Openness to the New

(Originally posted in October 2021)

The last thing I want this blog to be is glorification of me and my life, like "Look at me, and look at all the things I’ve done. I’m so incredibly great!” Instead, I want to share my journey, humbly, in hopes that it brings insight and hope to others.

And it is true. It’s best to write what you know. Maybe what’s so important to me is the tone and the intention. It is vital for me to be coming from a soul-centered place, and not from the tone of ego.

Also, after teaching for almost thirty years, I have to fight the urge to “teach the lesson” that might be learned from my experiences. It’s not my job anymore, and at my core, not having that responsibility is a huge relief.

For a little over two years, I have been intentionally honing my intuitive practice, and leaving my old habits behind. Where I am now is a place of openness to the new. (A fantastic phrase that one of my treasured classmates spoke during a reading for me.)

So what does that mean?

-Not having to follow ingrained expectations and a prescribed set of rules.

-Not having my schedule determined by someone else.

-Not having to maneuver through the energy of hundreds of people every day, both positive and negative, which left none of my own energy for replenishment.

And instead:

-Being excited about going to work, or working.

-Being open to a different day, every day.

-Being mindful that my energy management is incredibly important to my well-being, and that keeping my energy healthy and balanced helps me to help others.

Then, there’s wonderment. Do you remember this feeling as a child? Just being in awe and delight when you learned something new, or how something worked - and maybe most importantly, how something felt.

I remember this feeling, and seem to be experiencing it more and more, now that I’ve let my mind and heart open. It’s hard to describe - and often, words don’t really do justice to the beauty of the universe, but I do know that when it’s simply reduced to a basic element - that it is love in its purest form.

A wise therapist once told me that fear is the opposite of love - not hate. And that is the other important detail of this journey. My life has been very much directed by, and ruled by, and constrained by fear. I have good reasons - both from this life and past lives, why this is the case. But the freedom of gradually letting that go is life-changing, and I’m sure I don’t even know all the ways this freedom will positively affect my life going forward.

What I do know, however, is that I’m feeling more love and less fear, and breathing more freely, and feeling more hopeful and grounded at the same time, than I have in decades. And this level of contentment is one that I wish for all of you, no matter what path your journey takes.

May we all be enriched, enthralled, and changed for good, by embracing openness to the new.