Tag Archives: grace

Once upon a time….

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tiara via iheartitThose four words have been the beginning of many fairy tales for centuries. Ok, maybe not centuries but a long, long time.

Cinderella, Snow White, Thumbelina, Belle and so many others… all princesses that we read or watch movies about. The birds fly around them and animals come out of the forest to be in their presence.  There are butterflies, zebras and moon beams.  And, of course, there is usually a prince.

These are considered stories of fantasy.  But is it really fantasy?  Can we not be the princess in our own fairy tale?

I recently stopped and noticed how these things that seem to only happen to storybook princesses actually happen in my life.  I stopped to see the moon, and think that it is shining just for me.  Perhaps not, but something made me stop and savor in the moon beams as if it was for my eyes only.  Look around, birds flitting about, bees in the flowers, the shiny outlines of the sun behind the clouds, a rainbow all for you to see.  Look at the people in your life who are dutiful coachman to you, as the mice were to Cinderella.  Could we all be princesses if we take the time to notice the magic that happens every day and think, “Wow, is this just for me?”  Could we all be princesses if we would say to ourselves, “I am worthy, I am loved?”

And like any good tale, there will always be poison apples, wicked witches and trolls under a bridge. These people and things bring gifts to us in the form of a lesson.   Scared of lions, tigers or bears? Dig down and you will find courage.  Evil step sisters full of greed and selfishness teach us about grace.  The ugly beast gives us the opportunity to love unconditionally and look at the heart of another.

Try it!  Take time today to look, I mean really look. Be aware of the simplest of things in your day to day life and think that the fairy god mothers, genies, and wizards put these things in your path just for you.  You are a princess, beautiful and loved in your own light.   I think you will be amazed at the wonderful magic that surrounds each of us every day.

Now if you will excuse me I have to go out and feed my unicorn….

Ms. Know-It-All…..

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images via lizaellenI was at a well known treatment center a few weeks ago and on the last day of my event I decided to eat breakfast on the lawn.

I usually ate in the cafe but on this particular day the weather was glorious and I wanted to savor the fresh air.
I sat at a table that was already occupied by two young women.
I immediately started to engage with them as is my way and we were having a sweet conversation.
Another woman joined us, and the party began.

Within 5 minutes, the new woman had chased away one of the original people and was expounding on how I should fix my life.

THIS woman KNEW that:
1. I was hanging around negative people.
2. I was deliberately choosing to hang around negative people.
3. I was clearly not making the right choices in friends.

Mmmmmm…. I wanted to:
1. Snap at her.
2. Throw my OJ at her.
3. Dig out my inner bitch and have at it.

Instead, I chose to turn my body away from her and engage with the other woman at the table.
Ms. Know-It-All then turned her attention to the woman I was talking to and proceeded to tell her how to fix her life.
This woman was just the most “knowledgeable” person I had met in quite a while.
She then told me to contact her and that she could help with my foundation.
I almost choked.
I smiled at her, and said “Have a good day” and went to class.

I congratulated myself for not losing my cool and for having the courage to be graceful about leaving the table.

Have you ever met people like this?
Some of these people are in our families and it’s not so easy to leave them behind.
There are, however, lots of people we continually choose to be around who are always “in our business.”
They know everything about everything. They are experts at philosophy, history, psychology, social skills etc. You name it, they have the answer!

I don’t know about you, but I am not in the market for any more Know-It-Alls in my life. I have had my fill of them. They were irritating then, and they are irritating now!

The difference in me is now I have the courage to leave and not CARE what they think of me.
I do not care if that woman thinks that she is JUST the thing I need to make my foundation reach one million people.
I will take my time, surround myself with people I admire and respect and LIKE, and I will reach the right amount of people in exactly the right time.
There is a KNOW-IT-ALL lurking around every corner, waiting for us to show the slightest interest in the wealth of knowledge and then…
They latch ON!

It is harder to extricate yourself from their clutches than it is to just leave them alone the first time you meet them.
I hope you meet some of these people soon and you can begin to practice the strength of believing in yourself.
These individuals give us the opportunity to stand firmly in our knowledge and allow them to expound to someone else.
If you meet one of these individuals at a party I recommend faking a bad stomach and getting the hell outta there.

I don’t know about you, but I believe that life is too short to waste precious time on people who just LOVE to hear the sound of their own voice.

Love & light,

Indrani

When a LADY says NO….

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The lady said NO.first lady via httpwww.bielertagblatt.ch
She said NO to 15 other designers.
She said NO to lots of unknowns.
She said YES to HERSELF.

She is Michelle Obama.

She dressed herself so that she could feel her best.
I want to believe that NONE of the dresses had the names of the designers attached.
I want to believe that she picked on the grounds that made her the happiest.
Why?
Because there is always someone ready to say… (And they did):
“She should’ve given someone else a chance…”
“She should have been more aware of launching someone else…”

I am GLAD Mrs. Obama was strong enough to say YES to the DRESS that made her GLOW!!

What permission did Michelle give to women everywhere?
Choose for YOURSELF!
Do not be influenced by the hallowed pundits or the voices that would have you tow a certain line of action.
CHOOSE the best thing for you!
Choose with strength and softness and LOVE of yourself!

Michelle Obama… You were on FIRE in the RED Jason Wu, and I am sure you knew that you floated into that ball on a cloud of modern feminism.

The modern feminism that allows women to:
Choose for themselves.
Choose what they want in their lives….especially when the whole world is looking at them!

We can take a page from her book and make choices that show self respect and self love and do it with grace and humility.
Love, light and Choices!

Indrani

Gracefully accept….

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In the more formidable challenges of my life, I have solely relied on myself.  I trust myself to get through it, to tough it out, to push myself beyond my limits without the help of others.

I always think I can do it…I don’t need anyone and I don’t want to trust anyone.

While climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro, trust in strangers became inevitable.  Not only trust but receiving help gracefully.  Grace is not necessarily my strong suit.

Starting on day two of the climb, the effects of altitude sickness crept in.  I was not aware of it.
One of the guides offered to take my back pack.  My response was “hell no!” If I decided to climb I damn well was going to carry my own back pack!
I was asked again, and my response was the same.

Finally as the day wore on I agreed to allow someone to carry my pack.

The help was not offered to belittle me; it was offered to help me.  The guides wanted to do everything they could to help me summit, which in this case they saw days prior to the summit attempt that I would need help now…which would help me later.

It was only after that day, resting in my tent did I realize this.  And every day after I let the guides carry my pack.  Not only that, my water was in my pack so at every stop I teased them by calling them “Papi” (daddy) and “chupi chupi” (which is Spanish for “to suck”), meaning to suck on my water hose.

There were times where I was so tired at the end of the day that I would fall into my tent and someone would even come and take my boots off for me.  The help in something as simple as unlacing my boots was accepted with gratitude.

It actually got me to thinking about other aspects of my life and when I have turned help away.  Now I will second guess the offer and see if perhaps the help can be graciously accepted and help me to achieve my goals easier rather than struggle on my own.