Love The One You're With

What does it require to love the one you're with? Not speaking about who you're in a relationship with, not who you're married to, not who you're seeing or hanging out with, not who you've been loving from afar or have something weird or complicated with. I'm not talking about romance. Never been a big romancer. 

I mean the person you're physically with, who might be at the table next to you, at the next desk, who is on the other end of this phone call, who you're looking at, working with, driving next to, past. Your teacher, your student. Your friend, your lover.

I'm trying to get back into the habit of thinking that everyone I come into contact with is having the worst day ever. Not only that, I used to trick myself into believing that they had the hardest childhood ever, and someone was threatening to sue or kill them. I know that last part was a little dramatic. Only a little. 

But it helped me to remember that everyone is scared. And probably a little sad. Or a lot sad, which is not hard to see and know.

I heard once that everything that people do is either motivates by fear or love. That everything is in constant battle between love and fear. You're either walking toward love or fear. And only love can overpower fear. And fear can actually be seen as a lack of love. And fear comes in all shapes and sizes including anxiety, stress, hatred, depression, anger, control, etcetera (basically every negative experience or emotion). 

So if you pretend everyone is a scared child, even if they're being an ass to you (out of fear), the only way to help the situation is to love. 

How? It's just an outpouring of your energy: a smile, a well-wishing, a silent blessing, a compliment, a loving thought, an observation of any goodness you can see or sense. Or perhaps just attention, just being present with the person, listening.

It's not easy. 

Nobody needs to hear this more than me right now. All pregnant and fussy, hot and bothered but not in the good way. For real hot and bothered, as in physically uncomfortable and irritable. 

I have to keep remembering what I know. What I feel is right...totally, completely, finally. 

And so much to freaking love. 

Let's all try it. One person in our line of fire at a time. To love, to uplift. 

God help us.

Lovingly,

Liza Jane

Is This Love

Is this love

Is this love

Is this love

That I'm feeling

Underneath the cypress trees.

No. It was not love that I was feeling. So I went to my forgotten happy spot--the pier.

 This looks scary, like Jackson was cackling like a hyena at something.
Just a yawn, folks. He was not trying to eat me. If he had a human mind, he'd be complaining about how awkward this picture is and please, for the love, don't put it on the blog.

And Jackson came with to be a catalyst for the happy spot, I'm sure. 

Then I saw some turtles sunning on the branch of a fallen cypress tree.

And that's when it happened: I felt it. 

Today, as it stands, I don't feel I deserve this beautiful life. And I don't feel I can administer any advice unto people who are handling their affairs as sweetly as running molasses. (what am I talking about?)

All I can leave you with is this:

"This is an eternal and fundamental principle, inherent in all things, in every system of philosophy, in every religion, and in every science. There is no getting away from the law of love."

-Charles Haanel (1866-1949)

Hopefully,

Liza Jane

Lean On Me

There comes a time, if someone firmly believes in certain truths, when those beliefs will be tested. There is no skirtin' around the issue.

I say things like "everything happens for a reason," "let go and let God," "trust in the Divine plan of the  universe," "love is the only thing that matters," "how can I serve humanity for the Creator" and "break my heart open." 

courtesy of whimsical-heart.com

Someone who discusses and talks about these deep issues will get her own issues handed to her on a silver tray.

What happens when you pray to be opened is that something you didn't expect so soon comes out of the woodwork and says hey like that old boyfriend you never wanted to see again. That event or person is cloaked in scariness, makes you feel dark feelings lodged within, and it is only an agent for the power we like to call God. 

Yeah, bad times happen. No matter how good of a person I think I am, there is always some experience waiting to wake me up, whether I label it good or bad. Spiritual laziness will get me to some new, painful destination every time.

I can't believe in punishments anymore though. I have to believe in the divinity behind everything. I think it's loving, not angry. I certainly don't feel close to God when I am angry. 

It's definitely a love thing.

If you're going through something, when trillions of people have been through it, are going through it, will go through it, just let it. Feel it make you stronger.

Strength does not look like what you think it looks like either. It involves tears. Oh, and gentleness. Tears, check. Gentleness, come on where are you?

Strongly,

Liza Jane

All You Need is Love

Remember how I told y'all that I was soooo good at April Fool's Day, yesterday?

I forgot to knock on wood. I forgot to remember that I am in fact not the mentally toughest person in the world. 

Girl (or boy), I got tricked. And it came from the most unexpected place. About 30 minutes after I told Will I was going to South America for the summer to get an Ayurveda certification (he believed and was shocked), I dropped my phone on the floor while I was carrying a pile of laundry so I couldn't pick it up. Will was walking behind me and picked it up for me.

"Your screen is shattered."

"Dang, really? I knew that was going to happen since I took my cover off! Dang! Man, I knew it!"

He set the phone down on the counter, and I walked over. It was perfectly fine.

"April Fools!"

He got me. In a perfect way: so easy and believable, built into the very fabric of our lives, not overly dramatic, but simple and sneaky. 

After all my bragging. The one I least expected to trick me. But at least I had just gotten him. 

