We ARE More Than Enough

This world has become all about what we do. It is one of the first questions people ask when they meet each other. However, does what you do really say anything about you? Or is what you are of more importance?

Let me explain. I’ve had the honor and privilege to learn and awaken through observations of nature recently. A robin decided to build her nest on my fence, and as I watched her come back with strands of grass and beaks full of mud, I came to realize a few things. I love her. I value her. I am somewhat attached to her. Why? Was it something she did? Not really. She was just BEing.

So, why is it when it comes to other people and ourselves, we rush around trying to prove ourselves, striving to acquire this or that to define our existence, to mark our success? Are we not even more precious than the robin nesting on my fence—or at least equally so?

We think of people whom we love and what comes to mind? Maybe it is what they do that draws us close to them. After all, actions speak louder than words. But what is louder than actions? It would be what spurs actions. This is the place where motivation is born. This is where I AM lives. It is what people are, the I AMs, which dictate actions.

Example. Your spouse makes you dinner on a night you are exhausted. Is it the act that endears them to you or is it the motivation behind the action? You might respond with the act. However, think deeper. It was the thought, them BEing who they are, that resulted in the action. They considered your needs and best interests.

With the robin you might argue I became attached because she built a nest on my fence. But that would be the action. The thought, the essence of who she is endears her to me. She is peaceful. She chose a spot sheltered by a small tree branch and a fence post. She works hard, but not tirelessly. Her motivation is not to have the best nest in the world, to show off to visitors; it is to have a safe place to lay her eggs and have her babies. For this, she is proud of who she is and what she has accomplished. Every day she sings from the top of my chimney. I swear she is proclaiming her love for the world and her part in it. See what she is, the I AM, is caring, loving, and joyful. These are the qualities that draw me to love her.

Most of us have heard the expression; it’s the thought that counts. And how true. Without the thought, we would have nothing. We wouldn’t have the warm embrace of a loved one or feel their tender kiss and touch. We wouldn’t be inspired, we wouldn’t make our house a home, and on the list goes without end. So the next time you start defining yourself by what you do, by what you’ve done, or by what you’ve accomplished, dig deeper. Celebrate the I AM essence of your very BEing.

CAROLYN ARNOLD is the author of several published novels, including her best-selling Madison Knight series. Her love for writing dates back to her teen years, but it was only in recent years that she was reunited with this love to pursue it with career passion.

www.carolynarnold.net

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Surrender

Mother Nature has been teaching us lots this year.  The long, cold, snow-filled winter, along with procrastinating spring can definitely affect us if we let it.  However, is it something we can do anything about?  The only thing we can do is choose our response to it.  In this case we have been given the opportunity to practice surrender.  Surrender means to cease resistance to the enemy or opponent.  We have heard the saying “what you resist, persists.” Why not quit resisting and instead surrender and allow; perhaps using this time for turning inward on our healing and self-discovery journey?

This week I had an experience that again gave me an opportunity for surrender.  I had been feeling blah with no energy… in fact, I hear it is going around.  Sometimes we have no apparent reason for feeling this way.  We try to talk ourselves out of it… get happy and busy again already!  In fact, we may recognize the many blessings in our lives, however, the feeling of listlessness still looms over us. 

It was on such a day, the one where the list is long and you don’t feel like doing any of it, that nature again brought me a reason to smile.  Looking out the window, there was a chipmunk excitedly jumping around “leaf-people” we made, that were sitting on the bench by the pond.  They had mitts, hats, and scarves and all this little soul saw was some ideal nesting material!  She busily, tugged and pulled, tugged and pulled until she broke the pompom from the Santa hat free.  With pompom in mouth she skipped along the yard toward the wooden gazebo, up the post and in the bird house!  Super-proud of her accomplishment, she situated it and poked her head out the hole, looking to see if anyone noticed the great prize she just scored.  We did!  She brought smiles and laughter, with amusement at her playful way of being.  She too had been waiting for spring, the time to start new projects and create new beginnings!  Now was the time, the time to prepare for her new adventure.

This taught me that it is all right to slow down, to smell the roses or watch the chipmunks as it were!  Just maybe our body, mind and soul are telling us to rest from the regular hustle and bustle of every day life once in a while.  Surrendering to occasional low energy days and observing the world around us we often neglect to see… and feel joy!   Not the joy from being “busy” all the time, but the joy from simply being.  Before we know it, the time to be energized and ready to go again, will happen at just the right time. 

~ Sherry Buikema