I Love Serendipity!
October 29, 2008
One thing I absolutely live by -- the truth inside each moment of serendipity. It just happened again -- and completely unintentionally. I'm looking through a stack of books, trying to figure out which book to blog about tonight. I am in Thinking Mode, not Feeling Mode which, to me, means I am not officially or deliberately connected to my higher self...and/or the angels...and/or the Universe. Lifting each book, trying to figure out which one, I feel compelled to open one of the books. Not thinking or feeling...just acting as if in response to a silent order.
The book is MAKE EVERY MAN WANT YOU -- yes, I know, you may be in an entirely different space, but stay with me here.
I open the book at random. In the middle of the page, in bold, is Truth 3: Life Is Now: This Is It. The next line down is my favorite quote -- the words that have rocked me out of stubborn mental states time and again. Albert Einstein's words:
There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.
I have to smile!
And the author -- Marie Forleo -- dips into her own story, telling how she didn't particularly like how her life was going -- that all the pieces were there, the boyfriend, the apartment, the job, but the nagging feeling "I should be a lot farther along by now" was also there. She says all the goal-setting and affirmations and journal-writing go for naught if you're not living in the moment. She says by "putting up with" what shows up in your life, instead of being fully engaged, you end up leading a life of mediocrity.
Maybe this is what I call magic -- the sparkling awareness that is always available.
For years I interviewed Deepak Chopra and Wayne Dyer, and other gurus who advocated living in the moment, but it didn't really hit me until I realized that living as though everything is a miracle is an antidote to fear.
One of my friends gave me a silver bracelet nearly two years ago -- it says FEARLESS -- and I never take it off. It wasn't that I was a fraidy cat -- oh no -- I have made a lot of courageous moves in my life -- from parachuting out of a plane to taking Level Four rapids on the Deschutes River on my butt to opening myself up to heal myself and others. But I lived soaked in the fear that was actually Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. In other words, the Past. Or -- I was always afraid that what happened when I was a child -- that the "other shoe" would fall -- would happen in the future. The only way to not feel fear, I found, is by being completely immersed in the actual moment -- feeling the feelings, being aware of what each sense is telling me, by filling the frightened, empty center with breath.
Forleo suggests when you order in a restaurant, go with your first choice -- your gut, it would seem. And style your hair like it counts -- pay attention to detail. And with a new person, withhold judgment -- just experience what it is to be with this person.
Forleo calls it "This Is It," which reminds me of a story I didn't expect to tell.
About five years ago, just after I was divorced, my radio station asked me to co-emcee a concert on stage. I had left all that emcee-ing stuff to my ex-husband who had also been in radio all his life. He loved being on stage -- and I let that be his special thing, never even thinking I could do it. I was afraid, for one thing -- I had to conquer my fear of speaking to strangers in my early twenties, next, the fear of speaking on the radio, then the fear of appearing on TV, and stage was my next hurdle.
My radio co-host, Tim, was to be on stage with me, and he coached me backstage -- where to stand, how to stand, to "eat" the mic, and other details. We walked out onto the open air stage, stars bright, and when we began talking, all fear fell away. Inside I was thinking, "OMG, this is so totally perfect. I love this!"
Tim and I stood tall, with animated voices, introducing Kenny Loggins. We surrendered the stage to huge applause for the amazing singer -- and just at that moment the perfect song hit.
Kenny Loggins burst into "This Is It!"
Isn't it though.
One thing I absolutely live by -- the truth inside each moment of serendipity. It just happened again -- and completely unintentionally. I'm looking through a stack of books, trying to figure out which book to blog about tonight. I am in Thinking Mode, not Feeling Mode which, to me, means I am not officially or deliberately connected to my higher self...and/or the angels...and/or the Universe. Lifting each book, trying to figure out which one, I feel compelled to open one of the books. Not thinking or feeling...just acting as if in response to a silent order.
The book is MAKE EVERY MAN WANT YOU -- yes, I know, you may be in an entirely different space, but stay with me here.
I open the book at random. In the middle of the page, in bold, is Truth 3: Life Is Now: This Is It. The next line down is my favorite quote -- the words that have rocked me out of stubborn mental states time and again. Albert Einstein's words:
There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.
I have to smile!
And the author -- Marie Forleo -- dips into her own story, telling how she didn't particularly like how her life was going -- that all the pieces were there, the boyfriend, the apartment, the job, but the nagging feeling "I should be a lot farther along by now" was also there. She says all the goal-setting and affirmations and journal-writing go for naught if you're not living in the moment. She says by "putting up with" what shows up in your life, instead of being fully engaged, you end up leading a life of mediocrity.
Maybe this is what I call magic -- the sparkling awareness that is always available.
For years I interviewed Deepak Chopra and Wayne Dyer, and other gurus who advocated living in the moment, but it didn't really hit me until I realized that living as though everything is a miracle is an antidote to fear.
One of my friends gave me a silver bracelet nearly two years ago -- it says FEARLESS -- and I never take it off. It wasn't that I was a fraidy cat -- oh no -- I have made a lot of courageous moves in my life -- from parachuting out of a plane to taking Level Four rapids on the Deschutes River on my butt to opening myself up to heal myself and others. But I lived soaked in the fear that was actually Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. In other words, the Past. Or -- I was always afraid that what happened when I was a child -- that the "other shoe" would fall -- would happen in the future. The only way to not feel fear, I found, is by being completely immersed in the actual moment -- feeling the feelings, being aware of what each sense is telling me, by filling the frightened, empty center with breath.
Forleo suggests when you order in a restaurant, go with your first choice -- your gut, it would seem. And style your hair like it counts -- pay attention to detail. And with a new person, withhold judgment -- just experience what it is to be with this person.
Forleo calls it "This Is It," which reminds me of a story I didn't expect to tell.
About five years ago, just after I was divorced, my radio station asked me to co-emcee a concert on stage. I had left all that emcee-ing stuff to my ex-husband who had also been in radio all his life. He loved being on stage -- and I let that be his special thing, never even thinking I could do it. I was afraid, for one thing -- I had to conquer my fear of speaking to strangers in my early twenties, next, the fear of speaking on the radio, then the fear of appearing on TV, and stage was my next hurdle.
My radio co-host, Tim, was to be on stage with me, and he coached me backstage -- where to stand, how to stand, to "eat" the mic, and other details. We walked out onto the open air stage, stars bright, and when we began talking, all fear fell away. Inside I was thinking, "OMG, this is so totally perfect. I love this!"
Tim and I stood tall, with animated voices, introducing Kenny Loggins. We surrendered the stage to huge applause for the amazing singer -- and just at that moment the perfect song hit.
Kenny Loggins burst into "This Is It!"
Isn't it though.
Labels: Albert Einstein, book review, Deepak Chopra, Kenny Loggins, live in the moment, MAKE EVERY MAN WANT YOU, Marie Forleo, serendipity, Wayne Dyer
posted by Diana Page Jordan @ 9:02 PM
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