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Self-Reliance

Insist on yourself; never imitate. Your own gift you can present every moment with the cumulative force of a whole life’s cultivation; but of the adopted talent of another, you have only an extemporaneous, half possession.

Ralph Waldo Emerson, Essay II Self-Reliance

I discovered a handwritten version of this quotation in an old journal last week. Once again, it struck me as profound and extremely helpful as I navigate life. Over the years, I have looked outside myself, compared my choices with yours, thought that I should be doing this because you are doing this. I’ve compared my impact with yours, forgetting that you are you and I am me. I’ve forgotten that the reason you are so capable at that has a lot to do with the life experiences you’ve encountered on the road to now.

When I am in the comparing place, I come up short. Continue reading “Self-Reliance”

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Habits …

Good or bad? Helpful or limiting? Does it depend on the habit?

Certainly there are bad habits, things we do which have negative impact. Overeating, on a regular basis, for example, most often produces a body with excess weight, a body that is sluggish and unhealthy. Smoking, while it may calm agitation, is expensive, unpleasant to bystanders and believed to cause lung cancer.

What about good habits? Brushing and flossing our teeth after we eat would seem to be “all good”. But what about things like efficiency – always doing tasks in the most expedient manner, or being organized – everything in its place?

I’d like to propose that good habits, and not even just when taken to the extreme, can be limiting. Continue reading “Habits …”

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Winter Hibernation …

It is December 28, 2016 as I write – though later as this post is coming to you. I have been listening, deeply, to my spirit, my soul, the voice within. And I’ve heard a message that surprised me. It was a deeper version of something I’ve heard before:

Jeanne, you know that “less is more”. You know that often you feel bombarded by the vast amount of information flowing to your Inbox, through Facebook, through bloggers. You also know that our answers are within and each of us must become willing and courageous enough to pause the input stream and listen. So why do you continue to write, to post, to add to the stream for others? What are you not hearing because you are “talking” more than listening? It is time, Jeanne, time to rest, to take a break from some things. Continue reading “Winter Hibernation …”