Innocence Found

We are all seeking Love.

Truthfully though, we have no idea how to go about finding it.

We fight, argue, get frustrated, increase our expectations, lie, cheat and sometimes steal in the name of love.

And still it eludes us.

Sometimes we spend a lifetime making a career out of giving everything we have to everyone around us in the hopes that we will feel and be loved.  And still (most often)...nothing.

It's like eating cookies for breakfast, lunch and dinner and still expecting to lose weight!

Crazy!

What if there was a way to stop this insanity?  What if there was a way of actually receiving the love that you so desperately seek without all of the 'work' that goes along with it.  Would you sign up?

Afterall, we are beings created from love; it shouldn't really be all that hard to find it!

One thing that I find has been really filling me with love lately, is seeing the innocence in others. 

Especially the ones who are constantly wanting us to love them and who have no idea that their way of seeking love from us is literally driving us to drink! 

The wife who feels neglected, the husband who feels unappreciated, the parents who feel disrespected, the employee who feels taken advantage of, etc., etc., etc.

All of these scenerios call for us to look for the innocence in the other person (and especially in ourselves).

Okay, let me put it this way.  If every single being on this planet is here to learn how to love.  And every single being on this planet is seeking love.  Then it makes sense that we are all innocent in our search! 

I mean, I didn't get a roadmap to finding love.

Did you? 

I didn't think so!

We are all children wanting to be loved.  Some know how to get it and some have found it.  Others are still seeking and still more are pushing the people they want love from the most, away.

The difficult part of seeing innocence in others may be in your perspective of what that other person has done or what you feel they deserve.  Well, none of that matters, so you can get that out of your head or at least know that you can still practice finding innocence even if you currently believe something different about the situation.

What I find happens for me when I see someone's innocence, I simultaneously see my own innocence.  Where there is innocence there is forgiveness, where there is forgiveness there is love.

Of course (because I'm not done learning yet either), I've yet to experience this as an automatic response to any given situation, however when I do apply it (even on the past stuff), it's extremely powerful.  That empowerment is what keeps me motivated to keep seeing the innocence in everyone and everything.

Go on, give it a try!

And So......

Everything is right with the world....

Today....

As I sit here feeling full of all that is good after a Ginormous (j-eye-norm-us) Total Recall Women's Retreat weekend on Pelee Island!

A beautiful B&B right on the water's edge.

A roommate that ROCKED and shared my interest in sleep!

A realization (again) that I am not superwoman.

The courage to act upon the re-discovery of my 'un' superwomanly self.

Laughter (most important).

Great food (okay...maybe this one is most important).

Hearing someone confirm for me that I am and I have made a difference in their life (bonus: without even trying!).

Recognizing the incredible influence that this past year has had on me.

The kick ass suntan I am going to have!

Getting the chance once again to stand in front of people willing to learn and grow with you.

Rediscovering the word 'magnificent' and feeling like it describes who I am (A first for me!)

The list is endless.

My point?  I am happy.  I can see my blessings.  I know their names.  I know their smiles.  I know their hugs.  And I know that I am worthy of them.

Just as you are worthy of yours.

<3

The quest for happiness.....

What does happiness, inner peace and contentment look like to you?

How do you know when you have reached the point in your life when you are experiencing these things?

For me, I imagined happiness to be a space where there is absolutely no pain, there is no dullness, no darkness. I imagined I would be full of laughter, energy and total bliss 24/7!

What I am learning is that happiness isn't necessarily fun, fun, fun 24/7. Although you may experience times when this is true, but you will also experience times when it is not. Happiness is inner contentment and peace.

I am beginning to realize that if in any moment you are feeling at peace, no matter what is going on around you, then you are in state of happiness, acceptance and grace.

There is a belief that happiness has to be the complete opposite of how we are feeling right now. If we are burdened by depression we believe happiness is complete and utter joy, laughter all the time. It's not fair to do that to ourselves though, because in that moment we feel even more hopeless because the realization of happiness seems to be too far out of our reach. It feels unattainable.

I realized something yesterday as I was laying around on the couch watching my favourite tv program. I began feeling unproductive, feeling I "should" be doing something other than lying around on the couch, something "better", less lazy.

When I allowed myself to bypass those thoughts I found that I was quite happy and content laying on the couch. So why do I need to change that? Why would I need to find something else to do if I am actually happy doing what I am doing in the moment?

Do you ever do this to yourself?

We are constantly standing in judgement of our now moment. It's all we have you know, this exact moment you are living in, the now moment. Why are we always trying to change it, manipulate it to look, feel and be better?

We bombard ourselves with stress when we do this and we grow farther and farther from our happiness goals.

I feel we need to connect to what makes us feel most at peace and then allow ourselves the pleasure of doing it.

What does peace feel like anyway? And how do we bring ourselves to that place? We've read the books, watched the YouTube videos, listened to countless self help audios but do we really know what peace feels like to us?

Wouldn't it be great if there was an inner peace instruction booklet. Not a fancy book with words and phrases we can't understand, but a simple step by step guide on how to find peace and happiness, nothing left unanswered and a quick approach to finding what we've been searching for our whole lives.

This wish ranks right up there with progress reports from the Universe!

Happiness and inner peace are things you find when you are living life on your terms, living life based on what feels good to you.

When we are not allowing ourselves to live anywhere near what our soul desires we are off balance and we are removed from our inner peace. That is when we put pressure on ourselves to do more, be more, have more.

I believe finding our way back to our balance, happiness and inner peace is an easy thing to do. If you can give yourself permission to let go of all the clutter.

Another point I'd like to make is that the feeling of peacefulness and happiness is most likely different for everyone. My idea of happiness may be different than yours because we are two unique individuals. I can try to explain to you how I feel while in a space of peace, but that may not help you because your space of peace has a different path and a different feeling. I think this is why I have been puzzled for so long by some of the books I have read. Sometimes I felt it was impossible for me to reach the state of happiness they were describing.

Ultimately, it is a process of getting to know yourself. We don't wake up one morning with all of the answers. We have to work at knowing who we are, what makes us tick, what brings us the most satisfaction.

Afterall, you are you, you know you better than you know anyone else on this planet. You may have ignored you for a while now, but it just takes the intention of finding you again to start the wheels of change moving in the right direction.

Taking one step towards being at peace with your life situation will move you into larger opportunities to explore that peace in other areas as well and eventually you will find there is no more need for judgement and criticism in your life.

It is what it is....that's happiness!