life stories: bright beginnings

i'm always amazed when someone says to me that i've preached a good sermon, that i've spoken well, or told i'm good at what i do. i've heard a bit of this lately, and something of these good words is starting to sink in. i have the intrinsic value. i know what comes from my hands is good and that the process works within me.

it's a gift, you see, when someone offers these compliments. yet... it's hard for me to hear them, to take them and receive them. so i've made it something of a practice and challenge. first, i say thank you to the one offering the comment. and sometimes they repeat it because i don't know what i reflect to them, but they know i didn't receive it so well. i listen to those words over and again, offering them to myself almost as food. why? because those are never the words that stick with me. i am the one to hang onto the one slightly critical comment of the other rave reviews. i listen to those and give them more weight than should be given.

yet... there is space for bright beginnings. today i celebrate the good work that comes from within. i celebrate that the more i stand in the center of my being, the more i am more whole. i celebrate the recognition of my own life balance, both in the daily rhythm of life and also in the awareness and growth happening within. i celebrate the language i use and the way in which it has come into being over the years. i celebrate that by standing in my sacred center, i influence others. i hear your language changing. i see you take up that creative project and use your hands. i've seen some of you move from complaining to enjoying life. wow. transformations abound. it's quite amazing. i'm proud of you. i'm proud of us.

i celebrate what i know. i recognize the goodness in the work i'm doing, the work we're doing together. i know that as we move forward, move closer to healing, we are healed. i know that as we receive the gifts presented to us, we are given something very special and sacred.

there's a lifetime ahead and i am thankful. so, so thankful. i am reminded today that i need to move forward allowing whatever is emerging from within me to have the space, time, and energy to grow. i need to make the time for that goodness to happen. it just might be my gift to you. i want to treat it well, just as i want to treat you well. i feel this post is an echo of earlier posts, of my voice moving across time, saying something of the same, but with a different sound.

so, thank you for good words. i'm using a few here myself. a toast: cheers to compliments. and a wish: make merry as you look to your sacred center, finding your life balance and balance within you.

may you eat well, create well, and live well this day.