Be Here Now

"The moment you enter the Now with your attention, you realize that life is sacred. There is a sacredness to everything you perceive when you are present. The more you live in the Now, the more you sense the simple yet profound joy of Being and the sacredness of all life."~~ Stillness Speaks by Eckhart Tolle

Focusing on the past often results in regret. I may regret that something wonderful is no longer here or regret choices that I have made that I now perceive to be wrong. In either case, focusing on what was instead of what is causes me to loose power. It seeps out and leaves me feeling drained.
On the other hand, focusing on the future often results in fear. Fear that I may loose what I am currently enjoying or fear that things may go wrong. Once again, focusing my attention on the future saps my energy.
I am learning that the only place of power and peace is in the Now. Bringing my conscious presence to the present moment, the Now, results in an intense sense of aliveness. I am connected with the energy of Life and this intimate connection always results in Love. As I let go of the past and the future and live fully in the present moment, Life is free to carry me where it will and bring to me all of its abundance. Instead of going against the flow, I am part of the ever changing wondrous flow of Life.

The Gift

"Can you reach within yourself for enough clarity, strength, forgiveness, serenity, love, patience, and faith to turn this around? That's the spiritual meaning of every situation: Not what happens to us, but what we do with what happens to us and who we decide to become because of what happens to us. The only real failure is the failure to grow from what we go through."~~ The Gift of Change by Marianne Williamson.

In the midst of the e-mails that many kind people sent in response to the Beacon Journal articles, I received one that contained this quote by Marianne Williamson. I connected immediately with the person that wrote to me because I knew that person "got it". He understood what I had learned in the course of my journey toward healing after the attack. My intention became clear very soon after leaving the hospital- that I would be more and not less because of what had happened. Not long after returning to work, I had purchased a card by Maya Angelou that continues to hang in my office to this day. Next to a beautiful orange hibiscus in the process of opening are the words "I can be changed by what happens to me. I refuse to be reduced by it." When others have asked what they could do to help me, I would tell them to pray that prayer. I have learned that when your request is for growth, the answer is always yes!

Be-ing

"Be the still pool, let your face reflect beauty and wonder.
Be the dragonfly, silent but joyful.
Be the bud, prepare to blossom.
Be the moth, seek the light.
Be the path, open the way for another.
Be the wind chime, let the breeze blow through you, turn the storms into song.
Be the rain, wash away, cleanse, forgive.
Be the grass, grow back when you are trod upon.
Be the temple, let the spirit dwell within you.
Be the moon, shine through the darkness.
Be the pebble, let time shape and smooth you."

~Prose from a Japanese Garden

I have been invited to speak at Kent State University by a sorority who will focus their volunteer work this year in the area of domestic violence awareness. I gave multiple reasons why I probably was not the right speaker for them. Things like: this was an isolated incident, I didn't have a long history of abuse, I have yet to figure out how I could've prevented it and so on and so on... I can't speak as fluently on domestic violence as I can on what I have learned because of the profound way that my experience of domestic violence has changed my life.
All of this to say that I will be speaking at KSU on October 4th at 7:30pm. Where do I begin? I am not afraid to "bear my soul" but what to share leaves me overwhelmed at the thought.
I am asking anyone who is willing to pray that I have guidance and clarity about what to share and the strength to speak what I know. Please join me in praying for that night~ that I am prepared to BE.