of our own way, to get to our flow or "in the zone" so that life will be easier and more meaningful. I'm not saying it isn't hard work if we're in that space, but there is a lot more ease and joy and much less inner conflict or obstacles to living our lives when we are. This concept I understand through the mantra Har Haray Haree. Har refers to the seed; Haray the flow or growth; and Haree the manifestation of that seed. I love this concept! Just being aware of this helps to see more clearly and motivates me to do the things I need to do to stay connected with that "seed" (Hint: it's about your ability to still yourself enough to listen from the inside and gain that inner peace. [See the “Happiness Is Your Natural State- a mantra” post]). All of this does lead me to wonder though….. What about seedless fruit? Here's a video I found about it. Perhaps I won't be going for that convenience any longer. What do you think about all of this? Last Sunday in my kids yoga classes, we became gardeners-- or rather, we figured out that we are gardeners already......of our individual gardens called Self. To take care of that "Self", we eat healthy, drink water, get sun, sleep, eliminate, brush teeth, play, do yoga, etc. Another main component of a healthy garden: Love. When we chant or sing in yoga class, this is a radiant way for us to infuse Love into our gardens. Then we got our hands dirty and learned from our Master Gardener how to grow microgreens, starting with rooting ourselves with a grounding chant. What a treat to see the children planting themselves metaphorically and then delve into the whole microgreen-gardening work. The kids wisely chimed in with gardening tips, showing us clearly that they know how to care for plants! We began with the soil. We know: a healthy soil needs nutrients and oxygen, water and sun, and a well-maintained microbiome free of harmful stressors. This soil provides the infrastructure to support and nurture plants which in turn provides oxygen for our Earth and all living beings. This activity got them involved in every aspect of planting from preparing the soil, to watering, to planting the seeds in a special way involving pressure from their hands. In a couple weeks, we will harvest together with the kids and taste the fruits of our labor. It will surely be delicious with the extra kid-love poured in!
Mamas, consider that WE are the soil for our children-- who are like our plants. And our body’s microbiome is influenced by external inputs such as our diet, the environment, and stress factors on our physical-spiritual-emotional well-being. (Dads, this applies to you as well yet I focus this writing on our maternal nature--the nurturing, mothering side of all of us). Do we provide healthy soil to support and nurture our children? In order to BE healthy soil in which our little ones can set roots and from which they can grow and blossom, consider how a gardener tends her land: with love, wisdom, attention. So, we parents must tend our own lands so that our kids can grow strong and connected, and in turn, bless our world with their fruits, their gifts. This is called self-care. Essential for mamas. Essential for All. What does this look like for you? Is your soil rich or depleting of nutrients? Is this something you’ve consciously built into your life, to consistently tend to the foundations of your growing garden? Do you make time to water, feed and weed? Or do you struggle with putting your own care first? Do you feel supported in caring for your soil…..your soul….. YOU? As moms, our gardening is often focused directly on the plants themselves-- our beautiful children. It can be hard to see below the surface that issues most often lay in the health of the soil, the health of our own Self. We know how important the soil is for our trees and our Earth. As is the macrocosm, so is the microcosm. Treat all with loving care, and begin with you. Need help with your self-care plan? Don’t know where to start? Click here for a mudra-in-motion mantra meditation to call upon your nurturing, strong, divine feminine energy, or your Mother Power: the Adi Shakti mantra. For consult, reach out to me or find a coach or mentor with whom you resonate. The plants we nurture from our own healthy soil help us to breathe, and all, in turn, create and inspire healthier gardens for a peaceful Earth. |
AuthorI am the Essential Soul Mama. I am a mama, a soulful-spiritual teacher, an intentional storyteller, and a lover of stories of all kinds, in all forms. I write about emotions, parenting, natural health options, mind-body-soul connections, and anything that elevates our lives. Archives
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