My 10 Personal Commandments

I recently discovered a website called The Happiness Project. It was started by Gretchen Rubin who spent a year testing all the age old wisdom, new scientific research and popular theories about Happiness and then documented her findings on her blog and in a soon-to-be-published book of the same name. Her website is a mine of useful information and includes a toolbox of instructions and guidelines on how to make your life happier.

One of the tools is the Personal Commandments which prompts you to list the most important principles that you want to guide your actions and thoughts - values that you know to be true for your own personal fulfillment.

I spent quite a while pondering this list, it changed a few times (it was hard to keep the list to 10 - it would probably be absolutely fine to list more, but the aim is to be concise). I'll probably keep refining my list, as I learn more about myself and what makes me happiest but for now it reads as follows:

1. Be 100% Kathleen. Do what you love.

2. Be here now. With all 5 senses.

3. Listen to your body. Trust what it says.

4. Eat consciously. Savour every mouthful.

5. Speak your truth.

6. When in doubt or despair, go for a walk.

7. Be the friend you'd like to have.

8. Live in harmony with the seasons.

9. Know that you already have everything you need.

10. Love Glenn, as he is.

If I wake up every morning and consider these 10 things, I can be sure that my days will be happier and my life will be more meaningful. I can honestly say that just taking the time to make this list has made me feel more at peace with who I am - it's really worth taking the time to make your list!

In future posts, I'll expand on what each one of these items means to me and why it is so important to my day to day joy. In the meantime, I encourage you to list your own Personal Commandments and start living each day according to them.

with thanks to lucky fish images for the beautiful photograph!

xox

International Day of Peace - 21 September 2009

In 2002 the United Nations General Assembly declared 21 September as the annual date for the International Day of Peace.

Wherever you are at noon on Monday 21 September, take 1 minute to light a candle or simply sit in quiet meditation to commemorate Peace Day.

Make peace with yourself, make peace with your family and with your friends and acquaintances.

Let peace radiate outwards to everyone in your city, your country, and around the world.

Imagine the difference one peaceful minute could make!

And from now on, why not dedicate one minute to peace every day at noon?

how writing makes things possible..

..the creative art of writing carries an idea from thought to word, from source to sensation, from vague to tangible, from doubt to belief, and thus from ludicrous to possible.

possibility

spring is promising
some fine weather and I am
intending to bloom

This is my contribution to Confident Writing's Mission (Im)Possible Group Writing Project.

I chose haiku because I was drawn to the security of the framework it provides while allowing one to explore how much can be said in a few simple syllables. I was surprised at what came up! I wrote about spring because we're reaching the end of a long (but thankfully reasonably mild) winter here in New Zealand and spring is starting to show signs of returning. Of all the seasons, Spring seems to hold the most possibility and promise. After a winter of restful hibernation, spring is a time of new beginnings, good intentions, light and growth.

The photograph was taken on a walk around our local neighbourhood. There are already many trees covered in beautiful spring blossoms but this one caught my eye. Covered in tight buds, its branches reach towards the sunshine as it filters through the wintery cloud. I can't wait to go back in a few weeks and see it in full bloom.
Thanks to Joanna for inspiring me to explore new possibilities and for giving me the courage to share my writing!

imperfect human, perfect being

I had this idea to write something about perfection, about our human need to strive for an ideal body/relationship/home/career/life; and about how our imperfections (or rather our inability to accept them) hold us back, sometimes cripple us, often frighten us.

So anyway, I had the idea, I wrote the title and then I stopped. I didn't know what to say. I didn't know where to begin writing about how this deep seated desire to be perfect has been so much a part of who I am all my life.
So for over a week I wrote nothing.

Then this morning it suddenly dawned on me why I was struggling to write about perfection. I wanted it to be perfect! I was waiting for the perfect moment, when I would sit down and write some perfectly formed sentences which perfectly expressed how for so long I have yearned for perfection but how I hope some day (sooner rather than later) to embrace my imperfections and celebrate how uniquely flawed I am!

I've decided that today is that day.

From now on, I intend to let go of my need to be anything other than what I am right now. I intend to be grateful for all the mistakes I have made so far, because they have taught me so much. And I intend to allow myself to make a lot more mistakes, and to be 'less than perfect' because I want to move forward so much more than I want to stay stuck.

I want to sing out of tune so much more than I want to stay silent.

I want to dance stupidly so much more than I want to stand still.

And I want to write badly so much more than I want to sit staring at a blank page.

Because by doing something instead of nothing, we connect with who we are. We find our voice, our feet, our words, our courage. We find our uniqueness, our divine perfection.

I have learned that we're all flawed, we all make mistakes, we all stumble, we all get hurt. We all at various stages in our lives have been criticised, laughed at, ignored or mistreated. And we all, whether we are willing to admit it or not, have criticised, laughed at, ignored or mistreated someone else.

Like it or not, this is all part of our inherent 'human nature'. When we live our lives from our fear based ego perspectives we see only the faults in ourselves and in others, we hold onto grievances and we allow ourselves to be tied to who we have been, instead of moving towards who we are capable of becoming.

I've discovered that our search for perfection in external things will never bring us peace, because the perfection we long for lies within - inside our very being. The moment we withdraw from our fearful, critical minds and instead open up our loving hearts we become witnesses to that divine perfection - in ourselves and in others. We realise that right here, right now, we have the choice to either shrink away from or rise towards our highest potential.

And suddenly life is transformed from a constant battle to an exciting adventure, filled with miraculous discoveries and joyful encounters.

Life becomes a delightful dance, rather than a hesitant shuffle.

Life becomes a song of celebration rather than a woeful lamentation.

Hip Hip Hooray!

Peace Prayer of St Francis of Assisi

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace;

Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
And where there is sadness, joy;

Grant that I may not so much seek
To be consoled as to console;
To be understood as to understand
To be loved as to love;
For it is in giving that we receive,
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
And it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

There are Angels among Us

This is a dedication to the incredible people who gave their entire beings - their hearts, minds and souls - for the 36 hours of Sarah's captivity, to ensure that she was safely returned home on Saturday morning.

I have come to believe that for every awful thing that happens, a thousand miracles transpire. And for every terrifying crime committed, ten thousand angels swoop in to provide support, love and courage to the victims and their loved ones.

Heaven is full of them, dressed in white robes.

But they're right here on earth too, dressed in jeans and takkies, in uniforms and boots, in skirts and stilettos.

They may drive Jeeps and carry cell phones, or they may drive vans and carry guns.

They respond in emergencies with their hearts and not their heads.

They do not stop to judge or blame.

They act instead with instantaneous courage and selfless dedication.

They never lose hope.

And they never give up.

Angels teach us about pure unconditional love.

Some of them come to teach us how to receive love.

Others come to teach us how to give love (these ones are usually in heavier disguise).

An angel will always appear when we cry for help.

All we have to do is Ask,

have Faith

choose Love

and give Thanks.