Lately, I have been feeling guilty. This is not good. It's not that I've done anything overwhelmingly terrible; I think it's all the little things that aren't aligned with my values.

I was raised Catholic. We went into the scary little room to confess our sins face to face with a priest every week I believe. After high school, my conscience was no longer. Thank goodness, it has developed again. But now I'm like, "Dang, conscience. Get out of here. You make me feel like poop!"

So I thought, in light of the sacrificial manner of Easter and its events, I would go on and confess my unconsciousness, light up the darkness. To y'all, my wonderful blog audience. (By the way, I wonder about y'all all the time. Is it just my dad and some close friends from Nashville? Or are there more of you out there?)

So here goes nothing. 

I'm sorry for:

-being righteous (big one)

-being late

-judging

-driving over the speed limit 

-procrastinating

-forgetting gratitude

-being preachy and hypocritically forgetting to practice (most guilt there)

-not giving and loving as much as I want to

-inauthenticity

-being a judgmental hypocrite (oh, have I basically said that?)

-being jealous

-lacking self-discipline

-resisting the moment

-getting caught up in the tiny thoughts and things that won't be worth a darn in no time

-road rage (genetically inclined)

-the my-way-or-the-highway mentality I sometimes fall into

-perfectionism

-pizza and cookies

-ice cream too

-over-reacting rebellions

-being fearful and paralyzed in the face of my big dreams and goals

-believing in optimism and positive energy to nth degree, and then turning around with a cynical comment attached to negative energy

-the fact that I know better

These are just a few. I realize it looks like I'm being hard on myself. But somebody's got to do it! I've got to call myself out. Because if somebody like my husband does it, I'll be committing all of the above. 

I feel so much better, honestly. Now that you know most of the dark things about me. Now you can say to yourself, "Dang, this girl has some baggage." And you might not want to come here anymore to read this insane girl's comments on life.

Or we could start over? Now you know. Perhaps, you're suffering from some of these things too. No?  Come on, look deeper. You don't have to blog about it. Just bring it into the light. Transparency = Clarity. 

Anyway, I want to talk about the things I love. I'm sure you've gotten the gist of what they are: (in no specific order):

-yoga

-holistic nutrition and wellness

-spirituality

-travel

-people I love

-books and writing

-ideas and imagination/abundance/creativity

-my dog and/or my husband

-natural life on the farm

-sometimes fashion/design (mostly will continue complaining about that topic)

Shaving and trimming this blog into things that I love only. So that I can better serve/love you. When you got love, you really don't need anything else, do you? Got to have passion too. 

Maya Angelou said, "When you learn, teach." So I guess I enjoy both learning and teaching. And when I find something that enlightens me, I'd love to pass it on to you. This is a wellness blog on a very different level, incorporating all facets of your life into one whole, happy existence. 

There's nothing wrong with love, and there's nothing wrong with giving yourself some help. If you think there is, perhaps you should question the voice that tells you so.

Lovingly,

Liza Jane

Let It Snow

After posting yesterday's post, driving up a mountain, I was completely oblivious to what was happening in Connecticut. But here's what I have to say about it.

At the core of everything, is Life. Respect for it or love of it or complete disregard for it or hatred of it (which is ultimately hate for yourself if you hate another Life). So everything anybody does is either an affirmation/uplifting of Life or a degradation of it. It is choosing love or fear as a motivation for your actions.

This guy was obviously in an extremely fearful state, in the deepest recesses of insanity. This is what lack of love will produce..a murderous insanity and debilitating fearful dysfunction.

As someone who loves children, this event broke my heart. I don't have children but when I heard about this, I gave thanks for my future babies and held them close in my heart. I can't imagine what the parents of those children are going through, what the families of those killed are walking through right now.

And so, all I can do is send my heart's compassion to them. When one person suffers, the world suffers. We are all connected. I send those children and everyone involved as much love and light as I possibly can.

Why do these things happen? Only the Creator knows the details. But I choose to trust. Everything is connected, and our minds can't comprehend what this means.

On a different note, it is snowing here in Vail. Very cold outside. We're extremely blessed in our accommodations. I won't even get into that right now. It's too wonderful to even speak of at the moment.

But I'll say there is nothing like being here with some of your closest friends. My skiing is coming back to me. Jessie and I are sticking to greens, and I'm proud to say that I didn't fall once!

Well, I fell in the the bar during après because I walk like the monster of Frankenstein in my ski boots. Add a little melted snow on a tiled floor, and you've got yourself an ugly spill in front of 50 or so people packed in a little bar. People were saying "eeww" and "ooohhh" and a lot of laughing. So because I knew everyone was still watching, I did a little bow and thanked them for their accolades.

That's all you can do. It's like skiing down a steep slope. Let it happen. Let it be. No matter how embarrassing, how utterly disgusting and dark like the shooting in CT.

Let it snow.

It is what it is. Something will come of it. Be compassionate and loving to the people around you, and it will spread in a big ripple to those who have lost so much.

Now to practice what I preach...

Whitely,
Liza Jane