What does SOUL (Spirit of Unconditional Love) birthed in Liz Gilbert’s, Letters from Love on Substack want us to say YES, to right now. Liz shares, in a world where it seems everyone is suddenly hiding and panicking and hunkering down in frozen terror, what and where is your next yes?
My mentor and I have been fine tuning my Yes and No button for several years now. My body always is my clearing house, and I can feel a pull in my gut, the tension rising in the back of my neck, when it’s a No. If I don’t honor it, I am ALWAYS given another opportunity to practice, and it comes fairly quickly. Almost as if the remediation needs to be swift. When it’s a Yes, I feel a Spanda, the Sanskrit word for a vibration, a rising, almost an inner leap which infuses curiosity and freedom within me. Not dread and resentment which are the two primary feelings I experience when it’s a No.
What gets in my way are still some lingering tendrils that I have been releasing. To disappoint another, or to have someone not look favorably upon me, can still sting like a paper cut. It is dissipating with time, because the one I simply cannot disappoint any longer is me. All those outdated memos we were handed from one generation to another, simply are that, worn out, and were never ours to begin with. I will never forget questioning my mom towards the end of her life if she thought she had experienced enough fun. She shook her head in dismay, and shared that fear is what held her back to saying Yes, to traveling to Sweden to visit friends, or going back to school in interior design because she possessed an inherent gift with it.
What I have said yes to recently was adopting a puppy. Who on earth does that now? We do, because our house did not feel like a home without one for the past four months after the loss of our sweet Zuke. Yes, to getting off of all social media quite some time ago actually except for Substack. What a blessing it has been to land there among creative, brilliant writers, caring and oh, dare I say, many just as crazy about animals as I am. Looking at the pictures that are posted of such a vast and gorgeous array of animals soothes and calms my entire nervous system and brings me back into joy each and every time.
Yes, to the reality that I am in my third act, and how blessed I am to be here. How do I choose to spend these most precious days? Infused within nature, my precious family, relationships and training a puppy is not most likely what the AARP algorithm might suggest at this juncture for our age group, or maybe we are right on time? Thinking within paradox is about the only way that makes sense to me currently. How about you? What have you been saying yes to? Please share in the comments should you feel inspired to.
Welcome, Trinie, a new guide on the trail! 🐾💗
I’m saying “yes” to waiting for those nudges you mentioned, trusting my ability to discern the difference between a “proceed” and a “pause” or a “halt.”
And I’m grateful today that you’re helping me tune my body to the Divine wavelength!
What a sweet girl. You have so much love and positive energy to give, so i'm glad you have chosen Trinie. Good luck with the training.....those herding dogs have a strong will :-)
The one I simply cannot disappoint any longer is me. Why has this taken me so long to learn? And yet, there is time. Yes to Substack and nature and puppies xx
Recently saying “yes” to a friend’s sudden departure and thus making room for something new.
Trinie is adorable. Each picture gives me a tickle. I mostly love your statement that you cannot disappoint yourself. Thank you for that, Joanie.