9-4-21 I’ve been staying with my daughter, Ari, during my evacuation. However, she’s not here now and I’m looking around her room and it’s all very interesting. And strange. On one wall there’s the throw blanket I used to love that I gave her a bunch of years ago. On another wall there are 5 wedding pictures of me and Stew she copied at some point from what I have in my house, and next to it is a photo of 3 footprints. Every time we went to the ocean since she could walk, we took a picture of all our right feet in a row. Wow, how precious. And there are positive affirmations everywhere, on a plant, on the mirror, hanging from the lamp, that she hung up to help her to stay resilient. A part of that is from hanging out with me her whole life, which feels good, and the rest is her own strength. Also around the room is more of my legacy to her (it seems) in the various dried flower collections. And, there’s more evidence of her separation from me, her “ownness” – all her creations and her mementos from her travels and love notes from friends.

Isn’t that our human journey? We are all (probably) so much like our parents and represent more of their legacy than we’d like to admit. Maybe acknowledging that makes us happy, maybe not. Still, whichever way we view it, hopefully we take it and run with it, evolve it into something uniquely ours that works better for us and is nurturing. I’d like to take this moment and acknowledge the myriad ways I, my daughter, and you, have taken what has been handed down to us, good and bad, and transformed it into the glorious light that we each are and the gifts that we share with the world.

Speaking of my Ari, I just looked at a blog she wrote 3 years ago when she & I went traveling together in a van across Iceland for a few weeks. I was looking at the pictures and oh my goodness I loved how I looked, so free, relaxed and so darn happy. Seeing it in those pictures I remembered it. Remembering it, I felt it. In feeling it, that became my experience in the present. Ah, bliss.

The above little exercise is one of the things I do and teach based on my HeartMath practices. Everything that has ever existed in our lives is available to us. Unfortunately, we seem to want to revisit those past times that were more horrible than the lovely ones! And then don’t you feel that horribleness in the present? The shame? The guilt? The not enoughness? Well, for goodness sake, I’d love to help you change that experience by leading you through the exercise I described above for myself, so much more empowering and satisfying. It’s a great tool to add to the tools you already employ. Just contact me!

Yes, sometimes we get stuck in our thoughts and in feeling bad. But there are tools we can use to access more life-affirming thoughts and feelings. No one and nothing can interfere with our everyday wholeness, except us, so let’s choose love, well-being and peace instead. Today is a good day...and I make it so!