Light as a Feather

This has been my mantra in yoga for some time, light as feather.  I say it with passion and belief that whenever I am practicing yoga, I feel light as a feather.  Most recently, it has become something I am striving for in all areas of life, the feeling of life being light as a feather.  To achieve this beyond my yoga practice, takes commitment to:

choosing priorities,
creating efficiencies,
reducing spending,
minimizing stuff,
focusing on one thing at a time, and
seeing life as a prayer.

Choosing priorities is a matter of knowing what I value and therefore when opportunities and invitations come along, knowing when to say yes or no based on congruency with my values. Creating efficiency includes such things as using a bath towel more than once so I have fewer loads of laundry, or going through mail and eliminating junk and paying bills as opened.  Reducing spending enables less stuff coming into my home to put away, more savings for things I  truly value and being creative in the kitchen using leftovers.  Minimizing stuff, not hard for me, as I am known as the great purger of stuff, allows for less stuff to organize and manage.  Focusing on one thing at a time allows me to be present, create better experiences and be more effective.  Seeing life as a prayer makes my life intentional, seeking goodness and peace

Light as a feather, ultimately is a state of being where I am not weighed down by burdens that are fruitless.   Light as a feather is the feeling one can achieve through practicing simplicity.  Light as a feather is a way of being so that one has the capacity to help one another who's lives may not be
light as a feather.

"To be in hell is to drift: to be in heaven is to steer." George Bernard Shaw

In my reading this morning, this was a quote as part of a reflection on balance between busyness and solitude.  "To be in hell is to drift: to be in heaven is to steer." This resonated with me personally, professionally and in observing others who struggle.  Many years ago I was in limbo about a major choice to be married or not to someone I loved but was unsure of what I wanted. In the process of broken hearts, many tears and depression, I found my way through to the other side of that time. During this period of drifting, uncertainty and limbo, I recall that one of my mentors, Chris Perkins, told me, "leaders make difficult choices, and move forward, adjusting as necessary."  It was the advice I needed and was ready for and was life changing. I moved forward and have learned to make choices and steer my course in life. I have taken risks I would not have taken, opened doors that may have remained closed, built courage and in the process I have discovered that heaven is to steer your course.  As many of your know I regularly set personal, professional, fitness, financial and spiritual goals.  I don't always achieve them or keep them, however I review them often to steer my life back to the course I desire to create.  Dream, plan, steer and realize heaven is now.